The most obvious changes made to the Bombo were the fitting of a mast amidships replacing the original deck crane, a smaller mainmast on the aft deck, and a range of armaments. Her initial assignment was as an auxiliary minesweeper, and for this role she was fitted with a 12-pound deck gun on an elevated platform forward, two heavy machine-guns amidships, and four anti-submarine depth charges set-up at the stern. In 1944 she was converted to a stores carrier, and modifications included replacing the machine-guns with twin platform-mounted 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannon, adding a protective shield to the 12-pounder, and fitting twin derricks to the midship mast.
