1942. On 11 July she sailed for Auckland, then to Noumea. Convoy escort duty between Suva and New Caledonia followed and in mid-August, she returned to New Zealand for propeller repairs. On the 20th, she sailed for Pearl Harbor where repairs were completed and additional radar equipment and 20 mm guns installed. In mid-November Perkins headed west, arriving at Espiritu Santo on the 27th. Three days later she departed Segond Channel in Rear Admiral Carleton Wright's cruiser-destroyer force to intercept and destroy Japanese forces attempting to resupply units on Guadalcanal. At 2315, five radar contacts were made and a few minutes later the Battle of Tassafaronga commenced. Perkins launched eight torpedoes, with no hits. Undamaged in the encounter she turned toward Tulagi to assist the burning Pensacola, while Maury went to assist New Orleans. Continuing operations from Tulagi, she shelled the Guadalcanal coast and served on escort assignments until January 1943. A brief availability at Noumea followed and by the 13th she was back at Tulagi for further escort and support missions. At the end of April Perkins joined TF 10 for tactical training and in May she returned to Australia to join the forces gathering to sail up the New Guinea coast to gain control of the Huon Peninsula. On 21 August Perkins, flagship of DesRon 5, led Smith, Conyngham, and Mahan out of Milne Bay to make a sweep of Huon Gulf and shell Finschhafen. On 4 September Perkins shelled the coast between the Bulu and Buso rivers, covering Allied landings at Red Beach before heading toward Lae. On the 8th, she fired on the isolated garrison and on the 15th, the last enemy soldiers pulled out and Allied forces entered Lae. Fate Finschhafen fell on 2 October and the increase in Allied shipping traffic in Huon Gulf, together with the presence of Japanese submarines, brought Perkins back to escort duty. Reinforcements were escorted to Langemak Bay and to Scarlet Beach east of Satelberg. On 28 November 1943, she departed Milne Bay for Buna, steaming independently. Shortly before 0200, the Australian troopship Duntroon collided with her port side, amidships. Splitting in two, Perkins sank approximately 2 miles off Ipoteto Island. Nine personnel were killed, and a tenth seriously injured. A court of inquiry, held in San Francisco the following month, held the captain of Perkins accountable for the incident, along with his executive officer and officer-of-the-deck. Honors Perkins