[3][4] Work ceased on the ship, however, when the contract for her construction was cancelled on 30 January 1946, resumed on 21 February, but stopped again on 21 October when the hull was transferred to Algiers Naval Station, Louisiana.

Designed to counter Soviet high-speed, snorkel-equipped, diesel submarines similar to the German World War II-era Type XXIs, Carpenter was equipped with a trainable Hedgehog mortar, two Weapon Alpha antisubmarine rocket launchers, antisubmarine torpedoes, and depth charges, in addition to torpedo countermeasure equipment, towed decoys and an improved sonar system.

[2][11] Towed to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company on 6 November 1947 for completion as a Carpenter-subclass hunter-killer antisubmarine destroyer (DDK), Carpenter was commissioned at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia, on 15 December 1949.

Like her three sister ships, Basilone, Epperson, and Robert A. Owens, Carpenter conducted a shakedown cruise and intensive Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, later that spring.

Despite the outbreak of war in Korea in June 1950, the emphasis of U.S. naval construction programs gravitated towards research platforms and the development of prototype systems rather than perfecting mass-production designs.

After completing a Formosa Straits patrol in April, Carpenter joined TF 95.1, the United Nations Blockading and Escort Force operating in the Yellow Sea.

Returning to Pearl Harbor for a refit, the destroyer conducted a series of local training operations off Hawaii in July and August following the completion of those repairs and alterations.

This evolution included screen operations with the carrier Boxer and battleship New Jersey and radar tracking of numerous Chinese communist aircraft contacts.

In January 1955, in line with the mutual defense treaty between Taiwan and the United States, Carpenter helped convoy Nationalist forces as they evacuated the Tachen Islands.

Returning to Pearl Harbor on 9 June, the destroyer underwent an extensive overhaul, followed by the now familiar pattern of local operations, crew training, and constant ASW exercises.

Six weeks underway training followed before another deployment in July, during which Carpenter operated in a hunter-killer ASW with the carriers Hornet and Kearsarge, before returning home in December.

In light of concerns over the threat posed by nuclear-powered Soviet submarines, Carpenter spent much of the spring of 1960 conducting ASW training and practicing aircraft carrier screening.

[2] Departing on 17 October for her eighth Far East tour, Carpenter joined 7th Fleet's hunter-killer ASW group and conducted operations with Hornet, Hancock, and Bennington.

Emerging from the yard in August with a new helicopter flight deck and a side-scanning AN/SQS-26 sonar to improve her submarine detection capabilities, she spent the rest of the year conducting refresher training and local operations designed to test her newly installed equipment.

Other exercises over the next several months included electronic countermeasures, gunnery, sonar, and radar calibration tests, as well as practice ASW torpedo shots.

The routine was broken only by occasional plane-guard operations with Hancock, an evaluation of her SQS-32 sonar capabilities against the nuclear-powered submarine Seadragon, and on 20 February, service as contingency recovery ship during John Glenn's Mercury Friendship 7 orbital flight.

Following a dual-ship "hold down" exercise by Carpenter and Sproston against the conventionally powered submarine Bashaw on 23 May, the destroyer moved back to Pearl Harbor for three weeks of repairs alongside Bryce Canyon.

Aside from a short excursion to investigate a surfaced Soviet Whiskey-class submarine, Carpenter screened Hornet until the task group steamed to Kobe on 10 January.

Carpenter departed Hawaii on 27 December, and after a short stop to refuel at Subic Bay, joined TG 77.4 for carrier screening operations on 12 January 1966.

Carpenter returned to the Gulf of Tonkin in mid-April for a few days of patrol and screen duties before she steamed to the gun line off the coast of Vietnam on 21 April.

Over the next week, she fired a total of 318 5-inch rounds at enemy caves and bunkers in support of the United States Army amphibious landing in Operation AUSTIN II.

With yard work complete by 12 January 1967, the destroyer resumed a fast-paced training regimen – including gunnery qualifications, antiaircraft drills, combat air patrol control, AN/SQS-26 sonar evaluation, and DASH operations – in preparation for her next deployment.

Over the next week, Carpenter carried out 14 different fire missions against targets ashore, expending 1,012 rounds of 5-inch ammunition in support of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam 17th Division in the II Corps area.

Following a series of pre-deployment tests and inspections, and a tender availability alongside Bryce Canyon, Carpenter received upgrades to her radar fire-control systems in preparation for her next Vietnam tour.

Aside from a short port visit to Hong Kong in late October, she remained there for the next two months, and was present when air strikes against North Vietnam were terminated on 1 November.

Detached for two weeks on 13 December, Carpenter patrolled the waters south of Da Nang in support of coastal interdiction efforts as part of Operation Market Time.

The destroyer's usual post-deployment routine of inspections, maintenance, and training lasted through the summer, ending with Carpenter entering Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for a major overhaul on 13 October.

[2] Arriving on the still-busy "Yankee Station" on 1 July, Carpenter provided plane-guard services to a variety of carriers, including Bon Homme Richard, America, and Shangri-La.

Moving immediately into dry dock AFDM-6 at Subic Bay, the rusted plating was repaired by work crews and Carpenter returned to "Yankee Station" on 5 November.

[2] Carpenter's last underway period took place in May and June 1980, during which she provided plane-guard services for Ranger and conducted an ASW exercise with McKean and Bonefish.