Ok pulling together my very limited sources (many second hand) summarised below I really would lke to know what is the structure behind the funnel in the DEC 1941 photo!
Early war:
Camo: initially light grey, ? then dark hull light upper works.
4 x 4 inch, 6 TT, 1 x 2pdr aft of funnels, SL position between TT, lewis guns bridge
Brief refit in 1940:
Quad Vickers added (1)
Further refit Alex April 41
Camo: 2 (?3) tone.
Aft TT removed, replaced by 3 inch,
Main mast removed replaced by π shape on SL platform
1941: transferred for refit in Singapore. All AA guns stripped and only 12 rounds 4 inch SAP left (2)
1941: Singapore refit & force Z
Camouflage: 2 (?3) tone, thicker section of dark colour on bow, curves added
Searchlight moved between funnels but old SL platform remains empty
Shielded 12 pounder reshipped aft TT’s (3)
4 lewis guns on bridge wings reshipped
? 2 pounder reshipped aft of funnel (CASF Thread comment “…eyewitness mention I could find of her AA fit in 1941 after a brief check was this stated by someone onboard during the sinking of PoW & Repulse "Vampire's 12pdr opened up a stacatto bark followed by the four inch and then the pom-poms and last of all the machine guns".
My major question is what is the structure behind the funnel in this Dec 1941 photo escorting convoy BM9A.
It seems too tall to be a shield for a 12pdr or 2 pounder and the angles (especially the lower one) do not seem to match (ie lower one off vertical). Could it be a canvas shelter for guncrew…. But again does not seem to match other examples and lower angle seems off vertical. Can anyone offer any light on what this is?
Then Jan 1942 she receives 2 staggered 2pdrs and ? quad Vickers??
(1) Scrap iron flotilla (written 1942-44) available at
http://www.gunplot.net/main/content/chapter-4-odd-jobschapter odd jobs: Aug 1940: Vampire and Voyager screened Eagle as the Fleet turned back to Alexandria and an hour later a Nazi dive bomber attacked the aircraft carrier. Vampire had a multiple 0.5 machine gun now, added during a brief refit, and as the Nazi screamed down on Eagle, Vampire poured a hail of bullets into him.
(2)Vampire in the med
https://www.navyhistory.org.au/vampire-in-the-med/2/Vampire was the first of the remaining destroyers to leave the Mediterranean. In dire need of a refit, we sailed for Singapore. In what seemed to be a fitting farewell, we were stripped of all AA guns and ammunition and left with twelve rounds of 4 inch SAP shells. Then we were warned to watch out for a German raider known to be in the Indian Ocean.
Arriving Singapore, we turned Vampire over to the dockyard and more of us came home in a Dutch passenger vessel.
(3) Scrap iron flotilla (written 1942-44) available at
http://www.gunplot.net/main/content/Chapter war in the east
Force Z: vampire crewman
“A few seconds later a second machine came towards us, but we scored a direct hit with our 12-pounder. The shell did not explode, but went right through the fuselage and the Jap seemed to stop dead. Then he flopped over, and tumbled into the sea.
BM 9A
This convoy transported the first large troop reinforcement to the island. It left Bombay on December 21 1941 and arrived in Singapore on the 3rd of January without much delay or difficulty. Aboard was the 45th Indian infantry brigade. It departed Bombay on December 21 1941, and arrived in Singapore on January 3 1942. The order of battle for the convoy was as follows:
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