| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Destroyer |
| Class | Admiralty V & W |
| Pennant | D 55 |
| Built by | A. Stephen & Sons Ltd. (Glasgow, Scotland) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | 27 Dec 1916 |
| Launched | 15 Dec 1917 |
| Commissioned | 20 Feb 1918 |
| End service | |
| Loss position | |
| History | Reconstruction to Long Range Escort finished in September 1943. Sold to be broken up for scrap on 4 March 1947. Commanding Officers: Lt.Cdr. Peter William Furneaux Stubbs, RN Lt. Douglas Henry Read Bromley, RN HMS Vesper was in Dockyard Control during conversion / refit Lt.Cdr. John Malcolm Rodgers, RN Lt.Cdr. Vernon Dudley Ravenscroft, RN HMS Vesper is not listed as active unit in the July 1945 Navy list |
Commands listed for HMS Vesper (D 55)
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| Commander | From | To | ||
| 1 | Lt.Cdr. William Frederick Eyre Hussey, RN | 31 Jul 1939 | 24 Feb 1941 | |
| 2 | Lt. Peter William Furneaux Stubbs, RN | 24 Feb 1941 | 14 May 1942 | |
| 3 | Lt. Douglas Henry Reid Bromley, RN | 14 May 1942 | ??? | |
| 4 | Lt.Cdr. John Malcolm Rodgers, RN | 8 May 1943 | 1 Apr 1944 | |
| 5 | Lt.Cdr. Vernon Dudley Ravenscroft, RN | 1 Apr 1944 | Apr 1945 ? | |
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Noteable events involving Vesper include:
14 Feb 1940
HMS Whitshed (Cdr E.R. Conder, RN) and HMS Vesper (Lt.Cdr. W.F.E. Hussey, DSC, RN) together pick up 72 survivors from the British merchant Sultan Star that was torpedoed and sunk southwest of the Scilly Isles in position 48º54'N, 10º03'W by the German submarine U-48.
1 Jul 1940
HMS Vesper (Lt.Cdr. W.E.F. Hussey, DSC, RN) and HMS Windsor (Cdr. P.D.H.R. Pelly, RN) together pick up 111 survivors from the British merchant Beignon that was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-30 about 300 nautical miles west of Ushant in position 47º20'N, 10º30'W.
19 Jun 1941
HMS Vanessa is damaged by a German aircraft while on patrol in the North Sea. She suffered a direct hit amidships, blowing up boilers, thr forefunnel was blasted overboard, and the deck opened up. Eleven ratings and the engineer officer were killed and many of the crew were injured and burned. The damaged destroyer collided with anti-submarine trawler HMT Turquoise. Vanessa was towed to Yarmouth by destroyer HMS Vesper.
12 Dec 1942
The British destroyers HMS Whitshed, HMS Worcester and HMS Vesper, the British escort destroyers HMS Brocklesby and HMS Albrighton, and the Norwegian escort destroyer Eskdale attacked German shipping in the English Channel. Eskdale torpedoed and sank Sperrbrecher 144/Beijerland (387 BRT) west of Le Treport, France in position 50º05'N, 01º09'E and Whitshed torpedoed and sank Sperrbecher 178/Gauss (1236 BRT) north-east of Dieppe, France in position 50º04'N, 01º09'E.