[2] Propulsion machinery consisted of three White Forster boilers supplying two Brown-Curtis steam turbines, which provided 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) to the destroyer's two propellers.

[1] 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.

[1] 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 that Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels called "Scrap Iron Flotilla", a moniker the ships quickly adopted)[4] as they were deployed to the Mediterranean Theatre.

[1] 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.

[5] However, after two trips, the destroyer had to be removed from service because further engine problems were causing the ship to vibrate excessively at speeds over 16 knots (30 km/h).

After receiving the reports of the attack on Pearl Harbor and invasions of Siam by the Japanese, Force Z (consisting of Prince of Wales and Repulse, escorted by Vampire, Electra, Express, and Tenedos) put to sea at 17:30 hours on 8 December.

[5] On 26 January 1942, following reports that an unescorted group of Japanese troopships was sailing near Endau, Malaya, Vampire and HMS Thanet were ordered to intercept.

[5] At the start of April, Vampire was ordered to escort the British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes from Ceylon, as the Japanese presence in the area was likely to become dominant.

[5] Following the Japanese Fast Carrier Task Force's attack on Colombo in early April, Hermes and Vampire were ordered to depart Trincomalee to avoid a follow-up strike.

[5] Sailing on 8 April, the two ships avoided the aerial bombing of the port early the next morning, but were spotted and attacked by 85 Japanese Aichi D3A Val dive bombers escorted by 9 Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter carrier aircraft at 10:35.

Vampire came under attack by 16 Vals and claimed to have shot down at least one aircraft but was hit or near missed by all sixteen 250 kg bombs, breaking in half and sinking 10 minutes after Hermes, her ensign the last to submerge.

[3] Vampire was awarded five battle honours for her wartime service: "Calabria 1940", "Libya 1940–41", "Greece 1941", "Crete 1941", and "Indian Ocean 1941–42".