HMS ''Stalker'' was a Mark III LST (

Landing Ship, Tank Landing Ship, Tank (LST), or tank landing ship, is the naval designation for ships first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto shore with ...

) that was built during the later part of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, and became the last steam-driven LST to be scrapped. She initially entered service under the designation ''LST 3515'', but was commissioned into the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

in 1947 as HMS ''Stalker''. The ship was built by Canadian Yarrow at

Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esquim ...

. She was completed too late to see action in the war, and eventually served in a submarine support role in Northern Ireland.

Scrapping

The ship was added to the Royal Navy’s scrapping list in May 1970. She was sold to Pounds of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

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 and she was broken up in 2010 at Pounds

scrap yard Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

, a process recorded by

National Historic Ships National Historic Ships UK is a government-funded independent organisation that advises UK governments and others on matters relating to historic ships.

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.

References

LST (3)-class tank landing ships Ships built in Esquimalt 1944 ships World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United Kingdom Ships and vessels on the National Archive of Historic Vessels {{UK-mil-ship-stub