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NavSource Online: Escort Carrier Photo Archive

HAMLIN (ACV-15) / HMS STALKER (D91)
(later CVE-15)

Battle Honours

Atlantic 1943-1944 — Salerno 1943 — South France 1944 — Aegean 1944 — Burma 1945

Ordered	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Returned to US	Stricken
*Attacker (US Bogue) Class Escort Carrier*
-	6 Oct 1941	5 Mar 1942	21 Dec 1942	29 Dec 1945	20 Mar 1946
Builder: Western Pipe & Steel Corporation, San Francisco, Calif.

Laid down under a Maritime Commission contract (hull number 174).
Designated AVG-15 and named Hamlin after a sound on the coast of South Carolina, north of Charleston.
Redesignated ACV-15, 20 Aug 1942.
Transferred to the Royal Navy and commissioned as HMS Stalker (D91), 21 Dec 1942. Completed 30 Dec 1942.
Redesignated CVE-15, 15 Jul 1943.
Returned to USN at Norfolk, Virginia, 29 Dec 1945. Stricken for disposal, 20 Mar 1946.
Fate: Converted to a cargo ship by Gulf SB Co., Mobile, AL, and renamed Riouw (Dutch flag), 1947. Renamed Lobito (1967). Scrapped at Gandía, Spain, starting Sep 1975.

Specifications
(As converted, 1942)
Displacement: 7,800 tons standard; 14,170 tons full load
Dimensions (wl): 465' x 69.5' x 24' 8" / 141.7 x 21.2 x 7.5 meters
Dimensions (max.): 495' 8" x 111.5' / 151.1 x 34 meters
Armor: None
Power plant: 2 boilers (285 psi); 1 steam turbine; 1 shaft; 8,500 shp
Speed: 18+ knots
Endurance: 27,300 nautical miles @ 11 knots
Armament: 2 single 4"/50 gun mounts; 4 twin 40-mm/56-cal gun mounts; 8 twin and 10 single 20-mm/70-cal gun mounts
Aircraft: 12+
Aviation facilities: 2 elevators; 1 hydraulic catapult (H 2); 9 arresting wires and 3 barriers
Crew: 646

Click on Thumbnail for Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Source
Hamlin / HMS Stalker (D91)
NS0301501	39k	*Hamlin* was built by Western Pipe & Steel Co., San Francisco, launched (as AVG-15) on 5 March 1942 and sponsored by Mrs. William H. Shea.	Haze Gray & Underway
NS0301506	87k	The fighter (assault) carrier HMS *Stalker* at anchor, date and location unknown.	Robert Hurst
NS0301505	69k	HMS *Stalker* underway off San Francisco, January 15, 1943.	Robert Hurst
NS0301505a	61k	HMS *Stalker, ex-Hamlin* (ACV-15), seen 135° off centerline off San Francisco, Calif., January 15, 1943. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard Ship Files, U.S. National Archives, San Francisco (MINY photo #525-43).	Tracy White, Researcher @ Large
NS0301504a	138k	HMS *Stalker* (D91), ex-*Hamlin* (ACV-15), at anchor, 19 January 1943, probably off San Francisco, Calif. Division of Naval Intelligence, Identification and Characteristics Section, June 1943.	Courtesy of Tony Drury, Royal Navy Escort Carriers
NS0301504	85k	HMS *Stalker*, apparently taken on the same occasion as the photo above.	Courtesy of Tony Drury, Royal Navy Escort Carriers
NS0301502	51k	HMS *Stalker, March 1943. Location unknown. (Thanks to Robert Hurst, who provided additional info).*	Haze Gray & Underway
NS0301507	145k	HMS *Stalker* (D91), ex-*Hamlin* (CVE-15), passes through the Suez Canal[, early 1945,] to join the British Pacific Fleet (BPF) with the Seafire F.Mk.IIIs of No.809 Squadron on deck. Note [that] what appears to be a North American Harvard can also be seen. In the background another escort carrier can be seen. Photo BBA Collection. Photo and text from Supermarine Seafire by Kev Darling.	Robert Hurst
NS0300808	121k	The escort aircraft carrier HMS Hunter (D80, ex-USS Block Island, CVE-8), foreground prepares to anchor off Singapore[, September 1945]. The leading aircraft Seafire F.Mk.III (NN300), D-5O, is that of Lt. Cdr. Baldwin. Its camouflage paint has been removed and the aircraft now has silver finish with black SEAC [South East Asia Command] recognition bands and anti-dazzle panel. HMS *Stalker* (D91, ex-USS *Hamlin, CVE-15) can be seen in the background. Photo FAAM Yeovilton. Photo and text from Supermarine Seafire* by Kev Darling.	Robert Hurst
Commercial Service
NS0301503	93k	The Dutch-flagged *Riouw, ex-HMS Stalker*, in the Weser River, leaving Bremen, Germany, October 1965.	Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus