View source for Cape-class cutter

{{Other ships|Cape class (disambiguation){{!}}Cape class}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin |sclass=2}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Cape Current WPB-95307 underway 1963.jpg
|Ship caption=''Cape Current'' (WPB-95307), a Type A Cape class patrol boat, in 1963. 
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=Cape class (after 1964)
|Builders=[[United States Coast Guard Yard]] in [[Curtis Bay, Baltimore]]
|Operators={{coast guard|United States}}
|Class before=[[83-foot patrol boat]]
|Class after=[[Island class cutter]]
|Subclasses= 
|Cost= 
|Built range= 
|In service range= 
|In commission range= 
|Total ships building= 
|Total ships planned= 
|Total ships completed=36 
|Total ships cancelled= 
|Total ships active= 
|Total ships laid up= 
|Total ships lost= 
|Total ships retired= 
|Total ships scrapped= 
|Total ships preserved= 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=<ref name=USCG01 />
|Ship class=Patrol boat
|Ship type=
|Ship tonnage= 
|Ship displacement=*Type A, 102 tons fully loaded
*Type B, 105 tons fully loaded
*Type C, 98 tons fully loaded <ref name=Scheina80>Scheina, p 80</ref> 
|Ship length={{convert|95|ft|abbr=on}} 
|Ship beam={{convert|20|ft|abbr=on}} max 
|Ship height= 
|Ship draft=*Type A, {{convert|6|ft|4|in|abbr=on}}
*Type B, {{convert|6|ft|5|in|abbr=on}}
*Type C, as completed 
|Ship depth= 
|Ship ice class= 
|Ship power=*4 Cummins VT-600 diesels (Types A, B, and C), 2200 hp;
*after renovation, 2 Detroit 16V149 diesels, 2470 hp<ref name="Scheina80" />  
|Ship propulsion= twin propellers
|Ship speed=*Types A & B, 20 knots max,
*Type C, 22 knots max,
*renovated, 24 knots<ref name="Scheina80" />  
|Ship range=*Cruising at 12 knots;
*Type A,{{convert|1418|mi|km|abbr=on}}
*Type B, {{convert|1700|mi|km|abbr=on}}
*Type C,{{convert|1780|mi|km|abbr=on}}<ref name="Scheina80" /> 
|Ship endurance=
|Ship boats= 
|Ship capacity= 
|Ship troops= 
|Ship complement=15 (1961) 
|Ship crew= 
|Ship time to activate= 
|Ship sensors=SPS-64 radar (1987) 
|Ship EW=retractable type sonar (Types A & B only) 
|Ship armament=*Type A; 2 mousetrap depth charge racks, 2 20mm twin Oerlikon cannons, 2 .50 cal machine guns
*Type B; 2 mousetrap depth charge racks, 1 40mm cannon, 2 .50 cal machine guns
*Type C; 2 .50 cal machine guns, 2 40mm Mk 19 grenade launchers (1987)<ref name="Scheina80" />   
|Ship armor= 
|Ship aircraft= 
|Ship aircraft facilities= 
|Ship notes= 
}}
|}
The '''Cape-class patrol boat'''s were {{convert|95|ft|m|adj=on}} steel hull [[USCG Patrol Boat|patrol boats]] with aluminum superstructures of the [[United States Coast Guard]]. They were unnamed until 1964, when they acquired names of U.S. [[Cape (geography)|cape]]s of land. Originally designed for [[anti-submarine warfare]] (ASW), all 36 boats in this class were built at the [[United States Coast Guard Yard]] in [[Curtis Bay, Baltimore|Curtis Bay, Maryland]].

==History==
The Cape class was originally developed as an ASW boat and as a replacement for the aging, [[World War II]] vintage, wooden [[83-foot patrol boat]]s ({{convert|83|ft|m}} in length) that were used mostly for [[search and rescue]] duties.<ref name="Scheina80" /> With the outbreak of the [[Korean War]] and the requirement tasked to the Coast Guard to secure and patrol port facilities in the United States under the [[Magnuson Act#Maritime laws also known as "Magnuson Act"|Magnuson Act of 1950]], the complete replacement of the 83-foot boat was deferred and the 95-foot boat was used for harbor patrols.<ref name=USCG01>"Cape Henlopen, 1958 (WPB-95328)", Cutters, Craft & U.S. Coast Guard Manned Army & Navy Vessels, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office</ref><ref name=Green>Green, D.L.; "The 82-foot Class Patrol Boat", ''The Engineer's Digest'', March–April 1962, Number 133, pp 2–5, U.S. Coast Guard</ref><ref name=Johnson283>Johnson, p 283</ref> The first 95-foot hulls were laid down at the Coast Guard Yard in 1952 and were officially described as "seagoing patrol cutters". Because Coast Guard policy did not provide for naming cutters under {{convert|100|feet|m|}} at the time of their construction they were referred to by their hull number only and gained the Cape-class names in 1964 when the service changed the naming criteria to {{convert|65|feet|m|}}. The class was named for North American geographic [[Cape (geography)|cape]]s.<ref name=Johnson284>Johnson, p 284</ref>
[[File:ROU Rio Negro.jpg|thumb|ROU ''Rio Negro'', ex-USCGC ''Cape Horn'', moored at Montevideo in 2024]]
The Cape class was replaced by the {{convert|110|ft|m|adj=on}} {{sclass2|Island|cutter|4}} beginning in the late 1980s and many of the decommissioned cutters were transferred to nations of the [[Caribbean]] and [[South America]] by the Coast Guard.

==Design==
There were three sub-classes or types that evolved as missions for the boat changed.<ref name=USCG01 /> The Type A was outfitted primarily for ASW. The Type B was fitted more for search and rescue (SAR) with the addition of scramble nets, a towing bitt, and a large searchlight. The Type C vessels were constructed with a deck house aft of the bridge.<ref name=Scheina80/> Sixteen boats were overhauled as part of a renovation program began in the mid-late 1970s.

==Units==
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! Number
! Type
! Name
! Delivery
! Disposition
|-
|95300
|A
|''Cape Small''
|17 July 1953
|To Marshall Islands 1987 as ''Ionmeto 2''; sold 1992
|-
|95301
|A
|''Cape Coral''
|21 September 1953
|Decommissioned 1987; disposition unknown
|-
|95302 
|A
|''Cape Higgon''
|14 October 1953
|To Uruguay 5 January 1990 as ''Colonia''; decommissioned in 2022
|-
|95303
|A
|''[[USCGC Cape Upright|Cape Upright]]''
|2 July 1953
|To Bahamas 10 June 1989 as ''David Tucker'' (Hull Number P07); Decommissioned in 1996 and donated and sunk as an artificial reef in 1997 as part of Nassau's artificial reef program. A popular dive spot; it is located along an area known as Clifton Wall
|-
|95304
|A
|''Cape Gull''
|8 June 1953
|Sold at auction to Fort Lauderdale businessman Dale Scutti who renamed her ''Robert Edmister'' in memory of a deceased friend; She was scuttled 11 December 1989 by five eight-pound dynamite charges administered by the Broward Sheriff's Office Bomb & Arson Unit. She now forms a part of the Broward County Artificial Reef Program.
|-
|95305
|A
|''Cape Hatteras''
|28 July 1953
|To Mexico 1991 as ''Cabo Catoche''; active
|-
|95306
|A
|''Cape George''
|10 August 1953
|To Palau 10 June 1990
|-
|95307
|A
|''Cape Current''
|24 August 1953
|To Bahamas 30 June 1989 as ''Austin Smith''
|-
|95308
|A
|''Cape Strait''
|10 September 1953
|Sunk 9 September 1993 as an [[artificial reef]] off [[Cape May]], [[New Jersey]]
|-
|95309                       
|A
|''Cape Carter''
|7 December 1953
|To Mexico 2 March 1990 as ''Cabo Corrientes''; active
|-
|95310
|A
|''Cape Wash''
|15 December 1953
|To U.S. Navy, 1987 as ''Olympic Venture,'' PTB-951, retired c.2010; transferred to Sea Scout ship ''Intrepid'' in 2012; transferred to Sea Scout Ship ''Terrapin'' in 2022.
|-
|95311
|A
|''Cape Hedge''
|21 December 1953
|To Mexico 27 April 1990 as ''Cabo Corzo''; active
|-
|95312 
|B
|''Cape Knox''
|13 June 1955
|Decommissioned 1989; sold to [[Sea Shepherd Conservation Society]] in 1991 as ''Sirenian.'' Renamed ''Yoshka'' in 2006. Currently working for the [[Galapagos National Park]].
|-
|95313
|B
|''Cape Morgan''
|5 July 1955
|To Bahamas 20 October 1989 as ''Fort Fincastle''; struck 1999
|-
|95314
|B
|''Cape Fairweather''
|18 July 1955
|Decommissioned 1985; disposition unknown
|-
|95315
|B
|''La Crete a Pierrot''
|1 August 1955
|To Haiti 1956; disposition unknown
|-
|95316
|B
|''[[USCGC Cape Fox|Cape Fox]]''
|22 August 1955
|To Bahamas 30 June 1989 as ''San Salvador II''; struck 1999
|-
|95317
|B
|''Cape Jellison''
|7 September 1955
|transferred to U.S. Navy; transferred to Boys and Girls Club of South San Francisco in 1993 and Sea Scouts as the Cape Hurricane SSS 906. Transferred to Sea Scouts as ship 145 SSS ''Challenger'' [http://ship145.org]
|-
|95318
|B
|''Cape Newagen''
|26 September 1955
|To Mexico 1982; reportedly transferred to U.S. Naval Air Station, Point Mugu, California
|-
|95319
|B
|''Cape Romain''
|11 October 1955
|transferred to U.S. Navy 11 August 1989; transferred to Sea Scouts as ship 51 SSS ''Intrepid'' [http://www.sssintrepid.org] in 1993. Scrapped at Lind Marine in Mare Island, Vallejo, California in 2022.
|-
|95320
|B
|''Cape Starr''
|15 August 1956
|Decommissioned 1987, active (pilot launch ''Toucan'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20100216083018/http://www.tabsa.cl/Eng/Html/Pilots.php]) at Punta Arenas (Strait of Magellan); Chile; acquired by Transbordadora Austral Broom S.A. in 1995, Rebuild 2010.
|-
|95321 
|C
|''Cape Cross''
|20 August 1958
|To Micronesia 30 March 1990 as ''Paluwlap'' (FSM 03); active
|-
|95322
|C
|''Cape Horn''
|3 September 1958
|To Uruguay January 1990 as ''Rio Negro''; active
|-
|95323
|C
|''Cape Darby''
|3 October 1958
|To South Korea 24 March 1969 as PB 11; struck 1984
|-
|95324
|C
|''Cape Shoalwater''
|9 December 1958
|To Bahamas 30 June 1989 as ''Fenrick Stirrup'', struck
|-
|95325
|C
|''Cape Florida''
|28 October 1958
|To South Korea 13 November 1968 as PB 7; struck 1971
|-
|95326
|C
|''Cape Corwin''
|14 November 1958
|To Micronesia 30 September 1990 as ''Constitution'' (FSM 04); active
|-
|95327
|C
|''Cape Porpoise''
|21 November 1958
|To South Korea 13 November 1968 as PB 8; struck 1984
|-
|95328
|C
|''[[USCGC Cape Henlopen|Cape Henlopen]]''
|5 December 1958
|To Costa Rica 28 September 1989 as ''Astronauta Franklin Chang'' (SP 951); decommissioned 2006; sunk as an [[artificial reef]] the same year
|-
|95329
|C
|''Cape Kiwanda''
|28 April 1959
|To South Korea 24 March 1969 as PB 12; struck 1984
|-
|95330
|C
|''Cape Falcon''
|12 May 1959
|To South Korea 13 November 1968 as PB 9; struck 1984
|-
|95331
|C
|''Cape Trinity''
|26 May 1959
|To South Korea 24 September 1968 as PB 10; struck 1984
|-
|95332
|C
|''Cape York''
|9 June 1959
|To Bahamas 30 June 1989 as ''Edward Williams''; struck ????; sunk as artificial reef Bahamas [https://web.archive.org/web/20110728035429/http://www.skin-diver.com/bahamas01/diving.html]
|-
|95333
|C
|''Cape Rosier''
|23 June 1959
|To South Korea 24 September 1968 as PB 3; struck 1984
|-
|95334
|C
|''Cape Sable''
|7 July 1959
|To South Korea 24 September 1968 as PB 5; struck 1984
|-
|95335
|C
|''Cape Providence''
|21 July 1959
|To South Korea 24 September 1968 as PB 6; struck 1984
|}

==See also==
*[[List of United States Coast Guard cutters]]

==Notes==

;Footnotes
{{reflist|group=Note}}

;Citations
{{Reflist|2}}

==References cited==

{{refbegin}}
* {{cite web |last=Coast Guard Historian's official website |title=Cape-Class 95-foot WPBs |publisher=U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office |url=http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/CapeClassWPBIndex.asp |accessdate=8 September 2012}}
*{{cite journal |last=Green |first=LT D.L. |title=The 82-foot Class Patrol Boat |journal=The Engineer's Digest |date=March–April 1962 |volume=133 |pages=2&ndash;5}} U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office.
* {{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Robert Irwin |year=1987 |title=Guardians of the Sea, History of the United States Coast Guard, 1915 to the Present |publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis |isbn=978-0-87021-720-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/guardiansofseahi00john}}
* {{cite book |last=Scheina |first=Robert L. |year=1990 |title=U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft, 1946-1990 |publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis |isbn=978-0-87021-719-7}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Cape_Class_WPB_Index.html "CAPE" Class {{convert|95|ft|m|adj=on}} WPBs]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office webpage

{{Cape class cutter|state=expanded}}

[[Category:Cape-class cutters| ]]
[[Category:Ships of the United States Coast Guard]]
[[Category:Ships built in Baltimore]]
[[Category:Patrol boat classes]]