"Barber"s good luck continued to hold. Every picket station on which she served had been the scene of a casualty either immediately before her duty there or would become one soon after she departed. On 20 May, the Japanese directed a massive force of midget submarines, mines and kamikaze aircraft at the Allied naval forces. "Barber" pursued two midget submarines and evaluated one as a "probable kill." The high speed transport continued on patrol, enduring nightly general quarters alarms for Japanese air raids. On 14 June, she captured three more prisoners. On the evening of 16 June, while "Barber" stood rescue-ship watch at anchor off Hagushi, suffered a hit by air raiders and sank within an hour. "Barber" rushed to the area immediately to search for survivors. The fast transport worked through the night assisting in the rescue of the 188 sailors who survived before returning to the anchorage early the next morning.