Carter was assigned to USS K-1 (SSK-1), later known as Barracuda, in 1951 and joined before her November commissioning. He remained through October 1952 as part of the precommissioning and commissioning crew. The conspicuous BQR-4 bow sonar array marked the boat's specialized hunter-killer role. The three-boat Barracuda class occupies an experimental point in postwar American submarine development, with the Tang and Grayback classes following in the account. Carter was therefore part of the testing culture around a disappearing but still important conventional SSK line.
Chapter · 22:16-24:16
USS K-1 (SSK-1), later Barracuda, and hunter-killer development
Carter joined the precommissioning crew of USS K-1 (SSK-1), later Barracuda, and helped evaluate an early postwar hunter-killer design built around its BQR-4 bow sonar.