Vampire commissioned into the RAN on 23 June 1959 and subsequently deployed on numerous occasions to South East Asia on training exercises and as part of the British Commonwealth Far East Strategic Reserve force comprising UK, Australian, and New Zealand naval, air, and land forces. In the 1960s, Vampire took part in various naval exercises; patrolled the waters around the Malay Peninsula and Borneo during the 1964-66 Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation; and on several occasions escorted the troop transport HMAS Sydney ferrying Australian soldiers to the Vietnam War. In 1970, Vampire commenced a major, two-year modernisation refit at the Williamstown Naval Dockyard. Following her return to service on 4 March 1972, Vampire continued with training exercises, troop transport escort duty, and various goodwill port visits, including to the west coast of the United States in 1976 to participate in American Bicentennial celebrations. A notable assignment in March 1977 saw Vampire escort Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia during Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee tour of Australia. From January to April 1980, Vampire was converted into a training ship, which involved the removal of her fire control radars, air search radar, and twin 40mm Bofors gun mounts, as well as the replacement of the Limbo anti-submarine mortar with a classroom. Assigned to the Royal Australian Navy Training Squadron, Vampire undertook a number of training cruises to New Zealand, Fiji, Singapore, and Australian ports until being removed from active service on 25 June 1986 and decommissioned on 13 August.
Over her 27 years of service, Vampire had sailed 808,000 nautical miles (1,496,416 kilometres; 929,830 miles) in Southeast Asian and Pacific waters. Loaned to the Australian National Maritime Museum in 1990, Vampire was transferred permanently to the museum in 1997 where she remains to this day as one of several preserved vessels open to visitors.
Specifications: HMAS Vampire
Displacement: 3,888 tonnes (full load)
Length: 118.87 metres (389 feet)
Beam: 13.11 metres (43 feet)
Draught: 5.49 metres (18 feet)
Propulsion: 2 x Foster Wheeler three-drum boilers feeding 2 x English Electric geared steam turbines generating 54,000 shaft horsepower and driving two propellers
Displacement: 3,888 tonnes (full load)
Length: 118.87 metres (389 feet)
Beam: 13.11 metres (43 feet)
Draught: 5.49 metres (18 feet)
Propulsion: 2 x Foster Wheeler three-drum boilers feeding 2 x English Electric geared steam turbines generating 54,000 shaft horsepower and driving two propellers
Speed: 30.5 knots (56.5 km/h; 35.1 mph)
Range: 3,030 nautical miles (5,612 kilometres) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
Armament (present): 6 x Quick Firing 4.5-inch guns in three twin turrets; 6 x 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns (two twin mountings and two single mountings); 4 x 0.5-inch Browning machine guns; Seacat surface-to-air missile system
Complement (original): 20 officers and 300 sailors
Armament (present): 6 x Quick Firing 4.5-inch guns in three twin turrets; 6 x 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns (two twin mountings and two single mountings); 4 x 0.5-inch Browning machine guns; Seacat surface-to-air missile system
Complement (original): 20 officers and 300 sailors
Photos taken 26 October 2014 except as noted
 |
| HMAS Vampire, moored at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney. |
 |
| The stern of HMAS Vampire, with a ramp providing access for visitors. The aft 4.5-inch gun turret is visible, as is the large black dish of the LW-02 'Flycatcher' air surveillance radar. |
 |
| The Chief Petty Officers' mess. |
 |
| The aft 4.5-inch gun bay, located beneath the turret. The majority of this compartment is consumed by the ammunition hoists and rails, which were used to bring shells and propellant charges up from the shell room and magazine below and ready them for conveyance to the twin 4.5-inch gun turret above. The shells were sent up to the turret via the forward hoist, while propellant charges were sent up via the after hoist. The gun bays were unpleasant places to work, with crews subjected to loud noise, the smoke of burnt propellant wafting down from the guns, and the risk of injury caused by the rotating turret rings. |
 |
| A similar gun bay for 'A' gun, the furthest forward 4.5-inch gun turret. Vampire's guns could fire high explosive shells against surface, air, and shore targets, as well as radio echo shells to confuse enemy radar, star shells for illumination, and white phosphorous incendiary shells for shore targets. Each round weighed 38.6 kilograms (85 pounds), consisting of a 25 kilogram (55 pound) shell and a 13.6 kilogram (30 pound) brass propellant cartridge. Each gun bay held 80 shells and cartridges, with 600 shells and cartridges held in each of the ship's three magazines and shell rooms. |
 |
| The galley for senior ratings, one of three galleys aboard HMAS Vampire. All meals for senior sailors were prepared here and bread for the entire crew was baked here every second day while at sea. |
 |
| The sick bay. No medical officer was carried aboard Vampire unless the ship deployed on long, independent operations. Given Vampire's role and usual area of operations, a larger ship with full hospital facilities was usually nearby. As such, the sick bay generally treated minor injuries and illnesses, though it was capable of treating fractures and undertaking partial amputations. |
 |
| A wash space containing sinks and showers. Vampire's two evaporators, located in the two boiler rooms, produced 50 tonnes of fresh water daily, only 20 tonnes of which were required to feed the boilers; the remaining 30 tonnes was used for shipboard domestic needs, such as bathing and food preparation. Although sailors washed daily, they were limited to showers lasting only two minutes. |
 |
| The comcentre and wireless/telegraphy office, fitted with a variety of communications equipment, including Teletype Model 28 automatic send-receive sets first introduced in the early 1950s. This office received and transmitted all radio signals and handled all encrypted coded communications. |
 |
| The sailors' galley, complete with industrial grade appliances, work surfaces, and covered warming trays. A team of 25 crewmen formed the cookery branch and were responsible for preparing all food for the ship's officers and sailors. The ship's chief cook planned menus in consultation with the senior cooks in all three galleys and the menus were approved weekly by the Captain and the senior medical sailor or supply officer. All three of Vampire's galleys were modernised as part of the 1970-72 refit. The cafeteria-style servery was a most efficient way to serve the hundreds of daily meals to the 300 sailors aboard. |
 |
| Stoves and ovens in the sailors' galley. A typical breakfast aboard Vampire in 1978 included cereal, eggs to order, baked beans, savoury ground meat, toast, tea, and coffee. Lunch could be soup and a choice of three hot meals (e.g. roast of the day, grilled fish, Irish stew). Dinner included soup and a choice of two hot meals (e.g. steak, curried prawns and rice). |
 |
| Located across from the galley is the ship's canteen, where sailors could purchase cigarettes, sweets, soap soft drinks, and other small luxuries when at sea. The canteen was operated on a voluntary basis and was open for short periods of time in the early morning, midday, and evening. Revenue generated by the canteen was used to replace the stock, to fund recreational activities for the crew, and to raise donations to a selected charity. |
 |
| The ship's office, where administrative work was carried out and payroll records securely stored. All inward and outward correspondence came through this office. |
 |
| The sailors' dining hall, also known as the forward cafeteria, located forward of the sailors' galley. It was here that the ship's junior sailors ate their meals and relaxed when off duty. |
 |
| Part of the sailor's sleeping space forward of the 'A' gun bay, featuring folding bunks. From 1956, the Royal Australian Navy replaced hammocks with bunks and sailors enjoyed separate sleeping and eating/recreation spaces. The bunks were folded up between 8:00am and 12:00pm daily. Each sailor had a small metal locker for his clothing and personal possessions. |
 |
| The ship's wheelhouse, located amidships on the starboard side of the forecastle deck. The wheelhouse is located well away from the guns to minimise the risk of damage from incoming enemy fire. It contains the wheel, engine room telegraphs, and a gyro compass. The wheelhouse was always manned by two crewmen who took turns steering the ship for one hour at a time. The wheelhouse lacks any portholes as the crew did not need to see outside: they took helm and speed orders from the bridge or operations room. |
 |
| The captain's day cabin, located on the starboard side of the forecastle deck, was used by Vampire's Commanding Officer as an office and to entertain guests. A smaller sleeping cabin, located one deck above and closer to the operations room and bridge, provided the captain with more convenient accommodation in the event he was urgently needed on duty. |
 |
| The cabin of the ship's Executive Officer, the second in command of Vampire. It is one of three cabins located across from the captain's day cabin on the forecastle deck. It features a narrow bunk, a desk, and a sink. The uniform hanging in this cabin is that of a Lieutenant-Commander. |
 |
| The navigator's cabin, with charts and maps on the desk. This cabin accommodated two officers. A third adjacent cabin housed the ship's engineer officer. |
 |
| The wardroom pantry. It was here that officer's meals were plated and passed through the hatch for serving by the stewards. The pantry was also were the wardroom's china and glassware was stored when not in use. The pantry is adjacent to the wardroom galley, in which officers' meals were cooked. The wardroom galley and pantry were managed by a Chief Petty Officer cook. |
 |
| The starboard side of the wardroom, where the ship's officers relaxed and ate their meals. When meals were served, a curtain was drawn to separate the dining area from the rest of the wardroom. |
 |
| The port side of the wardroom features a long, upholstered settee, on which the ship's officers could relax with a drink and socialise when off duty. In combat, the wardroom could have been used as a surgical theatre to treat injured crewmen. |
 |
| Vampire's 'A' turret on the forecastle, with the superfiring 'B' turret seen behind and above. The Daring-class destroyers carried a heavy armament of three twin gun turrets. Each turret, weighing 45 tonnes, mounted two Mk V Quick Firing semi-automatic 4.5-inch guns capable of firing 15 rounds per gun per minute at a muzzle velocity of 750 metres per second. The post-war Mark 6 turret design, which allowed the guns to elevate between -15 degrees and 80 degrees, enabled firing against ships, aircraft, and shore targets. The guns had a maximum range of 10 nautical miles (18.5 kilometres; 11.5 miles). |
 |
| Looking forward, over Vampire's bow, from B turret deck. |
 |
| A view inside one of the 4.5-inch gun turrets. The automated loading gear permitted a rapid rate of fire of 15 rounds per gun per minute. Each turret was manned by a turret captain, a gunhouse captain, and four loaders (two per gun). |
 |
| A security warning posted outside the operations room. |
 |
| The operations room, located immediately below the bridge, was the nerve centre of the ship. It was from here that Vampire was commanded when at action stations or during training scenarios. A variety of sensors and computers fed information to the personnel manning the operations room, allowing the Commanding Officer to make decisions concerning navigation, targeting, and damage control. While 5-7 personnel would man the operations room during normal cruising, that number would increase to 15-22 persons when the ship went to action stations. The operations room featured a small hatch through which the ship's code books, packed into a weighted canvas bag, could be thrown into the sea should Vampire be sinking or at risk of being boarded by the enemy; a tomahawk was also kept close by to smash cipher machines to avoid enemy capture. |
 |
| A view of the ship's forward mast from the signal deck, showing many of the sensors and radar dishes carried aboard. The spherical radome, one of two on Vampire, houses search and tracking antennae for the M22/5 naval fire control radar system. The search antenna used all of the transmitter output to search for targets and, after locking onto a surface target, provided automatic tracking for fire control. For air targets, the tracking antenna used some of the transmitter output and locked on to the target. The two radomes, which operated out to a range of 400 kilometres, fed information to the computerised control systems that directed the guns. Surface targets could be engaged at ranges over 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) and air targets at ranges of around eight kilometres (five miles). |
 |
| Vampire's bridge, with the chair used by the Officer of the Watch occupying a raised position in the centre for clear visibility on all sides. While combat was controlled from the operations room, the Officer of the Watch on the bridge was responsible for the navigation and safety of the ship at all times. |
 |
| Looking forward, out the bridge windows. A compass platform stands in the centre, with various radios and pieces of navigational equipment bolted to the bulkheads. During normal cruising, the bridge crew consisted of the Officer of the Watch, a signalman, a bosun's mate, and two lookouts. When the ship went to manoeuvring stations, the bridge would be manned by the Commanding Officer, the navigator, the Officer of the Watch, the yeoman of signals, a signalman, a bosun's mate, and two lookouts. At action stations, the Commanding Officer, navigator, and gunnery officer would be in the operations room. |
 |
| Looking aft on the port side, with Vampire's forward funnel in the foreground and the large black antenna of the Dutch-designed LW-02 'Flycatcher' long range naval air surveillance radar beyond. The ship's emergency steering position is located in a compartment under the LW-02 radar, and would have been used if the bridge was disabled. Rotating at one to ten revolutions per minute, the Flycatcher radar could detect large aircraft out to a range of around 150 kilometres (93 miles) and at altitudes of approximately 18 kilometres (12 miles). |
 |
| Looking forward on the starboard side of the upper deck, from the position of the aft 4.5-inch gun turret. One of Vampire's two twin 40mm 60-calibre Bofors anti-aircraft guns can be seen on the right. Vampire was originally fitted with two twin mount and two single mount Bofors guns, all controlled by radar and capable of firing 120 rounds per gun per minute. Although the twin 40mm gun mounts were removed during a refit in 1980, two replacements were found and returned to the ship in 1994. |
 |
| A forward-looking view of Vampire's 'X' gun turret on the after deckhouse top. The deckhouse below was added during the 1980 refit to accommodate a classroom for trainee sailors. It occupies the space where the ship's Limbo anti-submarine mortar was originally fitted. The after deckhouse top also served as the helicopter drop zone for the transfer of food, stores, ammunition, and personnel. As the deck was not strong enough to support the weight of a helicopter, all transfers had to be completed via winch, with the helicopter hovering over the deck. |
 |
| HMAS Vampire moored behind the submarine HMAS Onslow, as seen on 1 November 2013. Note that Vampire is moored with her bow facing the shore, unlike in the photos from October 2014; every five years, Vampire is towed to a RAN base in Sydney for maintenance and cleaning before being towed back to the museum. |
 |
| Another view of HMAS Vampire and HMAS Onslow on 1 November 2013. |