YMS-445, 1945-47
Motor minesweeper, YMS-445, was built at C. Hiltebrant Drydock Company, Kingston, New York, and was completed in March 1945. She was the last YMS ordered for World War II, though 35 additional motor minesweepers were originally ordered as submarine chasers. These yard craft patrolled navy yards and adjacent areas, and they were also used by the Allies as part of the Lend-Lease Program. YMS-445 was struck from the Naval Register on March 4, 1947, transferred to the War Shipping Administration with her fate unknown.
A model of the motor minesweeper was on display in the In Harm's Way (Atlantic Section) at the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, Bldg. 76, until 2022.
Image: 19-LCM-Box 574-YMS-445-1: YMS-445, broadside view at C Hiltebrant Drydock Co., Kingston, New York, 1944. Official Bureau of Ships Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
