HMS Stalker (D91) was an Attacker-class escort aircraft carrier serving with the Royal Navy during World War II. Built in the United States by Western Pipe and Steel, she was launched on 5 March 1942 as AVG-15 and later designated ACV-15 before being renamed HMS Stalker (D91). She was transferred to the UK under the Lend-Lease agreement on 21 December 1942 and reclassified as a CVE-15, escort aircraft carrier, in July 1943. The vessel measured approximately 492.25 feet (150.04 meters) in overall length, with a beam of 69.5 feet (21.2 meters) and a height of 23.25 feet (7.09 meters). She displaced around 11,420 long tons (11,603 tonnes) at deep load. Propulsion was provided by four diesel engines connected to a single shaft, generating 8,500 brake horsepower, allowing her to reach a top speed of 17 knots (31 km/h). Her aircraft facilities included a 450 by 120-foot (137 by 37 meters) flight deck, a combined bridge and flight control on the starboard side, two aircraft lifts (42 by 34 feet), and nine arrestor wires. Aircraft could be housed in a hangar below the flight deck measuring 260 by 62 feet (79 by 19 meters). Her armament comprised two single 4"/50, 5"/38, or 5"/51-inch guns, eight 40 mm anti-aircraft guns in twin mounts, and twenty-one 20 mm anti-aircraft cannons. Capacity-wise, HMS Stalker could carry up to eighteen aircraft, including fighters such as Grumman Martlet, Hawker Sea Hurricane, Seafire, and Vought F4U Corsair, as well as anti-submarine aircraft like Fairey Swordfish or Grumman Avenger. She played a significant role in the Atlantic, participating in the Salerno landings in September 1943, providing crucial air support for the Allied forces. She also took part in the southern France landings in August 1944. From March to April 1945, she was part of the 21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron. After the war, she was returned to the United States in December 1945, struck from the Navy Register in March 1946, and sold to the Waterman Steamship Corporation. Subsequently, she was sold to the Netherlands, converted into a merchant ship named Riouw, later renamed Lobito, and finally scrapped in Taiwan in September 1975.

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