USS Cape Cod (AD 43)

- decommissioned -

USS CAPE COD was the third YELLOWSTONE - class destroyer tender. Decommissioned on September 29, 1995, and stricken from the Navy list on April 7, 1999, the CAPE COD was subsequently laid up on the James River near Fort Eustis, VA, awaiting final disposal. Sold for scrapping in March 2012, the ship left the James River under tow on March 30, 2012, and was later scrapped in Brownsville, Tx.

The USS CAPE COD was the first ship in the Navy named after the peninsula projecting from the southern coast of Massachusetts and bounded by the Cape Cod Canal, Atlantic Ocean, and the Nantucket Sound. It was named by an English explorer in 1602 after the fish found most plentiful in the area. It was at Cape Cod (at what is now Provincetown) that the Pilgrams landed and the Mayflower Compact was signed in 1620.

General Characteristics:	Awarded: September 30, 1977
	Keel laid: January 27, 1979
	Launched: August 2, 1980
	Commissioned: April 17, 1982
	Decommissioned: September 29, 1995
	Builder: National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, Calif.
	Propulsion system: Two boilers, steam turbines, one shaft, 20,000 shaft horsepower
	Propellers: one
	Length: 643 feet (196 meters)
	Beam: 85 feet (25.9 meters)
	Draft: 27 feet (8.2 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 20,500 tons full load
	Speed: 20 knots
	Aircraft: helicopter platform
	Armament: none
	Crew: 36 officers and 1,330 enlisted

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS CAPE COD. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

Click here to view the list.

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Click here to see which USS CAPE COD memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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USS CAPE COD Cruise Books:

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About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

The crescent simulates a peninsula or cape of land and the fish is the Atlantic Cod. The scallop (or pilgrim) shell is symbolic of the first settlers. The sailing ship refers to the MAYFLOWER and the early traditions of the area. The Pennant represents the national Ensign and the flag with the white star alludes to the seal and flag of Massachusetts.

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USS CAPE COD Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by me and show the CAPE COD laid up on the James River in Virginia, on October 30, 2010.

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