"Barton" departed the east coast 23 August 1942 and steamed to the Pacific, arriving at Tongatapu, Tonga Islands, 14 September 1942. During October she participated in the Buin-Faisi-Tonolai raid (5 October) and the Battle of Santa Cruz (26 October) where she claimed shooting down seven Japanese planes. On 29 October she successfully rescued 17 survivors of two downed air transports near Fabre Island.