USS Calcaterra (DE-390)
| Career (US) |  |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Herbert A. Calcaterra |
| Builder: | Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, Texas |
| Laid down: | 28 May 1943 |
| Launched: | 16 August 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 17 November 1943 |
| Decommissioned: | 2 July 1973 |
| Reclassified: | DER-390, 28 October 1954 |
| Struck: | 2 July 1973 |
| Fate: | Sold 14 May 1974 and broken up for scrap |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Edsall-class destroyer escort |
| Displacement: |
1,253 tons standard 1,590 tons full load |
| Length: | 306 feet (93.27 m) |
| Beam: | 36.58 feet (11.15 m) |
| Draft: | 10.42 full load feet (3.18 m) |
| Propulsion: |
4 FM diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6,000 shp (4.5 MW), 2 screws |
| Speed: | 21 knots (39 km/h) |
| Range: |
9,100 nmi. at 12 knots (17,000 km at 22 km/h) |
| Complement: | 8 officers, 201 enlisted |
| Armament: |
|
USS Calcaterra (DE-390) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys. Post-war she was called up again for duty, this time as a radar picket ship.
She was named in honor of Motor Machinist's Mate First Class Herbert A. Calcaterra who received the Silver Star posthumously. She was launched 18 August 1943 by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Texas; sponsored by Mrs. G. M. Stites; commissioned 17 November 1943, Commander H J. Wuensch, USCG, in command; and reported to the Atlantic Fleet.
Contents
World War II North Atlantic operations
Assigned to the vital duty of escorting convoys between the United States and the Mediterranean, Calcaterra made eight round trips between 13 February 1944 and 10 June 1945. The ships she guarded provided the men and equipment which insured the success of the invasions of Italy and southern France. Twice the escort vessel met the challenge of enemy opposition when she depth charged a suspected submarine contact and fired on two aircraft. Her alert action helped prevent damage or loss to the ships under convoy.
Transfer to the Pacific Fleet
On 9 July 1946 Calcaterra headed for the Pacific to tackle a new job, but the war ended shortly before her arrival at Pearl Harbor. She lifted passengers back to the west coast, then sailed on to the Atlantic. Calcaterra was placed out of commission in reserve at Green Cove Springs, Florida on 1 May 1946.
Reclassified DER-390 on 28 October 1954, Calcaterra was converted to a radar picket ship at Norfolk, Virginia, and recommissioned on 12 September 1955. Based on Newport, Rhode Island, the radar picket ship almost continuously served in the violent weather of the North Atlantic to maintain her link in the extension of the Distant Early Warning system. Except for exercises with the fleet in the Atlantic and Caribbean, and a cruise to Europe (August-October 1958), Calcaterra continued this duty through 1960.
Final decommissioning
Calcaterra was struck from the Navy list on 2 July 1973, sold on 14 May 1974, and broken up for scrap.
References
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
