Donald M . Carpenter Donald Marshall Carpenter ( March 6 , 1894 – April 4 , 1940 ) was an early naval aviator in the United States Navy flying from the and . These were the first two aircraft carriers of the U . S . Navy . He graduated from the U . S . Naval Academy in the Class of 1916 representing Pennsylvania . He is the namesake of the . Family . His father was Dan E . Carpenter ( 1866 – 1938 ) and his mother was Stella M . McVicar ( abt 1873 - ? ) . His ancestry includes William Carpenter , the immigrant , who was born about 1605 in England . See : Rehoboth Carpenter family . " Doc " married Clara Dorr Moreno ( 1903 – 2000 ) of Pensacola , Escambia County , Florida and they had two children ; Donald Marshall Carpenter and Dan Moreno Carpenter . Biography . Carpenter , born in Hopbottom township , Lackawanna County , Pennsylvania , on March 6 , 1894 , attended grade schools in Scranton and high school in the Pittsburgh are industrial town of McKeesport . He was appointed a Midshipman from the 30th District of Pennsylvania on July 11 , 1912 . Graduating from the United States Naval Academy , Annapolis , Maryland , on June 2 , 1916 , “ Doc ” Carpenter reported to his first ship , " Wyoming " ( Battleship No . 32 ) on June 17 . He was commissioned Ensign on July 5 , 1916 . Early career . During his World War I service in " Wyoming " , Carpenter received temporary promotions to Lieutenant ( junior grade ) ( Lt . JG ) ( October 3 , 1917 ) and Lieutenant ( February 6 , 1918 ) ; permanent promotions to those ranks followed , on March 12 , 1920 and March 31 , 1921 , respectively . Detached from " Wyoming " on May 16 , 1921 , Carpenter reported to Mare Island Navy Yard , Vallejo , California , five days later , and over the ensuing months , helped fit out the new battleship " California " ( BB - 44 ) . Detached from " California " on May 8 , 1922 , Carpenter was slated to join " Nevada " ( BB - 36 ) before her departure for the Atlantic coast , but received authorization to proceed to Pensacola , Florida , via commercial transportation , at his own expense , “ for temporary duty under instruction in heavier - than - air craft . ” Opting for flight training over continued service in battleships , Carpenter , authorized a month ’ s delay in transit , reported to Naval Air Station Pensacola on June 19 , 1922 . Upon completion of flight training , Carpenter was detached from NAS Pensacola on April 3 , 1923 ; he also married Clara Moreno the same day ( a union that ultimately produced two sons ) . He reported for duty with Aircraft Squadrons , Battle Fleet , on April 27 , 1923 , and remained with that aeronautical organization until assigned temporary duty with Aircraft Squadrons , Scouting Fleet ; he served with that unit until May 20 , 1925 . Commissioned Lieutenant Commander ( LTCMDR ) on February 5 , 1927 while at Pensacola , Carpenter joined " Stoddert " ( DD - 302 ) on June 23 , 1928 upon that destroyer ’ s return from operations with the Battle Fleet in Hawaiian waters , and served as her executive officer until September 20 , 1929 . Naval Aviation . Ordered to " Langley " ( CV - 1 ) , he reported for duty the following day , and served in that aircraft carrier until June 30 , 1930 . Assuming command on June 30 , 1930 of Scouting Squadron 3B ( VS - 3B ) , Aircraft Squadrons , Battle Fleet , which operated in the air group assigned to the aircraft carrier " Lexington " ( CV - 2 ) , he remained in that billet through his squadron ’ s being assigned to Carrier Divisions , U . S . Fleet , on October 25 , 1930 . Leaving VS - 3B on April 25 , 1931 , Carpenter became executive officer ( XO ) of Fleet Air Base , Coco Solo , Canal Zone , on May 26 , 1931 , a billet he filled for almost two years , until relieved on July 19 , 1933 to assume the post of operations officer for Aircraft Squadrons , Coco Solo . During the late summer of 1933 , Carpenter commanded the ferry flight of the first division of Patrol Squadron 5F ( VP - 5F ) from NAS Norfolk , Virginia to FAB Coco Solo . Carpenter flew 5 - P - 2 , one of six Consolidated P2Y - 1 flying boat s that departed Norfolk mid - way through the first dog watch on September 7 , 1933 ( accompanied personally during the initial stages of the flight by Rear Admiral Ernest J . King , Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics , in a Vought SU - 1 ) and reached its destination , a little over halfway through the second dog watch the next day , having covered the 1 , 788 nautical miles ( 3 , 311 km ) in a total elapsed time of 25 hours and 29 minutes . In the longest non - stop formation seaplane flight in history , the six flying boats battled headwinds for almost the entire aerial voyage , at one point encountering a heavy squall with velocity approaching 50 knots ( 90 km / h ) . Late career . Detached from FAB Coco Solo on May 15 , 1934 , Carpenter reported on board seaplane tender " Wright " ( AV - 1 ) three days later , and became her navigator on May 30 , 1934 . He carried out those duties until hospitalized at the San Diego Naval Hospital , California , on November 20 , 1934 . Released the following spring , he served at NAS San Diego from April 11 to September 3 , 1935 before he became Inspector of Naval Aircraft , San Diego , on the latter date . Detached on July 10 , 1936 to the Training Division within the San Diego Naval Station , he was relieved of all active duty and placed on the retired list on October 1 , 1936 . Carpenter died of lobar pneumonia at the San Diego Naval Hospital on April 4 , 1940 . " Sincere respect " . On June 18 , 1945 , Mrs . Edward S . Shaw , sister of Carpenter ’ s widow Clara , wrote to Admiral King , then Commander in Chief , U . S . Fleet ( who had commanded " Lexington " when Carpenter had commanded VS - 3B ) suggesting that a ship be named for the late leader of VP - 5F ’ s historic flight in 1933 , citing the “ sincere respect ” her brother - in - law had felt for King . “ I sincerely hope you will not consider me presumptuous , ” she wrote , “ but if you could lend your approval to such an honor for ‘ Doc ’ as we all knew him , I would appreciate it very much . ” “ Please do this if you can , ” King wrote to the Chief of Naval Personnel , who recommended the name assignment on July 10 , 1945 ; consequently , on July 14 , 1945 , Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal assigned the name " Carpenter " to DD - 825 . In writing to Secretary Forrestal upon being informed of the naming of the ship , Carpenter ’ s widow wrote on August 9 , 1945 of her “ deep appreciation of the honor bestowed on my two sons and me in the naming of this ship for my late husband and I hope her record will be one of which to be proud … ” USS Carpenter . During World War II to honor his service to his country , a U . S . Navy destroyer was named for him . The was built by Consolidated Steel Corporation of Orange , Texas . She was also known as DDK 825 and DDE 825 . She had a role in the 1980 movie " Raise the Titanic . " The keel was laid on July 30 , 1945 and she was launched on Dec 28 , 1945 . Due to cutbacks after the war she was not completed until December 15 , 1949 in Newport News , Virginia with a commission date of December 15 , 1949 . The served well and honorably through several variations until on February 20 , 1981 , at age 36 , she was decommissioned and later stricken from the rolls of the U . S . Navy . The country of Turkey requested and leased her for the Turkish Navy where she was renamed the " Anitepe " as D - 347 on February 20 , 1981 . She was later purchased outright by Turkey . After her second career , she was retired in November 1997 completing over 52 years of service but was broken up for scrap in 1999 .