1943
She rescued 19 survivors of the torpedoed SS Fingal 5 May 1943, then escorted merchantman SS Pennant to Nouméa, New Caledonia, She arrived 13 May to patrol approaches to Guadalcanal in the screen of carriers Saratoga and HMS Victorious. This duty was followed by innumerable convoy escort and patrol missions ranging from Guadalcanal south to Australian ports, and to the South Pacific island bases in the New Hebrides Islands and Nouméa, New Caledonia. The morning of 25 July, she joined four other destroyers in bombarding Lambeti Plantation, near the Munda air strip on New Georgia Island.
The evening of 25 August Patterson was helping guard a convoy bound from the New Hebrides Islands toward the lower Solomons. A warning pip on her radar screen brought her into action against a diving Japanese submarine. Her sonar picked up the underwater enemy and depth charge patterns exploded in the sea. Patterson sent her last depth charge barrage on its way, and five minutes later she was rewarded by a deep underseas boom, presumably silencing the enemy.
Patterson next escorted troop transports from Nouméa, New Caledonia, to the New Hebrides, patrolled off Guadalcanal out of Purvis Bay, Florida, Solomon Islands. The night of 24 September she helped guard an amphibious landing convoy to Vella Lavella Island, then departed to escort high speed transports to Rendova Island. She soon turned back to Vella Lavella Island at full speed, having received word that unloading tank landing craft there were under enemy air attack. The attack had ceased by the time she reached the scene but she launched motor whaleboats with medical and rescue parties to aid the wounded.
The night of 29/30 September Patterson proceeded up the slot to destroy enemy barge traffic. Destroyer McCalla, after ripping into radar contacts with gunfire, attempted to rejoin the destroyer task unit formation, but suffered a steering casualty and unavoidably collided into the port bow of Patterson. Three men in Patterson were killed and ten injured by the force of the collision that almost severed Patterson’s bow. The broken section parted as she slowly proceeded towards base, breaking off just forward of gun mount No. 1. Both ships entered Purvis Bay for emergency repairs, thence to Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides Islands where Patterson received a false bow. On 6 December she put to sea, touching the Samoan and Hawaiian Islands en route to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, arriving 22 December.
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