USS Cape Cod

USS Cape Cod (AD-43) was the third Yellowstone-class destroyer tender in the United States Navy.

History
United States
Name	USS Cape Cod
Namesake	Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Ordered	30 September 1977
Builder	National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, California
Laid down	27 January 1979
Launched	2 August 1980
Acquired	15 February 1982
Commissioned	17 April 1982
Decommissioned	29 September 1995
Stricken	7 April 1999
Honours & awards	Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Navy Unit Commendation, Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (3), National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (2-Persian Gulf), Southwest Asia Service Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal
Fate	Scrapped at ESCO Marine, 2012
General characteristics
Class & type	Yellowstone-class destroyer tender
Displacement	Approx. 20,500 tons full load
Length	643 feet (196 meters)
Beam	85 feet (26 meters)
Draft	27 feet (8.2 meters)
Propulsion	Two boilers, steam turbines, one shaft, 20,000 shaft horsepower
Speed	20 knots
Complement	1500
Armament	One single 5 in (130 mm)/38 dual purpose gun mount
Armor	None
Aircraft carried	Helicopter platform

History

Cape Cod was laid down on 27 January 1979 at San Diego, California, by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company and launched on 2 August 1980. The destroyer tender worked for many years in active naval service. It assisted the Spruance-class destroyers, the Truxtun-class cruisers and Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates.^[1]

She was commissioned on 17 April 1982 and served 13 years as a destroyer tender before being decommissioned on 29 September 1995, and stricken from the Navy list on 7 April 1999. She was berthed at the James River Reserve Fleet in Fort Eustis, VA, until she was sold for scrap in 2012.

See also

• USS Barnstable County (LST-1197)
• SS Cape Cod (T-AK-5041)