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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Namesake | Carl William Otterstetter |
| Builder | Brown ShipbuildingHouston, Texas |
| Laid down | 9 November 1942 |
| Launched | 19 January 1943 |
| Commissioned | 6 August 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 20 June 1960 |
| Stricken | 1 August 1974 |
| Fate | Sunk as a target offPuerto Rico 15 February 1976 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Edsall-classdestroyer escort |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 306 feet (93.27 m) |
| Beam | 36.58 feet (11.15 m) |
| Draft | 10.42 full load feet (3.18 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 21 knots (39 km/h) |
| Range |
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| Complement | 8 officers, 201 enlisted |
| Armament |
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USS Otterstetter (DE-244) was anEdsall-classdestroyer escort built for theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II. She served in theAtlantic Ocean thePacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection againstsubmarine and air attack for Navy vessels andconvoys.
Carl William Otterstetter was born on 11 January 1920 atMoorhead, Minnesota. He enlisted in the Navy as Apprentice Seaman atSan Francisco,California on 18 September 1940. He was advanced to Seaman Second Class 18 January 1941 and transferred to CommanderPatrol Wing Two on 3 April. He was killed in action during theJapaneseAttack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. He received a citation for prompt and efficient action and utter disregard of personal danger in the effort to repel the attack on theNaval Air Station Kaneohe Bay,Oahu.
Otterstetter was laid down 9 November 1942 byBrown Shipbuilding Co.,Houston, Texas; launched 19 January 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Miles P. Refo, Jr.; commissioned 6 August 1943.
Otterstetter sailed on hershakedown cruise along the East Coast of the United States and on 14 November joined aconvoy and steamed as escort fromNorfolk, Virginia, toCasablanca,French Morocco. She arrived there on 2 December 1943 and returned toNew York onChristmas Day. She made a convoy escort voyage to Casablanca in February 1944.
On 24 MayOtterstetter made the first of three voyages toArgentia, Newfoundland, escorting convoys en route to theUnited Kingdom.
On 16 July 1945Otterstetter sailed forPearl Harbor viaGuantánamo Bay,Panama Canal, andSan Diego, California. After a brief training inHawaiian waters, she proceeded toSaipan, arriving 29 August. The following day she sailed forIwo Jima, arriving on 1 September 1945.
Otterstetter remained atIwo Jima for a short time, then sailed forEmpire waters, arriving 3 November. She returned to theMarianas Islands 2 December and sailed forOkinawa 29 December, before steaming on toTokyo. She arrived at Tokyo on the last day of the year 1945.
On 4 January 1946Otterstetter got underway forJinsen,Korea, returning toOkinawa 14 February.Otterstetter arrived atSasebo,Japan, on 29 March and atShanghai,China, on 6 April. Two days later she sailed forPearl Harbor viaOkinawa and then on to thePanama Canal. She transited the canal and arrived atCharleston, South Carolina, 15 May.
Otterstetter underwent a pre-inactivation overhaul and departed forGreen Cove Springs, Florida, 10 September. The ship was placed out of commission in reserve 21 September and attached to the Florida Group,Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
On 1 June 1951,Charleston Naval Shipyard commenced the dual procedure of reactivatingOtterstetter and converting her from adestroyer escort to aradar picket destroyer escort.
Reclassified DER-244 in December 1951,Otterstetter recommissioned at Charleston Naval Shipyard 6 June 1952. On 19 July 1952Otterstetter reported to Commander Destroyer Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, as a unit of Escort Squadron Sixteen.
After a shakedown cruise to Guantánamo Bay she sailed 4 December for her first picket in the contiguousradar coverage of the Atlantic Coast, searching for and reporting aircraft in her sectors of responsibility. She continued these duties for the next several years.
Otterstetter was decommissioned 20 June 1960 and was berthed at the reserve fleet on the Sabine River in Texas. On 15 February 1976 she was sunk as a target offPuerto Rico.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1976 | |
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