You mean the Trumpeter USS ENGLAND kit?
When you say the "last year" of the war, you realize that she had at least two different configurations from August 1944 to August 1945. Prior to the summer of 1945 (about May 1945) USS STEWART (DE-238) was in the standard mid-war EDSALL class configuration. However, some units had the TT removed and four single 40-mm mounts installed in their place during the Summer and Fall of 1944, particularly if they operated in the Med near Italy. I have records that shows STEWART was authorized to have the four single 40-mm guns installed, but I don't have records that they were installed and where. Since STEWART did operate in the Med, it is a good possibility that she had the four single 40-mm guns.
I'm actually working on my conversion and depending on how detailed/accurate you want to be, a conversion with the EDSALL class stack isn't all that hard. After the replacement stack, getting a twin 40-mm mount to replace the aft quad 1.1-in installed on BUCKLEY class units, the deckhouse needs some add-ons (there is a deckhouse extension on the portside next to and forward of the stack that isn't on the BUCKLEY class) and some bulwark 20-mm shields need (or should be altered ... each EDSALL class yard had slightly different 20-mm tub bulwark shapes). The DE I'm modeling, was the one my uncle served on in the Pacific late in WWII. My problem in building his ship, was that there was a lack of images from 1945 after she had two twin 40-mm mounts, a Mk 52 director installed on the bridge besides three Mk 51 directors, and other alterations done. After studying photos of other EDSALL class units that had the late WWII AA upgrades, I had a rough idea of the possible mods required. But, depending on which yard built a given EDSALL, which yard altered/modified the ship with the extra armament (My Uncle's DE only had two twin 40-mm mounts added and retained the original twin 40-mm mount. Some units had a quad 40-mm mount replacing the aft twin 40-mm mount.) Since I had no idea of how my Uncle's DE bulwarks and 20-mm tubs were modified in May 1945, I made judgement "guesses" on what changes needed to make. The aft life rafts location as shown to be installed on the USS ENGLAND kit are a guess and I may change them or add the "likely" correct locations. Below are two views of my model as she exists today. My skills aren't the greatest and I'm not proud of some of my scratch built mods, but I'm pleased enough to move on to painting.
If you which to model STEWART as she appeared at the end of the war after May 1945, then you would need to do basically what I did.
You are lucky to have at least ONE image of USS STEWART (DE-238) on Navsource after the AA upgrade prior to heading to the Pacific ...
http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/im ... 623804.jpg ...
From Armament Summaries records I find that STEWART was one of the units that had a quad 40-mm mount installed replacing the aft twin 40-mm originally installed there.
So you would need to get two twin 40-mm mounts and tubs, plus a quad 40-mm mount and tub. I got three twin 40-mm tubs from my spare parts,
Here are a couple of overhead views of typical AA-upgrades with quad 40-mm mounts. Note that location of ready use 20-mm ammo lockers vary as do 40-mm spare barrel stowage lockers.