page_title: Destroyer Squadron 60
section_title: World War Two
hierarchical_section_title: Destroyer Squadron 60 / World War Two
caption_attribution_description: English: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Walke (DD-723), right center, and the battleship USS Mississippi (BB-41), left center, cover the landings in Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 9 January 1945. Two other destroyer types are present at each side of the photo. Walke is painted in what appears to be Camouflage Measure 31, Design 25D. Mississippi's camouflage is Measure 32, Design 6D.
context_page_description: Destroyer Squadron 60 is a destroyer squadron of the United States Navy. Destroyer Squadron 60 is one of three U.S. Navy destroyer squadrons permanently based outside the continental United States.
context_section_description: During World War Two, Destroyer Squadron 60 consisted two destroyer divisions, the 119th and 120th, under the overall command of Captain William L. Freseman. 
  Destroyer Squadron 60, World War Two
  Destroyer Squadron 60 was part of the naval force assigned to Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion of June 1944.  On 6 June 1944, the Meredith struck a mine, and after being towed to the Bay of the Seine, sank on 9 June 1944.  DESRON 60 subsequently was part of Task Force 129 which carried out the shore bombardment of the French seaport Cherbourg.
  During the Pacific War, Destroyer Squadron 60 initially participated in the Philippines campaign.  The squadron was part of the escort screen for Task Group 78.3, the amphibious assault force that invaded Leyte on October 1944.  The squadron also participated in the ensuing Battle of Ormoc Bay. On 3 December 1944, during an attack on a Japanese convoy, the Cooper was torpedoed and sunk.  Destroyer Squadron 60 subsequently operated as part of the destroyer screen for Task Group 77.2, the Bombardment and Fire Support Group for the January 1945 Invasion of Lingayen Gulf (pictured).
  Destroyer Squadron 60 next operated with Task Force 38, the U.S. Third Fleet's Fast Carrier Task Force.  On 16–17 February 1945, TF-38 flew air strikes against the Japanese home islands, Bonin Islands, and Volcano Islands to prevent any reinforcements of the Japanese garrison on Iwo Jima.  During this period, Barton and Ingraham collided, and Moale was detached to escort the two damaged destroyers back to Saipan for repairs.
  Destroyer Squadron 60 then operated off Okinawa during Operation Iceberg, with Destroyer Division 120 serving as the escort screen for Task Group 52.1, the escort carrier group providing carrier-based close air support to the Allied invasion force.  Three units of Destroyer Squadron 60 — Walke, Barton, and Allen M. Sumner — came under intense kamikaze attacks during the squadron's operations in the closing months of the Pacific War.
caption: Lingayen Gulf (9 January 1945)
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