HMS Stalker (L3515)

	HMS Stalker in 2010
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Stalker
Builder	Yarrows Ltd., Esquimalt
Launched	16 December 1944
Commissioned	1947
Decommissioned	May 1970
Renamed	Was LST 3515 until 1947
Reclassified	Submarine support ship in 1958
Fate	Sold for scrapping in 2002; Scrapped in 2010;
General characteristics
Type	Landing Ship, Tank Mk III
Tonnage	2,256 long tons (2,292 t) (light); 4,980 long tons (5,060 t) (deep load);
Length	345.57 ft (105.33 m)
Beam	53.97 ft (16.45 m)
Draught	12 ft 5 in (3.78 m)
Depth	11.51 ft (3.51 m)
Propulsion	2 shafts; vertical triple expansion; 2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers; 5500ihp;
Speed	13.5 knots (25.0 km/h)
Range	1400 tons of oil
Capacity	170 troops; 15 × 40 ton tanks or 20 x 25-ton tanks; 14 × 3-ton lorries;
Complement	118-190
Armament	4 × 40mm Bofors (2 x 2); 6 × 20mm guns;

HMS Stalker was a Mark III LST (Landing Ship, Tank)^[1] that was built during the later part of the Second World War, and became the last steam-driven LST to be scrapped.^[2] She initially entered service under the designation LST 3515, but was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1947 as HMS Stalker.

The ship was built by Canadian Yarrow at Esquimalt.^[3] She was completed too late to see action in the war, and eventually served in a submarine support role in Northern Ireland, ^[3]before being transferred to Rosyth dockyard as part of the nuclear submarine refit support.

Scrapping

The ship was added to the Royal Navy’s scrapping list in May 1970, though continuing to serve as part of the Submarine Refit Group in Rosyth Dockyard until 2002,^[4] when nuclear refitting in Rosyth ceased. She was sold to Pounds of Portsmouth in 2002, arriving there to be scrapped on 10 December 2002. She was offered for preservation between 2004 and 2005, but it was confirmed in January 2006 that she would be broken up. After further discussions with heritage and preservation groups, in 2008 her bow doors were removed^[2] and she was broken up in 2010 at Pounds scrap yard, a process recorded by National Historic Ships.^[5]

In popular culture

Whilst awaiting disposal at Pounds of Portsmouth, she was used for the filming of episodes 55 & 56 of Silent Witness, as the fictitious ship Galle. The fictitious name can be seen painted on the bow in the photo above the history section to the right.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ Jordan, John, ed. (2006), "Warship notes", Warship 2006, Anova Books, p. 151, ISBN 978-1-84486-089-0
^ ^a ^b "HMS Stalker". The News. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Annual Report April 2008 – March 2009" (PDF). National Historic Ships. p. 45. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
^ "Name HMS Stalker | National Historic Ships". www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
^ "HMS Stalker is recorded · News · National Historic Ships". www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2 November 2010.