Destroyer squadron

In English the word "squadron" tends to be used for larger and "flotilla" for smaller vessels; both may be used for destroyer units.

Similar formations are used in non-English-speaking countries, e.g., the "escadrille"—which would translate directly as "squadron"—in France.

As during World War II, a full-strength DesRon (as it was abbreviated at the time) comprised two Destroyer Divisions or DesDivs of four ships each, plus a squadron flagship; these were operational as well as administrative units.

In the late 1950s and through early 1962 a Squadron (Desron) comprised two four-ship Divisions (Desdivs) with one ship designated the flagship.

The Squadron normally operated as a unit within a Task Group or Fleet, its main duty being as anti-submarine screen for the aircraft carriers.

Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Six included Destroyer Squadron Four with USS Johnson in 1971, seemingly home-ported at the Charleston Naval Base.

Capt. Jeffrey Harley, Commander Destroyer Squadron Nine (DESRON 9), left, and Cmdr. Jonathan Christian, Commodore Afloat Training Group Pacific Northwest, right, bow their heads during the invocation at the beginning of the change of command ceremony held for Afloat Training Group Pacific Northwest in the Grand Vista Ballroom at Naval Station Everett.