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.

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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 History:

USS CAPE COD, the first United States Navy ship to bear the name Cape Cod, was the third ship of the YELLOWSTONE-class of destroyer tenders, a group of large mobile repair ships developed to provide intermediate-level maintenance and logistical support to the increasingly sophisticated surface fleet of the late Cold War. She was built by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company at San Diego, California. Her keel was laid on January 27, 1979, and she was launched on August 2, 1980. Her sponsor was Betty Evans Murray, wife of Under Secretary of the Navy Robert J. Murray, while their daughter Victoria Ann Murray served as maid of honor. Construction, fitting out and machinery testing continued at San Diego, and CAPE COD was photographed undergoing builder's trials off the California coast on September 15, 1981.

USS CAPE COD was commissioned at Naval Station San Diego on April 17, 1982, with Captain Robert F. Baril as her first commanding officer. San Diego became her homeport and remained so throughout her active service. The months following commissioning were devoted to bringing the ship, her propulsion plant and her large repair organization to full operational readiness. A destroyer tender had to develop proficiency not only in navigation, engineering and damage control for the ship herself but also in coordinating hundreds of specialized maintenance tasks for several customer ships at the same time.

CAPE COD made her first operational cruise in June 1982, a 33-day voyage that included visits to San Francisco, California, and Everett, Washington. The cruise was comparatively short but allowed the newly commissioned tender to operate away from San Diego and employ her repair and support capabilities in other Pacific Fleet locations. She returned to southern California and spent the remainder of the year continuing fleet-support work and preparing for her first extended Western Pacific deployment. Captain Robert L. Kline relieved Captain Baril on December 15, 1982.

CAPE COD departed San Diego on June 21, 1983, beginning her first extended deployment. She arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on June 27 and remained there until June 30 before continuing westward. On July 16, she reached Subic Bay in the Philippines, then one of the principal United States naval logistics and repair centers in the western Pacific. She departed on July 17 and reached Hong Kong on July 19. CAPE COD remained there until July 25 before returning to Subic Bay on July 27.

The deployment then shifted toward the Indian Ocean. CAPE COD departed Subic Bay on August 8, 1983, and crossed the South China Sea and Indian Ocean before reaching Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory on August 19. Diego Garcia had become an increasingly important American logistics base following the expansion of United States naval activity in the Indian Ocean during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, the Iranian Revolution, the Iran hostage crisis and the continuing Iran-Iraq War had all increased the strategic importance of maintaining substantial American naval forces in the region. CAPE COD's ability to provide major intermediate-level maintenance far from established United States shipyards was particularly useful in this geographically isolated operating area.

CAPE COD departed Diego Garcia on August 23 and proceeded to the east coast of Africa, arriving at Mombasa, Kenya, on August 29. She remained there until September 10. The tender then continued toward the Persian Gulf and arrived at Bahrain on September 18. Bahrain was already an important support location for United States naval forces assigned to the Middle East Force, and CAPE COD's stay occurred while the Iran-Iraq War continued on both sides of the Gulf. She departed Bahrain on September 24.

The deployment continued through the Indian Ocean. CAPE COD returned to Diego Garcia on October 23 before proceeding eastward toward Southeast Asia. Her subsequent itinerary included Surabaya, Indonesia, followed by visits to Australia. She called at Darwin in northern Australia and later proceeded along the Australian coast to Brisbane. From Australia she continued into the southwest Pacific, visiting Noumea, New Caledonia, and Suva, Fiji. CAPE COD departed Suva on November 26 and arrived at Apia, Samoa, on November 28, remaining there until December 2. The final trans-Pacific leg brought CAPE COD back to Hawaii. She arrived at Pearl Harbor on December 9, departed on December 13 and returned to San Diego on December 20, 1983.

Following her return, CAPE COD resumed Pacific Fleet tender duties from San Diego during 1984. Her principal mission continued to be intermediate-level maintenance for destroyers, frigates, cruisers and other fleet units. During 1985, CAPE COD continued operating with the Pacific Fleet. Captain Charles O. Johnson relieved Captain Kline on May 23, 1985. The strategic environment in the western Pacific and Indian Ocean remained dominated by the Cold War, while the continuing Iran-Iraq War generated increasing requirements for American naval forces around the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf. CAPE COD's own material readiness depended upon continuous upkeep of her steam plant, cranes, machine tools, electrical distribution system, workshops and extensive hotel services, all of which had to remain operational while supporting other ships.

CAPE COD was documented underway off San Diego in February 1986 before another Western Pacific deployment. The cruise included established Pacific Fleet locations such as Subic Bay, Hong Kong and ports in Japan. After USS FRANCIS HAMMOND (FF 1067) returned to Yokosuka, Japan, on April 17, the frigate spent approximately the following month undergoing upkeep and a tender availability with CAPE COD. The 1986 deployment occurred while the United States Navy maintained a major forward presence in Japan and the Philippines and continued regular operations in the Indian Ocean. Subic Bay remained a principal repair and logistics center, Yokosuka supported the permanently forward-deployed carrier and surface forces in Japan, and Hong Kong remained an important liberty and logistics port. CAPE COD supplemented these fixed installations by bringing a complete industrial maintenance organization directly to the ships requiring assistance.

Following her return to San Diego, CAPE COD resumed Pacific Fleet maintenance work. Captain John C. Ruff relieved Captain Johnson on March 20, 1987. During the year, the tender prepared for another Western Pacific and Indian Ocean deployment, this time under increasingly dangerous conditions in the Persian Gulf. The Iran-Iraq War had expanded into a sustained campaign against commercial shipping. Iranian and Iraqi forces attacked tankers and other merchant vessels, mines were laid in international waters, and Kuwait sought external protection for its oil traffic. Beginning in July 1987, the United States conducted Operation Earnest Will, escorting reflagged Kuwaiti tankers through the Gulf.

CAPE COD deployed westward during the latter part of 1987 and established repair-support operations near Masirah Island, Oman. The anchorage provided a location outside the Strait of Hormuz from which American ships operating in the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf could receive repairs and supplies. Because Masirah offered comparatively limited shore infrastructure, a self-contained repair tender was especially useful there. On December 28, 1987, USS STERETT (CG 31) began a two-day tender availability with CAPE COD at Masirah. STERETT had recently completed a Christmas port visit at Muscat and was operating as part of the expanded American naval presence associated with Persian Gulf security operations. Following the availability, the cruiser embarked Rear Admiral Dennis M. Brooks, Commander Joint Task Force Middle East.

Other combatants also used CAPE COD during the deployment. USS TOWERS (DDG 9) began 1988 moored alongside the tender at Masirah for an availability before proceeding with FRANCIS HAMMOND toward Karachi, Pakistan. FRANCIS HAMMOND subsequently spent extended periods operating off Oman and providing air-defense and escort support in the vicinity of CAPE COD while the tender serviced other ships. CAPE COD, as a large support vessel without the sensor and weapons fit of a modern combatant, depended on the wider task force for protection during periods of regional tension.

On March 10, 1988, USS MERRILL (DD 976) arrived at Masirah and began a five-day availability alongside CAPE COD. MERRILL had been operating with a carrier battle group in the North Arabian Sea and required maintenance before returning to operational duties. After completing the tender period, the destroyer resumed patrol operations before proceeding to Port Victoria in the Seychelles.

CAPE COD's officially recognized Persian Gulf service during this deployment included the periods from December 26, 1987, through February 12, 1988, and from February 25 through March 18, 1988. Her deployment coincided with one of the most active phases of the Tanker War. United States forces had struck Iranian facilities during Operation Nimble Archer in October 1987, and only weeks after CAPE COD's March support period, USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (FFG 58) struck an Iranian mine on April 14, leading to Operation Praying Mantis on April 18.

Following completion of the deployment, CAPE COD returned to San Diego in 1988 and resumed support for Pacific Fleet ships. The Iran-Iraq War ended with a cease-fire in August 1988, while improving relations between the United States and Soviet Union gradually reduced some of the Cold War tensions that had shaped naval planning during CAPE COD's early years.

Captain Adrian W. Johnson Jr. relieved Captain Ruff on June 29, 1989. CAPE COD departed San Diego on September 8, 1989, for another extended Western Pacific deployment, initially heading north rather than directly across the central Pacific. She arrived at Esquimalt, British Columbia, on September 11 and remained there until September 13. She then continued north to Adak, Alaska, arriving on September 22 and remaining until October 4. USS SAFEGUARD (ARS 50) was among the ships documented alongside CAPE COD at Adak on September 30. From Alaska, CAPE COD crossed the North Pacific toward Japan. She arrived at Yokosuka on October 11, 1989, remained until October 12 and continued to Sasebo, where she stayed from October 15 through October 27. She next proceeded to Hong Kong, arriving on October 31 and remaining until November 6. CAPE COD entered Subic Bay on November 8 and remained there through December 13, providing an extended period of forward maintenance support.

She then returned to Japan, arriving at Sasebo on December 17, 1989. CAPE COD remained there throughout Christmas and the New Year period and did not depart until January 22, 1990. The lengthy stays at Subic Bay and Sasebo allowed a succession of combatants to schedule repair availabilities while the tender's industrial shops worked continuously. CAPE COD reached Yokosuka on January 27, 1990, and remained there until February 27. She then crossed the Pacific, arriving at Pearl Harbor on February 28 and remaining through March 3. The tender subsequently completed the final leg to California and returned to San Diego on March 8, 1990. The deployment lasted 181 days. CAPE COD spent 54 days underway, steamed approximately 17,000 nautical miles and visited nine ports or operating locations, several more than once. The cruise coincided with rapid political change in Eastern Europe. By the time CAPE COD returned to San Diego, communist governments had fallen across much of Eastern Europe and the strategic environment of the Cold War was changing substantially, although American naval commitments in the western Pacific and Middle East remained significant.

During the remainder of 1990, CAPE COD operated mainly from San Diego, providing repair support and preparing for future operations. The Navy's strategic focus changed abruptly on August 2, 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait. The United States initiated Operation Desert Shield and rapidly deployed air, ground and naval forces to Saudi Arabia and surrounding waters. The growing fleet required extensive forward maintenance capacity, and the active Pacific Fleet destroyer tenders became important components of the logistical system supporting the buildup.

Captain Gary L. Bier assumed command of CAPE COD on November 16, 1990. As coalition preparations for possible war continued, the tender was readied for another extended deployment. CAPE COD departed San Diego on January 11, 1991. She reached Pearl Harbor on January 17, the same day Operation Desert Storm began, and remained there until January 20 before continuing westward. From February 4 through February 9 she was at Subic Bay, then proceeded to Hong Kong, where she remained from February 11 through February 15. CAPE COD continued westward across the Indian Ocean and entered the United States Naval Forces Central Command operating area on February 26, 1991. The coalition ground offensive had begun two days earlier, and major offensive operations were suspended on February 28. CAPE COD therefore arrived in the theater during the transition from active combat to the immediate postwar phase.

On March 2, 1991, CAPE COD arrived at Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. She remained there until March 4 and then shifted to the anchorage known as Gator Gulch, where she stayed from March 4 through March 24. The anchorage supported amphibious and other naval forces that remained concentrated in the Gulf following the cease-fire. USS JUNEAU (LPD 10) underwent an availability alongside CAPE COD from March 12 through March 19 in the Dubai/Jebel Ali operating area while the tender was anchored in Gator Gulch. JUNEAU was among the amphibious ships involved in the continuing movement and support of Marine forces after the suspension of major combat operations.

CAPE COD returned to Jebel Ali on March 24 and remained through March 25. She then proceeded to Bahrain, beginning a prolonged stay that continued from March 25 through May 14. Although the main combat phase of Desert Storm had ended, coalition naval operations continued. Maritime interception remained in force under United Nations sanctions, mines had to be cleared from the northern Gulf, heavily used ships required maintenance and large quantities of equipment and personnel were being prepared for redeployment.

The tender departed Bahrain and arrived at Dubai on May 15, 1991, remaining in the United Arab Emirates through May 26. CAPE COD's officially recognized Southwest Asia service extended from February 26 through May 25. Her Gulf employment therefore covered almost three months of immediate postwar operations, when the Navy was shifting from major combat toward continued sanctions enforcement, mine clearance, maintenance and redeployment. CAPE COD then began the passage back toward the western Pacific. She visited Phuket, Thailand, from June 2 through June 6 and Singapore from June 8 through June 12. The next scheduled operating period at Subic Bay was transformed by a major natural disaster in the Philippines.

Mount Pinatubo on Luzon had shown rapidly increasing volcanic activity during early June. Clark Air Base began evacuating personnel and dependents toward Subic Bay on June 10. Major eruptions followed, and on June 15 an enormous eruption occurred while Typhoon Yunya crossed the island. Heavy rain mixed with volcanic ash, causing roofs to collapse and damaging roads, electrical distribution, fresh-water systems and other infrastructure at both Clark and Subic Bay. CAPE COD arrived at Subic Bay on June 16, 1991, during the emergency response known as Operation Fiery Vigil. Because much of the shore infrastructure had been disrupted, the tender's self-contained utility and industrial systems became valuable to the damaged base. CAPE COD supplied fresh water, food and electrical power, provided repair support and maintained a functioning emergency medical facility.

The Navy simultaneously began moving thousands of military personnel, civilian employees and dependents away from the affected area. Ships transported evacuees from Subic Bay to other locations, while airlift operations continued the movement toward Guam and the United States. CAPE COD remained at Subic Bay supporting the base, naval units and the continuing emergency response. Her communications personnel handled large volumes of emergency traffic, while engineering and repair departments supported efforts to maintain or restore essential services. CAPE COD's participation in Joint Task Force Fiery Vigil was included in a Joint Meritorious Unit Award for the period from June 10 through June 28, 1991. Her direct work at Subic Bay was additionally recognized by a Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation covering June 16 through July 3.

CAPE COD remained at Subic Bay through July 3. She then began the final trans-Pacific passage and returned to San Diego on July 24, 1991. The remainder of 1991 was spent restoring CAPE COD's own material readiness, supporting Pacific Fleet ships and preparing for future operations. The geopolitical environment changed again in December when the Soviet Union formally dissolved. The large Cold War fleet for which the YELLOWSTONE-class tenders had been built began contracting, although continued commitments in the Persian Gulf ensured that forward intermediate-level maintenance remained necessary.

During 1992, CAPE COD continued Pacific Fleet operations from San Diego and made movements along the eastern and western Pacific. She participated in Seattle's Seafair period during the summer. Captain James A. Hooper IV assumed command in July 1992. During the year, the Navy continued enforcing United Nations sanctions against Iraq, and Operation Southern Watch began in August to enforce the no-fly zone over southern Iraq.

CAPE COD subsequently returned to the western Pacific and Persian Gulf for another extended deployment. By early 1993, she was operating in the Gulf, where Jebel Ali, Dubai and Bahrain again served as principal maintenance locations. Unlike the combat buildup of 1990-1991, the 1993 deployment supported the continuing American naval presence associated with sanctions enforcement, maritime interception and Operation Southern Watch. On February 28, 1993, USS COWPENS (CG 63) moored alongside CAPE COD at Jebel Ali for a ten-day upkeep period. COWPENS had already participated in regional operations and had launched Tomahawk cruise missiles against targets in Iraq during January. The availability allowed the cruiser to receive intermediate-level maintenance without departing the theater.

USS DE WERT (FFG 45) arrived at Jebel Ali on April 1, 1993, and began a mini intermediate-maintenance availability with CAPE COD that continued through April 10. The frigate subsequently returned to operations in the region. The availability represented the type of relatively short but concentrated maintenance period that enabled combatants to remain deployed while receiving work beyond the capacity of their own crews. On May 6, 1993, USS LAKE CHAMPLAIN (CG 57) moored outboard of CAPE COD at the Sitrah anchorage in Bahrain for a five-day availability. The cruiser was operating in the Persian Gulf and used the tender period to complete scheduled maintenance before returning to operational duties.

CAPE COD was at Mina Salman, Bahrain, during the middle of May. A documented concentration of American ships there on May 16 included USS BIRMINGHAM (SSN 695), USS HORNE (CG 30), USS RODNEY M. DAVIS (FFG 60), USS KANSAS CITY (AOR 3), USS NASHVILLE (LPD 13) and USS BARNSTABLE COUNTY (LST 1197), together with CAPE COD. The gathering illustrated the variety of ships requiring logistical and technical support during continuing Gulf operations.

On May 24, 1993, USS CHANCELLORSVILLE (CG 62) moored alongside CAPE COD in Dubai for a five-day tender availability. The cruiser subsequently resumed Persian Gulf operations. CAPE COD also supported USS CURTS (FFG 38), which was documented being maneuvered alongside the tender at Jebel Ali by harbor tugs during the deployment. After completing her Gulf duties, CAPE COD returned to San Diego and resumed local fleet-support operations. The post-Cold War reduction of the Navy was by then increasingly affecting the type of ship she had been designed to support. Numerous older destroyers and frigates were being decommissioned, while intermediate maintenance was increasingly being performed through shore installations, contractors and deployable technical teams. CAPE COD nevertheless remained fully operational and prepared for another overseas assignment.

Captain Thomas J. Flaherty relieved Captain Hooper on June 10, 1994, becoming CAPE COD's final commanding officer. The tender subsequently deployed again to the western Pacific and Indian Ocean during her last major overseas cruise. By October 1994, CAPE COD was operating in Japan. On October 21, USS COWPENS began a 13-day upkeep period at Yokosuka with CAPE COD providing tender support. The availability continued into early November before the cruiser returned to operational duties. CAPE COD then continued westward toward the Middle East. By November, she was operating at Jebel Ali. USS JARRETT (FFG 33) underwent an availability with CAPE COD there from November 17 through November 21, 1994.

The deployment continued into 1995. USS LAKE ERIE (CG 70), then on her maiden deployment with the battle group centered on USS CONSTELLATION (CV 64), entered the Persian Gulf and anchored off Sitrah, Bahrain, on January 12. On January 13, LAKE ERIE moored outboard of CAPE COD at Jebel Ali and began a maintenance availability that continued through January 19. After completion of the work, the cruiser returned to regional operations and maritime-interception duties.

USS HALYBURTON (FFG 40) subsequently underwent tender work alongside CAPE COD at Jebel Ali and remained there through January 30, 1995. The succession of repair availabilities during the final deployment demonstrated that CAPE COD continued performing the same basic mission for which she had been built even as Navy planning was moving away from routine employment of large destroyer tenders. CAPE COD returned to San Diego during March 1995 and was photographed entering the harbor on March 27. The 1994-1995 deployment proved to be her final major overseas assignment. By then, the Navy was reducing the number of large repair tenders because they required crews of roughly 1,500 and carried extensive steam, industrial and hotel-service plants that were expensive to operate. At the same time, the number of surface combatants in the fleet was declining substantially.

During the following months, equipment, supplies and spare parts that remained useful elsewhere in the Navy were transferred, personnel received new assignments and CAPE COD's maintenance priorities shifted toward deactivation and preservation rather than preparation for another deployment. USS CAPE COD was decommissioned on September 29, 1995, with Captain Flaherty as her final commanding officer. The decommissioning ended more than thirteen years of active service. Following decommissioning, CAPE COD remained in Navy custody while possible future use was considered. She was formally stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on April 7, 1999. With no requirement to return the large tender to active service, arrangements were subsequently made to transfer her to the Maritime Administration for long-term lay-up and eventual disposal.

On September 29, 2000, the former CAPE COD entered the Maritime Administration's James River Reserve Fleet near Fort Eustis, Virginia. MARAD accepted title to the ship on July 28, 2001. She remained laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet for more than a decade. She was eventually selected for disposal through a domestic scrapping contract with ESCO Marine of Brownsville, Texas. On March 30, 2012, ex-CAPE COD was withdrawn from the James River Reserve Fleet under tow for Brownsville. By April 12, she was moored at the ESCO Marine facility awaiting dismantling.

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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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