BAMPTON CASTLE was built in 1920 by Armstrong,
Whitworth & Co. at Newcastle with a tonnage of 6698grt,
a length of 412ft 2in, a beam of 55ft 10in and a service speed
of 11 knots. Sister of the Bratton Castle she was built for
the cargo service but had accommodation for 12 passengers. She
was sold to Rethymnis & Kulukundis of Piraeus and renamed,
firstly, Atlantis, and then Mount Taygetus. On 23rd December
1933 she was wrecked on Memphis Point in the English Narrows,
Chile during a voyage from San Antonio to London with grain.
She was refloated on 1st January 1934 and taken to Magellenes
Roads where she was abandoned to salvors and eventually broken
up in the following September.
BANBURY CASTLE was built in 1918 by Swan,
Hunter & Wigham Richardson at Newcastle with a tonnage of
6430grt, a length of 412ft 2in, a beam of 55ft 10in and a service
speed of 11 knots. Similar to the Bratton Castle she was the
first 'N' Class standard ship, the only one from Swan, Hunter
and launched on 8th August 1918 as the War Climax. Delivered
to the Shipping Controller on 28th September 1918 she was sold
to Glen Line in October 1919 and renamed Glenstrae. She was
purchased by Union-Castle in August 1920, renamed Banbury Castle
and remained with the company until 1931 when she was sold to
G. Vergottis of Piraeus who changed her name to Rokos. On 23rd
December 1941 she was mined off Harwich and beached. She was
towed off but went aground again whilst under tow and became
a total loss.
ARUNDEL
CASTLE (4) was built in 1921 by Harland & Wolff in Belfast
with a tonnage of 19023grt, a length of 630ft 5in, a beam of
72ft 5in and a service speed of 16 knots. She was laid down
in 1915 as the Amroth Castle but wartime shortages delayed completion.
The internal layout of the public rooms and passenger accommodation
set the pattern for all subsequent mails ships until the Pendennis
Castle was launched in 1958. When she was delivered on 8th April
1921 for the mail service she was the company's largest ship
at the time and caused a sensation on the route as she was so
similar, albeit smaller, to the North Atlantic liners. In 1923
she brought South African Prime Minister Smuts to London for
the Imperial Conference and in 1925, during the seamen's strike,
came home with a scratch crew which included 120 non-seamen
and was the first Union-Castle vessel to arrive for a month.
In November 1926 she collided with the steamer Maud Llewyllyn
in Southampton Water. With her sister, the Windsor Castle (2),
she was, in 1936, deemed too slow for the mail run and in the
following year was modernised by Harland & Wolff which included
re-engining and the reduction of funnels from four to two, resuming
service in October 1937 with her service speed increased by
3 knots. In 1939 she was requisitioned for use as a troopship
and in November 1942 took part in the North Africa landings
when she survived a glider bomb attack by shooting down a Ju-88
aircraft. She took part in the Sicily and Italian campaigns
in 1943 and in August 1944 exchanged wounded prisoners of war
at Gothenburg. The Gripsholm (Swedish America Line) brought
German POW's form the USA and, with the Arundel Castle and Drottningholm
repatriated 1800 sick and wounded troops and 552 civilians to
Liverpool. All the ships had 'Protected' painted on their hulls.
In January 1945 she carried out a similar exchange with Donaldson's
Letitia when they carried 1940 persons including 1400 wounded,
many from the Arnhem 'Market Garden' operation, from Marseilles
to Liverpool. During 1945-46 she continued trooping between
the UK-Gibraltar-Malta - Port Said for the RAF and RN and in
1947, with berths for 846, carried emigrants to the Cape in
'Austerity' conditions. After steaming 625,000 miles she completed
her final government voyage in May 1949 and returned to her
builders for an overhaul. She returned to the Mail run on 21st
September 1950 and on 6th November 1958 left Southampton on
her 211th and final voyage having been replaced by the Pendennis
Castle. She was sold for scrap, realising £245,000, and
was broken up in 1959 by Chiap Hua Manufacturing Co. at Kowloon,
Hong Kong.
(Photos: UCPSC 24/143 & UCPSC 13/179)
WINDSOR
CASTLE (2) was built in 1921 by John Brown & Co. in Clydebank
with a tonnage of 18967grt, a length of 632ft 5in, a beam of
72ft 5in and a service speed of 16 knots. She was built by John
Brown's because Harland & Wolff could not accommodate the
order. Sister of the Arundel Castle she was launched by Edward,
Prince of Wales on 9th March 1922. So that she could be named
Windsor Castle it was necessary to purchase a River Severn excursion
steamer with the same name, rename her and then resell her.
She entered service in April 1922 and replaced the Norman. When,
in 1936, she proved too slow for the new mail contract she was
modernised in the same manner as her sister, resuming service
in January 1938. In September 1939 she was requisitioned for
troopship duties. During a voyage from the Cape in 1941 she
was attacked by a dive bomber when 400 miles west of Ireland.
Four dive bombing runs were made during which a 500lb bomb entered
the first class smoke room but failed to explode. It was sandbagged
and left untouched until the ship arrived in port where it was
defused. In 1942 she was deployed on trooping duties between
the US, Canada and Europe. On 23rd March 1943 at 02.35 hrs,
whilst in a Mediterranean convoy, she was attacked by a solitary
aircraft 110 miles north-west of Algiers. An aerial torpedo
struck her aft causing extensive flooding and she sank 13 hours
later before a salvage vessel could reach her. Although she
was carrying troops only one life was lost. (Photo: UCPSC 16/130)
SANDOWN
CASTLE was built in 1921 by Short Bros. in Sunderland with a
tonnage of 7607grt, a length of 445ft, a beam of 56ft 4in and
a service speed of 12.5 knots. She was built as a cargo only
ship and operated between the USA and South Africa occasionally
triangulating with the UK. When, in 1922, the absorption of
war built standard ships into commercial service created a surplus
she was laid up for several months. In 1924 she carried 330
head of live cattle from South Africa to Birkenhead the intention
being to create a market to rival that of the River Plate. However,
the post-slaughter price was too high and the venture was discontinued
in the same year. During 1946 she was given a lavender hull
but after a short time reverted to black with a white band.
She was scrapped in 1950. (Photo: A Duncan)
SANDGATE CASTLE was built in 1922 by Short
Bros. in Sunderland with a tonnage of 7607grt, a length of 445ft,
a beam of 56ft 4in and a service speed of 12.5 knots. Sister
of the Sandown Castle she spent some lying idle in the London
Docks before commencing service. In 1924 she carried cattle
from South Africa to the UK in parallel with her sister and
then, in 1925, worked with her on the South Africa - USA service.
On 23rd June 1937, during a voyage from New York to Cape Town,
she caught fire 350 miles north-east of Bermuda and was abandoned.
The Dollar Steamship Company's President Pierce picked up the
crew from the lifeboats and on 30th June the Italia ship Conte
de Savoia reported her being still afloat and burning. She sank
shortly after.
INCOMATI was built in 1912 by Gebr. Sachsenberg
AG, at Koln-Deutz with a tonnage of 340grt, a length of 129ft
7in, a beam of 25ft 8in and a service speed of 9 knots. She
was built as a tender and sea-going tug for Deutsche Ost-Afrika
Linie and launched on 1st October 1912 as the Leutnant. Based
at the German East African ports she had two dumb lighters,
Inga and Irma, of 353grt. In August 1914 she was interned at
Beira in Mozambique and on 11th March 1916 was taken over by
the Portuguese Government and renamed Incomati. Acquired by
Union-Castle in 1924 she operated a feeder service along the
Mozambique coast to Chinde - Quelimane - Macusa - Maquival towing
the two lighters. In 1928 she was replaced by Rovuma and on
22nd February was sold to Cia Nacional de Nav. of Lourenço
Marques for a Beira - Chinde service towing her two lighters
,Inga and Irma, carrying sugar for the Sena Sugar Co. She was
moved to Luanda in Portuguese West Africa during 1930 and on
14th June 1931 arrived at Lisbon to operate the company's harbour
services. She was converted to a lighter in 1933 and was still
in use as such in 1978.
KOODOO (2) was built in 1924 by J. I. Thorneycroft
& Co. at Southampton with a tonnage of 119grt, a length
of 90ft 7in, a beam of 19ft 1in and a service speed of 9 knots.
She was built as the company's tug at East London, remained
there until 1937 when she was sold to the South African Railways
& Harbour Administration without a change of name, and was
broken up locally in 1960.
LLANDOVERY
CASTLE (2) was built in 1925 by Barclay, Curle & Co. at
Glasgow with a tonnage of 10640grt, a length of 471ft 1in, a
beam of 61ft 6in and a service speed of 14 knots. She commenced
operations on the Round Africa service on 25th September 1925.
In September 1940 work commenced to convert her into a hospital
ship but in the November was badly damaged in an air raid. The
conversion was eventually completed and she resumed service
in May 1941 with 450 beds and 89 medical staff as HMS Hospital
Ship No.39, the only Union-Castle ship used in that capacity
in WWII. Her first role was to support the East African campaigns
in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and Eritrea and in November 1941 suffered
bomb damage whilst at Suez. In April 1942 she exchanged 917
seriously wounded Italians for 129 British, an operation that
nearly failed as the Italians wanted a 'one for one' exchange
to preserve their dignity. 1943 saw her ferrying along the North
African coast between Alexandria-Tobruk-Benghazi, and in July
of that year, as a hospital ship, supporting General Montgomery's
'Operation Husky' assault on Sicily at Syracuse and Augusta.
In 1944 after D-Day and the capture of Cherbourg she sailed
into that port to evacuate casualties and in 1945 engaged in
more general duties including repatriating Canadian wounded
to Halifax, Nova Scotia. During her wartime service she carried
approximately 38,000 wounded and steamed some 250,000 miles.
She returned to the Round Africa service in May 1947and completed
her last voyage in December 1952 to be broken up in March 1953
at Inverkeithing, Scotland by Thomas W. Ward for the British
Iron & Steel Co. (Photo: UCPSC 06/172)
LLANDAFF
CASTLE was built in 1926 by Workman, Clarke & Co. at Belfast
with a tonnage of 10786grt, a length of 417ft 2in, a beam of
61ft 7in and a service speed of 14 knots. Sister of the Llandovery
Castle (2) she commenced operations on the Round Africa service
on 6th January 1927. In 1940 she carried the first child evacuees
to South Africa and was later rushed into service as a troopship
between South and East Africa in support of the Abyssinian and
North African campaigns. On 25th December 1940 she was in a
convoy which was attacked by the German heavy cruiser Admiral
Hipper but, fortunately, HMS Berwick forced the cruiser to break
off the attack and, thereafter, the convoy was protected by
Force H from Gibraltar. In 1942 she was extensively converted
to carry 1,150 men for landings off enemy held coasts and on
5th May of that year supported Operation Ironclad, the invasion
of Vichy held Madagasgar which had refused to support General
de Gaulle and was a possible target for the Japanese. She was
also present at the Diego Suarez landings. On 30th November
1942 at 17.30 hrs she was torpedoed three times by U-177 (Kaptain
Gysae) 100 miles off Zululand. When the U-Boat surfaced to confirm
the name of the ship voices in the water replied 'Hardship'
and 'Queen Mary'. When Kaptain Gysae asked a group if there
were any wounded he was told that they were only 'wet' so, amused,
he sailed off into the night. In fact, only two lives were lost.
(Photo: UCPSC 01/135)
CARNARVON
CASTLE (2) was built in 1926 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast
with a tonnage of 20122grt, a length of 630ft 8in, a beam of
73ft 5in and a service speed of 16 knots. She was launched by
Lady Suffield the second daughter of Lord Kylsant and commenced
her maiden voyage on 16th July 1926. The company's first motorship
she was also the first to exceed 20000grt and had the distinctive
Harland & Wolff profile including the dummy forward funnel.
In 1936 the new mail contract
required a 19 knot service speed to reduce the passage time
to 13.5 days. Consequently, in 1937 she was modernised and re-engined,
resuming service on 8th July 1938, without the forward funnel,
and setting a new record to Cape Town of 12 days 13 hours and
36 minutes. In September 1939 she was commissioned by the navy
for conversion at Simonstown, South Africa to an armed merchant
cruiser, HMS Carnarvon Castle. On 5th December 1940 she sighted
and engaged the German merchant cruiser Schiff 20: Thor (formerly
the Santa Cruz of the Oldenburg-Portuguese Line) 700 miles east
of Montevideo. At 08.00 the fighting began and the Thor fire
593 shells and two torpedoes, which missed, until she was lost
in a smoke screen. The firing ceased at 11.15, and the German's
log recorded that HMS Carnarvon Castle turned north, on fire
in several places and firing her stern guns, until she was lost
in the haze. HMS Carnarvon Castle had been hit 27 times with
4 dead and 28 wounded and proceeded to Montevideo where repairs
were carried out. Ironically, plates from the Admiral Graf Spee
were used to patch the shell holes. She then sailed to Cape
Town for further repairs. In 1941 she took part in Operation
Bellringer to intercept five Vichy French ships that were being
escorted from Tamatave to Bordeaux by warships and escorted
the Commandant Dorise (Messageries Maritimes) into East London,
South Africa. She was decommissioned in December 1943 but, in
1944, was converted into a troopship after plans to convert
her into an aircraft carrier like Pretoria Castle/Warwick Castle
were abandoned. In March 1947 she was finally decommissioned
and in the June inaugurated the emigrant service to Cape Town
with berths for 1283 passengers. She underwent an extensive
£1 million refit in 1949 and returned to the mail run
on 15th June 1950 and continued to operate until 1st June 1963
when she arrived at Southampton prior to sailing for Mihara
in Japan for breaking up after 30 years service. (Photos: UCPSC
09/124 & UCPSC 01/135)
EIDER was built in 1900 by Cambelltown Shipbuilding
Co. at Campbelltown with a tonnage of 1236grt, a length of 230ft
6in, a beam of 32ft 8in and a service speed of 10 knots. She
was built for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Co's feeder service
between Southampton, Bremen and Hamburg. On 4th August 1914
she was the last British ship to leave Germany after the declaration
of the First World War. Under International Convention she had
24 hours to avoid seizure during which time she had sailed and
reached British territorial waters. Acquired by Union-Castle
in 1926 she remained with the company until 1936 when she was
sold to J. A. Billmeir for service during the Spanish Civil
War, mainly to Bilbao, and renamed Stanhill. She was sold to
Greek operator, J. Stavron, in 1937 for service in the Mediterranean
and her name reverted to Eider. In the following year she was
sold to Adriatico-Tirreno-Ionio-Ligure of Genoa, with A Raveno
as manager, and renamed Docilitas. On 25th December 1939 she
was sold for scrap but acquired by the Italian Government. Seized
by the Germans in September 1943 she was sunk at Genoa following
an air attack on 12th February 1944. She was salvaged in 1947
and scrapped.
ROVUMA
was built in 1927 by Ardrossan Dockyard at Ardrossan with a
tonnage of 1289grt, a length of 211ft 10in, a beam of 35ft 1in
and a service speed of 10 knots. She was deployed on the coastal
trade operating out of Beira in Mozambique replacing the Incomati.
At the time the 'Castle' suffix was only given to trans-ocean
vessels. In 1949 she was sold to Colonial Steamships Ltd of
Mauritius and renamed Floreal. She was renamed Boundary in 1954
when she was sold to African Coasters Ltd of Durban and broken
up in 1962. (Photo: A Duncan)
LLANGIBBY
CASTLE was built in 1929 by Harland & Wolff at Glasgow with
a tonnage of 11951grt, a length of 485ft 7in, a beam of 66ft
2in and a service speed of 14.5 knots. She was delivered for
the Round Africa service and was the first motorship to circumnavigate
the African continent. In 1934 the Third Class became the Tourist
Class and Round Africa cruises were introduced at fares of £105
in 1st Class and £40 in Tourist. In July 1940, after a
voyage from Cape Town to Falmouth, she was requisitioned for
trooping duties, as she was
the ideal size to carry a battalion, and initially carried troops
to South and East Africa. On December 21/22 1940 she was one
of eleven ships, including the Roxburgh Castle, damaged during
an air raid in Liverpool. During a voyage from the Clyde to
Singapore she was, on 16th January, torpedoed north of the Azores
by U-402 The stern and after gun were blown off but the propellers
remained intact. Although carrying 1400 troops only 26 lives
were lost and she managed to limp to Horta in the Azores at
9 knots, fighting off attacks by Focke-Wulf 200 'Kondor' aircraft
on the way. Only 14 days were allowed for repairs to be carried
out so on 2nd February set sailed for Gibraltar escorted by
an Admiralty tug and three destroyers. She still had her troops
on board and proceeded without her stern and rudder. On the
following day the group of ships encountered and fought off
a U-boat pack attack during which HMS Westcott sank U-581. The
tug took the Llangibby Castle in tow to assist with steering
and on 8th February arrived at Gibraltar where the troops were
disembarked. Except for meals they had remained on deck for
the entire voyage but they had avoided being taken prisoner
in Singapore. On 6th April, after 57 days, she sailed from Gibraltar,
still without a rudder but with her escorts in attendance, for
the 1445 mile voyage back to the United Kingdom where she arrived
safely on 13th April. In all she had sailed 3400 miles without
a stern and rudder, using her engines only for steering, a feat
for which her master, Captain Bayer, was awarded the CBE. On
9th November 1942 she was part of assault force KMF which, with
force KMS and comprising in total 340 ships escorted by 3 battleships,
5 aircraft carriers, 5 cruiser, 30 destroyers and 44 support
ships, undertook Operation Torch, the North African landings.
She was hit with an 8" shell from a shore battery which
killed one person. In 1943 she had to return to the United Kingdom
for repairs to her bow which had been damaged at Gibraltar during
the preparations for the Italian landings and, at the same time,
was converted into a Landing Ship Infantry with 18 landing craft.
She rehearsed her landing techniques at Loch Fyne and then spent
six months ferrying troops in the Mediterranean painted in two
shades of blue. In 1944 she was allotted to Force J3 (Juno beach),
painted in camouflage paint and embarked Royal Marine Flotilla
557 to man her landing craft for 1590 troops. Based at Southampton
she practised her D-Day landings at Bracklesham Bay and on 6th
June joined Juno Force and landed the first wave of 750 Canadian
troops at Coirseilles. Returning to the ship ten of her LSI's
were swamped with the loss of 12 lives. The second wave of 750
men were taken ashore by the remaining LSI's which made two
trips to the beach. In all she remained at the beach head for
nine hours. She later landed troops at the Omaha and Utah beaches
and also at Le Havre. During the operation she made over seventy
crossings and carried over 100,000 men. At the cessation of
hostilities in Europe she was transferred to the Far East where
she carried out more trooping duties. In January 1946 she made
three voyages repatriating some 6000 West African troops from
Burma and India including the total internees of a military
prison. During the 12 month period she sailed 55,732 miles and
her longest stay in port was 2 days 20 hrs. The company recorded
the tour of duty as the longest Southampton to Southampton voyage
undertaken in peace time. She was returned to Union-Castle in
January 1947, after having sailed 300,256 miles and carrying
156,134 troops, and underwent a refit before resuming her Round
Africa service. In 1949 she missed a voyage after suffering
a fire in the cargo space and on 29th June 1954 she sailed from
Tilbury to Newport in Monmouthshire where she was broken up
by J. Cashmore. (Photos: UCPSC 12/124 & J Fisher)
DUNBAR
CASTLE (2) was built in 1930 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast
with a tonnage of 10002grt, a length of 471ft 2in, a beam of
61ft 2in and a service speed of 14.5 knots. She was launched
for the Round Africa service on 31st October 1929. On 8th January
1940, after sailing from London for Beira, she hit a magnetic
mine off east Cliff, Ramsgate in the English Channel. Breaking
her back she heeled over and sank onto an even keel in 30 minutes
with the loss of 9 lives including her Master who was killed
when the foremast collapsed onto the bridge. The superstructure
remained above water until it was demolished after the war.
(Photo: From a painting by William McDowell)
ARUNDEL
CASTLE (4) was built in 1921 by Harland & Wolff in Belfast
with a tonnage of 19023grt, a length of 630ft 5in, a beam of
72ft 5in and a service speed of 16 knots. She was laid down
in 1915 as the Amroth Castle but wartime shortages delayed completion.
The internal layout of the public rooms and passenger accommodation
set the pattern for all subsequent mails ships until the Pendennis
Castle was launched in 1958. When she was delivered on 8th April
1921 for the mail service she was the company's largest ship
at the time and caused a sensation on the route as she was so
similar, albeit smaller, to the North Atlantic liners. In 1923
she brought South African Prime Minister Smuts to London for
the Imperial Conference and in 1925, during the seamen's strike,
came home with a scratch crew which included 120 non-seamen
and was the first Union-Castle vessel to arrive for a month.
In November 1926 she collided with the steamer Maud .jpg)
Llewyllyn
in Southampton Water. With her sister, the Windsor Castle (2),
she was, in 1936, deemed too slow for the mail run and in the
following year was modernised by Harland & Wolff which included
re-engining and the reduction of funnels from four to two, resuming
service in October 1937 with her service speed increased by
3 knots. In 1939 she was requisitioned for use as a troopship
and in November 1942 took part in the North Africa landings
when she survived a glider bomb attack by shooting down a Ju-88
aircraft. She took part in the Sicily and Italian campaigns
in 1943 and in August 1944 exchanged wounded prisoners of war
at Gothenburg. The Gripsholm (Swedish America Line) brought
German POW's form the USA and, with the Arundel Castle and Drottningholm
repatriated 1800 sick and wounded troops and 552 civilians to
Liverpool. All the ships had 'Protected' painted on their hulls.
In January 1945 she carried out a similar exchange with Donaldson's
Letitia when they carried 1940 persons including 1400 wounded,
many from the Arnhem 'Market Garden' operation, from Marseilles
to Liverpool. During 1945-46 she continued trooping between
the UK-Gibraltar-Malta - Port Said for the RAF and RN and in
1947, with berths for 846, carried emigrants to the Cape in
'Austerity' conditions. After steaming 625,000 miles she completed
her final government voyage in May 1949 and returned to her
builders for an overhaul. She returned to the Mail run on 21st
September 1950 and on 6th November 1958 left Southampton on
her 211th and final voyage having been replaced by the Pendennis
Castle. She was sold for scrap, realising £245,000, and
was broken up in 1959 by Chiap Hua Manufacturing Co. at Kowloon,
Hong Kong. 
WINDSOR
CASTLE (2) was built in 1921 by John Brown & Co. in Clydebank
with a tonnage of 18967grt, a length of 632ft 5in, a beam of
72ft 5in and a service speed of 16 knots. She was built by John
Brown's because Harland & Wolff could not accommodate the
order. Sister of the Arundel Castle she was launched by Edward,
Prince of Wales on 9th March 1922. So that she could be named
Windsor Castle it was necessary to purchase a River Severn excursion
steamer with the same name, rename her and then resell her.
She entered service in April 1922 and replaced the Norman. When,
in 1936, she proved too slow for the new mail contract she was
modernised in the same manner as her sister, resuming service
in January 1938. In September 1939 she was requisitioned for
troopship duties. During a voyage from the Cape in 1941 she
was attacked by a dive bomber when 400 miles west of Ireland.
Four dive bombing runs were made during which a 500lb bomb entered
the first class smoke room but failed to explode. It was sandbagged
and left untouched until the ship arrived in port where it was
defused. In 1942 she was deployed on trooping duties between
the US, Canada and Europe. On 23rd March 1943 at 02.35 hrs,
whilst in a Mediterranean convoy, she was attacked by a solitary
aircraft 110 miles north-west of Algiers. An aerial torpedo
struck her aft causing extensive flooding and she sank 13 hours
later before a salvage vessel could reach her. Although she
was carrying troops only one life was lost. (Photo: UCPSC 16/130)
SANDOWN
CASTLE was built in 1921 by Short Bros. in Sunderland with a
tonnage of 7607grt, a length of 445ft, a beam of 56ft 4in and
a service speed of 12.5 knots. She was built as a cargo only
ship and operated between the USA and South Africa occasionally
triangulating with the UK. When, in 1922, the absorption of
war built standard ships into commercial service created a surplus
she was laid up for several months. In 1924 she carried 330
head of live cattle from South Africa to Birkenhead the intention
being to create a market to rival that of the River Plate. However,
the post-slaughter price was too high and the venture was discontinued
in the same year. During 1946 she was given a lavender hull
but after a short time reverted to black with a white band.
She was scrapped in 1950. (Photo: A Duncan) 
LLANDOVERY
CASTLE (2) was built in 1925 by Barclay, Curle & Co. at
Glasgow with a tonnage of 10640grt, a length of 471ft 1in, a
beam of 61ft 6in and a service speed of 14 knots. She commenced
operations on the Round Africa service on 25th September 1925.
In September 1940 work commenced to convert her into a hospital
ship but in the November was badly damaged in an air raid. The
conversion was eventually completed and she resumed service
in May 1941 with 450 beds and 89 medical staff as HMS Hospital
Ship No.39, the only Union-Castle ship used in that capacity
in WWII. Her first role was to support the East African campaigns
in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and Eritrea and in November 1941 suffered
bomb damage whilst at Suez. In April 1942 she exchanged 917
seriously wounded Italians for 129 British, an operation that
nearly failed as the Italians wanted a 'one for one' exchange
to preserve their dignity. 1943 saw her ferrying along the North
African coast between Alexandria-Tobruk-Benghazi, and in July
of that year, as a hospital ship, supporting General Montgomery's
'Operation Husky' assault on Sicily at Syracuse and Augusta.
In 1944 after D-Day and the capture of Cherbourg she sailed
into that port to evacuate casualties and in 1945 engaged in
more general duties including repatriating Canadian wounded
to Halifax, Nova Scotia. During her wartime service she carried
approximately 38,000 wounded and steamed some 250,000 miles.
She returned to the Round Africa service in May 1947and completed
her last voyage in December 1952 to be broken up in March 1953
at Inverkeithing, Scotland by Thomas W. Ward for the British
Iron & Steel Co. (Photo: UCPSC 06/172) 
LLANDAFF
CASTLE was built in 1926 by Workman, Clarke & Co. at Belfast
with a tonnage of 10786grt, a length of 417ft 2in, a beam of
61ft 7in and a service speed of 14 knots. Sister of the Llandovery
Castle (2) she commenced operations on the Round Africa service
on 6th January 1927. In 1940 she carried the first child evacuees
to South Africa and was later rushed into service as a troopship
between South and East Africa in support of the Abyssinian and
North African campaigns. On 25th December 1940 she was in a
convoy which was attacked by the German heavy cruiser Admiral
Hipper but, fortunately, HMS Berwick forced the cruiser to break
off the attack and, thereafter, the convoy was protected by
Force H from Gibraltar. In 1942 she was extensively converted
to carry 1,150 men for landings off enemy held coasts and on
5th May of that year supported Operation Ironclad, the invasion
of Vichy held Madagasgar which had refused to support General
de Gaulle and was a possible target for the Japanese. She was
also present at the Diego Suarez landings. On 30th November
1942 at 17.30 hrs she was torpedoed three times by U-177 (Kaptain
Gysae) 100 miles off Zululand. When the U-Boat surfaced to confirm
the name of the ship voices in the water replied 'Hardship'
and 'Queen Mary'. When Kaptain Gysae asked a group if there
were any wounded he was told that they were only 'wet' so, amused,
he sailed off into the night. In fact, only two lives were lost.
(Photo: UCPSC 01/135) 
CARNARVON
CASTLE (2) was built in 1926 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast
with a tonnage of 20122grt, a length of 630ft 8in, a beam of
73ft 5in and a service speed of 16 knots. She was launched by
Lady Suffield the second daughter of Lord Kylsant and commenced
her maiden voyage on 16th July 1926. The company's first motorship
she was also the first to exceed 20000grt and had the distinctive
Harland & Wolff profile including the dummy forward funnel.
In 1936 the new mail 
contract
required a 19 knot service speed to reduce the passage time
to 13.5 days. Consequently, in 1937 she was modernised and re-engined,
resuming service on 8th July 1938, without the forward funnel,
and setting a new record to Cape Town of 12 days 13 hours and
36 minutes. In September 1939 she was commissioned by the navy
for conversion at Simonstown, South Africa to an armed merchant
cruiser, HMS Carnarvon Castle. On 5th December 1940 she sighted
and engaged the German merchant cruiser Schiff 20: Thor (formerly
the Santa Cruz of the Oldenburg-Portuguese Line) 700 miles east
of Montevideo. At 08.00 the fighting began and the Thor fire
593 shells and two torpedoes, which missed, until she was lost
in a smoke screen. The firing ceased at 11.15, and the German's
log recorded that HMS Carnarvon Castle turned north, on fire
in several places and firing her stern guns, until she was lost
in the haze. HMS Carnarvon Castle had been hit 27 times with
4 dead and 28 wounded and proceeded to Montevideo where repairs
were carried out. Ironically, plates from the Admiral Graf Spee
were used to patch the shell holes. She then sailed to Cape
Town for further repairs. In 1941 she took part in Operation
Bellringer to intercept five Vichy French ships that were being
escorted from Tamatave to Bordeaux by warships and escorted
the Commandant Dorise (Messageries Maritimes) into East London,
South Africa. She was decommissioned in December 1943 but, in
1944, was converted into a troopship after plans to convert
her into an aircraft carrier like Pretoria Castle/Warwick Castle
were abandoned. In March 1947 she was finally decommissioned
and in the June inaugurated the emigrant service to Cape Town
with berths for 1283 passengers. She underwent an extensive
£1 million refit in 1949 and returned to the mail run
on 15th June 1950 and continued to operate until 1st June 1963
when she arrived at Southampton prior to sailing for Mihara
in Japan for breaking up after 30 years service. (Photos: UCPSC
09/124 & UCPSC 01/135) 
ROVUMA
was built in 1927 by Ardrossan Dockyard at Ardrossan with a
tonnage of 1289grt, a length of 211ft 10in, a beam of 35ft 1in
and a service speed of 10 knots. She was deployed on the coastal
trade operating out of Beira in Mozambique replacing the Incomati.
At the time the 'Castle' suffix was only given to trans-ocean
vessels. In 1949 she was sold to Colonial Steamships Ltd of
Mauritius and renamed Floreal. She was renamed Boundary in 1954
when she was sold to African Coasters Ltd of Durban and broken
up in 1962. (Photo: A Duncan) 
LLANGIBBY
CASTLE was built in 1929 by Harland & Wolff at Glasgow with
a tonnage of 11951grt, a length of 485ft 7in, a beam of 66ft
2in and a service speed of 14.5 knots. She was delivered for
the Round Africa service and was the first motorship to circumnavigate
the African continent. In 1934 the Third Class became the Tourist
Class and Round Africa cruises were introduced at fares of £105
in 1st Class and £40 in Tourist. In July 1940, after a
voyage from Cape Town to Falmouth, she was requisitioned for
trooping duties, as she .jpg)
was
the ideal size to carry a battalion, and initially carried troops
to South and East Africa. On December 21/22 1940 she was one
of eleven ships, including the Roxburgh Castle, damaged during
an air raid in Liverpool. During a voyage from the Clyde to
Singapore she was, on 16th January, torpedoed north of the Azores
by U-402 The stern and after gun were blown off but the propellers
remained intact. Although carrying 1400 troops only 26 lives
were lost and she managed to limp to Horta in the Azores at
9 knots, fighting off attacks by Focke-Wulf 200 'Kondor' aircraft
on the way. Only 14 days were allowed for repairs to be carried
out so on 2nd February set sailed for Gibraltar escorted by
an Admiralty tug and three destroyers. She still had her troops
on board and proceeded without her stern and rudder. On the
following day the group of ships encountered and fought off
a U-boat pack attack during which HMS Westcott sank U-581. The
tug took the Llangibby Castle in tow to assist with steering
and on 8th February arrived at Gibraltar where the troops were
disembarked. Except for meals they had remained on deck for
the entire voyage but they had avoided being taken prisoner
in Singapore. On 6th April, after 57 days, she sailed from Gibraltar,
still without a rudder but with her escorts in attendance, for
the 1445 mile voyage back to the United Kingdom where she arrived
safely on 13th April. In all she had sailed 3400 miles without
a stern and rudder, using her engines only for steering, a feat
for which her master, Captain Bayer, was awarded the CBE. On
9th November 1942 she was part of assault force KMF which, with
force KMS and comprising in total 340 ships escorted by 3 battleships,
5 aircraft carriers, 5 cruiser, 30 destroyers and 44 support
ships, undertook Operation Torch, the North African landings.
She was hit with an 8" shell from a shore battery which
killed one person. In 1943 she had to return to the United Kingdom
for repairs to her bow which had been damaged at Gibraltar during
the preparations for the Italian landings and, at the same time,
was converted into a Landing Ship Infantry with 18 landing craft.
She rehearsed her landing techniques at Loch Fyne and then spent
six months ferrying troops in the Mediterranean painted in two
shades of blue. In 1944 she was allotted to Force J3 (Juno beach),
painted in camouflage paint and embarked Royal Marine Flotilla
557 to man her landing craft for 1590 troops. Based at Southampton
she practised her D-Day landings at Bracklesham Bay and on 6th
June joined Juno Force and landed the first wave of 750 Canadian
troops at Coirseilles. Returning to the ship ten of her LSI's
were swamped with the loss of 12 lives. The second wave of 750
men were taken ashore by the remaining LSI's which made two
trips to the beach. In all she remained at the beach head for
nine hours. She later landed troops at the Omaha and Utah beaches
and also at Le Havre. During the operation she made over seventy
crossings and carried over 100,000 men. At the cessation of
hostilities in Europe she was transferred to the Far East where
she carried out more trooping duties. In January 1946 she made
three voyages repatriating some 6000 West African troops from
Burma and India including the total internees of a military
prison. During the 12 month period she sailed 55,732 miles and
her longest stay in port was 2 days 20 hrs. The company recorded
the tour of duty as the longest Southampton to Southampton voyage
undertaken in peace time. She was returned to Union-Castle in
January 1947, after having sailed 300,256 miles and carrying
156,134 troops, and underwent a refit before resuming her Round
Africa service. In 1949 she missed a voyage after suffering
a fire in the cargo space and on 29th June 1954 she sailed from
Tilbury to Newport in Monmouthshire where she was broken up
by J. Cashmore. (Photos: UCPSC 12/124 & J Fisher) 
DUNBAR
CASTLE (2) was built in 1930 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast
with a tonnage of 10002grt, a length of 471ft 2in, a beam of
61ft 2in and a service speed of 14.5 knots. She was launched
for the Round Africa service on 31st October 1929. On 8th January
1940, after sailing from London for Beira, she hit a magnetic
mine off east Cliff, Ramsgate in the English Channel. Breaking
her back she heeled over and sank onto an even keel in 30 minutes
with the loss of 9 lives including her Master who was killed
when the foremast collapsed onto the bridge. The superstructure
remained above water until it was demolished after the war.
