HMS Begum (D38) was originally the USS Bolinas (CVE-36), an American-built escort carrier launched on November 11, 1942, by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation in Tacoma, Washington. The vessel was designed with significant capacity and power, featuring an overall length of approximately 492 feet 3 inches (150 meters), a beam of 69 feet 6 inches (21.2 meters), and a draught of 25 feet 6 inches (7.8 meters). Propulsion was provided by a steam turbine connected to two boilers driving a single shaft, delivering 9,350 brake horsepower, enabling a maximum speed of 16.5 knots (about 30.6 km/h). The ship's complement consisted of 646 personnel. Constructed specifically as an escort carrier, rather than converted merchant ships, USS Bolinas was equipped with a flight deck, aircraft lifts, and arrestor wires facilitating aircraft operations. It could carry up to 24 aircraft, including fighters such as Grumman Martlet, Vought F4U Corsair, and Hawker Sea Hurricane, as well as anti-submarine aircraft like the Fairey Swordfish and Grumman Avenger. The ship's armament comprised dual-purpose guns, notably two 4"/50, 5"/38, or 5"/51 caliber guns, alongside a substantial anti-aircraft suite of sixteen 40mm Bofors guns and twenty 20mm Oerlikon cannons. Transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease on August 2, 1943, the vessel was renamed HMS Begum (D38). During her Royal Navy service in World War II, she conducted anti-submarine patrols in the Indian Ocean, notably with 832 Squadron, contributing to the sinking of U-198. In April 1944, Begum ferried several Royal Navy squadrons to the Far East, delivering aircraft including F6F Hellcats and Barracuda II torpedo bombers to Madras. After the war, she was deemed surplus by the U.S. Navy, stricken from the naval register on June 19, 1946, and sold into merchant service in April 1947, initially named Raki and later I Yung. The vessel's maritime career concluded when she was scrapped in Taiwan in March 1974. HMS Begum remains a notable example of wartime escort carriers adapted for multi-national service and anti-submarine warfare during the Second World War.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.