end of World War I, the destroyer saw service in British waters and the Mediterranean. Transfer to RAN In 1933, it was decided to replace the five S-class destroyers (HMA Ships , , , , and ) and the flotilla leader () on loan to the RAN with newer ships. Vampire, along with three sister ships (the V-class destroyer and the W-class destroyers and ) and the were selected by the Admiralty for loan to Australia as a flotilla. The five vessels were paid off from RN service at Portsmouth, England on 11 October 1933, and were commissioned into the RAN on the same day. Less than a week later, the ships left for Australia, arriving in Sydney on 21 December. Vampire was paid off into reserve on 31 January 1934, but was recommissioned for three days in mid-July to be sailed down to Flinders Naval Depot for use as a tender. The destroyer remained in "reserve commission" until 11 May 1938, when she was recommissioned for full service. World War II – Mediterranean Vampire operated in Australian waters until the start of World War II, and on 14 October 1939, joined her sister ships and Stuart (a force nicknamed the "Scrap Iron Flotilla") as they were deployed to the Mediterranean Theatre. From her arrival until April 1940, Vampire was primarily assigned to convoy escort duties between Malta and Marseilles. The destroyer operated as an escort and anti-submarine patrol ship from the end of April, and escorted the British aircraft carrier during the Battle of Calabria on 9 July. The only damage sustained by Vampire was the result of near misses and splinters caused by Italian aircraft bombing Eagle: an RN torpedo gunner aboard the destroyer became the first fatality of the war aboard a RAN ship when he died three days later from splinter wounds. After repairs in Alexandria, Vampire resumed escort and patrol duties, and on several occasions was unsuccessfully used in attempts to lure the Italian fleet to where they could be engaged by the Allies. In late October and early November, the early phases of the Battle of Greece, the destroyer escorted convoys in Greek waters, before being deployed to aid the Western Desert Campaign as an escort. On 20 December, Vampire stripped her engines, forcing the destroyer to dock for repairs. These were completed on 8 January 1941. Vampire was sent back to Greece, where