MV Cape Pine

MV Cape Pine
A SC-497-class submarine chaser of the same type as USS SC-715
History
United States
NameUSS SC-715
BuilderFisher Boat Works, Detroit, Michigan
Laid down14 May 1942
Launched23 October 1942
Commissioned4 December 1942
Out of serviceTransferred to US Coastguard on 9 January 1946
United States
NameUSCGC Air Killdeer (WAVR 433)
In service9 January 1946
Out of serviceSold into mercantile service on 19 January 1948
RenamedCape Pine on 14 May 1951
Identification
StatusIn private service
General characteristics
Class and typeSC-497-class submarine chaser
Displacement95 tons
Length110 ft 10 in (33.78 m)
Beam17 ft (5.2 m)
Draught6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Propulsion
  • Two 1,540hp General Motors (Electro-Motive Div.) 16-184A diesel engines
  • Two shafts
  • As Cape Pine: one 320bhp diesel engine and one shaft
Speed
  • 21 kts
  • 8 kts as Cape Pine
Complement28
Armament

MV Cape Pine[1] is a charter boat operated by the Maritime Heritage Society of Vancouver. She began life as USS SC-715, a SC-497-class submarine chaser of the United States Navy. She was later transferred to the United States Coast Guard and served under the name USCGC Air Killdeer (WAVR 433). Finally sold into mercantile service, as the Cape Pine, she worked as a high-endurance fish packer in the fisheries of the Canadian coast, and was then sold to the Maritime Heritage Society of Vancouver.

Service history

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Construction

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SC-715 was laid down at the Fisher Boat Works in Detroit, Michigan on 14 May 1942, launched on 23 October 1942 and commissioned into the navy on 4 December 1942.[2][3][4]

US Navy service during WWII

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SC-715 served in the Atlantic and Pacific during World War II. After the war she was decommissioned at Seattle.[2]

Post-war US Coast Guard service

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Transferred to the United States Coast Guard on 9 January 1946, SC-715 was renamed USCGC Air Killdeer.[2][3][5] In this capacity she was used in offshore rescue duties. She was one of 70 such vessels transferred to the coastguard to cope with the problem of large numbers of aviation accidents as troops and personnel were returned to the United States after the war, in Operation Magic Carpet.[6] The shortage of experienced pilots as enlisted men were discharged caused the number of accidents to rise. Manpower shortages also affected the Coastguard, which at times struggled to crew the rescue vessels.[6] After two years Air Killdeer was sold to a Canadian fishing company in British Columbia, on 19 January 1948.

Fish factory boat

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She was registered as Cape Pine on 14 May 1951.[6] Her new owners re-powered and modified the former submarine chaser to convert her to a high-endurance fish packer in support of the salmon and herring fisheries on the west coast of Canada.[2][4]

Charter boat

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Cape Pine is still afloat, having been sold to the Maritime Heritage Society in Vancouver, and is in operation as a private pleasure boat and charter boat out of Pender Harbour, British Columbia, Canada.[2][4]

See also

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  • Other ships built by Fisher Boat Works:

References

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  1. ^ Commodores Boats, Cape Pine Archived 2015-03-02 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 2013-02-20)
  2. ^ a b c d e "USCGC Air Killdeer (WAVR 433), ex-USS SC-715". NavSource.org. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  3. ^ a b "USS SC-715 (SC-715)". Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  4. ^ a b c "Fisher Boat Works, Detroit MI". Shipbuilding History. 14 June 2012. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  5. ^ "Patrol Ships". The Maritime Guardians. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  6. ^ a b c Flynn, Jr, James T (2012). "U. S. Coast Guard Patrol Craft" (PDF). USCG.mil. United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
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