Dunnottar Castle

DUNNOTTAR CASTLE was built in 1936 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of 15002grt, a length of 560ft, a beam of 71ft 9in and a service speed of 17 knots.

1936 Deployed to The Round Africa Intermediate Service

1936 Transferred to The Cape Mail Service

1938 Returned to Round Africa Service

1939 Requisitioned for Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Dunnottar Castle

1942 Decommissioned and converted for Trooping duties

1949 Returned to The Round Africa Service

1958 Sold to Incres SS Co

On the slipway at Harland & Wolff in 1936

Dunnottar Castle Interior

Dunnottar Castle on Trials - 1936

On trials on the Skelmorlie measured mile on the Clyde just off Wemyys Bay Pier.

Service in WW2

On 28th August 1939 she was requisitioned by the Admiralty for commission as an Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Dunnottar Castle and served with the South Atlantic patrols.

When, in 1942, more war-built trade protection cruisers entered service, she was released and converted into a troopship carrying over 250,000 men including shuttling between Normandy and Southampton after the D-Day landings.

Port	Arrived	Sailed	Comments
Clyde		17-Jun
Lock Ewe	18-Jun
Sheerness	23-Jun
London	24-Jun	17-Oct	Converting for use as a troop ship
Clyde	20-Oct	22-Oct
Liverpool	23-Oct	25-Oct
Clyde	26-Oct	01-Nov
Algiers	08-Nov	15-Nov
Oran	15-Nov	16-Nov
Clyde	23-Nov	27-Nov
Glasgow	27-Nov	08-Dec	Engine repairs
Clyde	08-Dec	12-Dec
Bone	20-Dec	20-Dec
Algiers	21-Dec	24-Dec
Clyde	31-Dec

1942

Port	Arrived	Sailed	Comments
Clyde		10-Jan
Glasgow	10-Jan	22-Jan	Voyage repairs
Clyde	23-Jan	24-Jan
Algiers	01-Feb	02-Feb
Clyde	09-Feb	20-Feb
Glasgow	20-Feb	28-Feb	Voyage repairs
Clyde	28-Feb	01-Mar
Algiers	09-Mar	11-Mar
Clyde	18-Mar	20-Mar
Glasgow	20-Mar	14-Apr	Voyage repairs
Clyde	14-Apr	16-Apr
Gibraltar	22-Apr	25-Apr
Clyde	02-May	16-May
Glasgow	16-May	03-Jun	Voyage repairs
Clyde	03-Jun	01-Jul
Sicily	13-Jul
Malta		14-Jul
Gibraltar	19-Jul	23-Jul
Greenock	30-Jul	02-Aug
Glasgow	02-Aug	05-Sep	Engine repairs, lay shaft
Greenock	05-Sep	10-Sep
Liverpool	11-Sep	15-Sep
Gibraltar	22-Sep	22-Sep
Port Said	28-Sep	04-Oct
Alexandria	04-Oct	07-Oct
Taranto	09-Oct	09-Oct
Augusta	10-Oct	23-Oct
Algiers	25-Oct	27-Oct
Greenock	05-Nov	08-Nov
Glasgow	09-Nov	14-Nov	Air compressor repairs
Clyde	15-Nov	15-Nov
Gibraltar	24-Nov	25-Nov
Freetown	02-Dec	03-Dec
Takoradi	05-Dec	06-Dec
Lagos	07-Dec	10-Dec
Freetown	14-Dec	14-Dec
Gibraltar	21-Dec	25-Dec
Port Said	31-Dec

1943

1944

Port	Arrived	Sailed	Comments
Port Said		01-Jan
Aden	06-Jan	08-Jan
Bombay	14-Jan	29-Jan	Engine repairs Drydocked
Aden	04-Feb	04-Feb
Suez	08-Feb	27-Feb
Port Said	27-Feb	02-Mar
Gibraltar	11-Mar	13-Mar	Repairs to layshaft General engine repairs Drydocked
Greenock	22-Mar	15-Jun	Repairs to layshaft General engine repairs Drydocked
Lagos	01-Jul	03-Jul
Takoradi	04-Jul	06-Jul
Lagos	07-Jul	10-Jul
Freetown	14-Jul	17-Jul
Gibraltar	24-Jul	26-Jul	Engine repairs
Port Said	01-Aug	01-Aug
Suez	01-Aug	04-Aug
Aden	08-Aug	09-Aug
Bombay	14-Aug	21-Aug	Adjustment to engines
Colombo	24-Aug	25-Aug
Melbourne	10-Sep	13-Sep
Wellington	17-Sep	30-Sep	Repairs to port engine
Fremantle	09-Oct	16-Oct	Main engine repairs
Seychelles	26-Oct	26-Oct
Aden	31-Oct	31-Oct
Suez	04-Nov	06-Nov
Port Said	06-Nov	16-Nov
Gibraltar	22-Nov	26-Nov
Greenock	04-Dec	12-Dec
Belfast	13-Dec

Port	Arrived	Sailed	Comments
Belfast		18-Mar	Extensive engine overhaul Drydocked
Liverpool	18-Mar	24-Mar	Extensive engine overhaul Drydocked
Southampton	31-Mar	25-Jun	Fractured piston rod Engine repairs Another fractured piston rod Further engine repairs
Naples	05-Jul	08-Jul
Liverpool	15-Jul	21-Jul
Malta	28-Jul	28-Jul
Taranto	29-Jul	30-Jul
Alexandria	02-Aug	06-Aug
Liverpool	15-Aug	22-Aug	Repairs in troop accommodation
Bergen	25-Aug	26-Aug
Southampton	30-Aug	23-Sep	Voyage repairs Drydocked
Haifa	03-Oct	04-Oct
Port Said	04-Oct	08-Oct
Taranto	15-Oct	16-Oct
Port Said	19-Oct	22-Oct
Toulon	27-Oct	29-Oct
Southampton	04-Nov	06-Nov
Belfast	08-Nov	19-Dec	Considerable engine repairs due to piston rod fractures and crankshaft damage
Southampton	21-Dec	22-Dec
Taranto	31-Dec

1945

1946

Port	Arrived	Sailed	Comments
Taranto		09-Jan	Repairs to port stern gland
Piraeus
Taranto	14-Jan	15-Jan
Piraeus
Taranto	21-Jan	22-Jan
Port Said	26-Jan	31-Jan
Malta	03-Feb	04-Feb	Minor repairs
Naples	05-Feb	06-Feb
Southampton	15-Feb	02-Mar	Drydocked for inspection and repair of stern gland. Normal voyage repairs
Naples	09-Mar	10-Mar
Port Said	14-Mar	20-Mar
Toulon	22-Mar	23-Mar
Port Said	28-Mar	30-Mar
Malta	02-Apr	02-Apr
Toulon	04-Apr	06-Apr
Port Said	11-Apr	13-Apr
Malta	16-Apr	17-Apr
Toulon	19-Apr	20-Apr
Port Said	26-Apr	30-Apr	Examination and survey of port engine
Malta	03-May	03-May
Toulon	06-May	06-May
Alexandria	11-May	11-May
Malta	17-May	17-May
Toulon	19-May	20-May
Port Said	25-May	28-May
Toulon	02-Jun	03-Jun
Alexandria	08-Jun	14-Jun
Toulon	18-Jun	19-Jun
Alexandria	24-Jun	29-Jun
Toulon	04-Jul	05-Jul
Port Said	10-Jul	13-Jul
Toulon	18-Jul	19-Jul
Port Said	24-Jul	29-Jul
Malta	01-Aug	02-Aug
Toulon	04-Aug	05-Aug
Alexandria	09-Aug	13-Aug
Toulon	18-Aug	20-Aug
Port Said	25-Aug	28-Aug
Malta	31-Aug	01-Sep
Toulon	03-Sep	04-Sep
Port Said	09-Sep	12-Sep
Naples	16-Sep	16-Sep
Southampton	23-Sep	19-Oct	Both tailshafts drawn for survey Engine, hull and accommodation repairs Drydocked
Gibraltar	23-Oct	23-Oct
Malta	26-Oct	27-Oct
Haifa	31-Oct	31-Oct
Port Said	01-Nov	11-Nov	Compressor repairs
Toulon	15-Nov	16-Nov
Port Said	21-Nov	30-Nov
Toulon	06-Dec	07-Dec
Port Said	13-Dec	14-Dec
Toulon	21-Dec	23-Dec
Malta	26-Dec	26-Dec
Port Said	29-Dec

1947

Port	Arrived	Sailed	Comments
Port Said		04-Jan	Engine repairs
Malta	07-Jan	09-Jan
Toulon	11-Jan	13-Jan
Port Said	18-Jan	20-Jan
Toulon	26-Jan	28-Jan
Port Said	01-Feb	08-Feb
Piraeus	10-Feb	11-Feb
Liverpool	20-Feb	21-Feb
Belfast	22-Feb	29-Mar	General machinery overhaul
Liverpool	30-Mar	30-Mar
Malta	06-Apr	06-Apr
Port Said	09-Apr	10-Apr
Malta	13-Apr	13-Apr
Gibraltar	16-Apr	16-Apr
Southampton	20-Apr	29-Apr	Voyage repairs
Malta	05-May	05-May
Port Said	08-May	10-May
Gibraltar	16-May	16-May
Southampton	20-May	29-May	General voyage repairs
Malta	04-Jun	04-Jun
Port Said	07-Jun	09-Jun
Gibraltar	15-Jun	15-Jun
Southampton	18-Jun	28-Jun	Voyage repairs
Malta	04-Jul	04-Jul
Port Said	07-Jul	09-Jul
Malta	12-Jul	12-Jul
Gibraltar	15-Jul	15-Jul
Southampton	18-Jul	29-Jul	Voyage repairs
Gibraltar	01-Aug	01-Aug
Malta	04-Aug	04-Aug
Port Said	07-Aug	09-Aug
Malta	12-Aug	12-Aug
Gibraltar
Southampton	19-Aug	28-Aug	Voyage repairs
Malta	03-Sep	03-Sep
Port Said	06-Sep	06-Sep
Malta	11-Sep	11-Sep
Gibraltar	14-Sep
Southampton	18-Sep	26-Sep	Voyage repairs
Malta	02-Oct	02-Oct
Port Said	05-Oct	08-Oct
Malta	10-Oct	10-Oct
Southampton	17-Oct	26-Oct	Voyage repairs Drydocking for cleaning and painting
Malta	01-Nov	01-Nov
Port Said	04-Nov	06-Nov
Malta	09-Nov	09-Nov
Gibraltar	12-Nov	12-Nov
Southampton	15-Nov	29-Nov	Voyage repairs
Malta	05-Dec	05-Dec
Port Said	08-Dec	10-Dec
Tobruk	12-Dec	12-Dec
Malta	14-Dec	14-Dec
Southampton	20-Dec		Voyage repairs

1948

Port	Arrived	Sailed	Comments
Southampton		08-Jan	Voyage repairs
Malta	15-Jan	16-Jan	Engine defects
Port Said	21-Jan	24-Jan	Minor repairs
Malta	29-Jan	09-Mar	Engine repairs Broken layshafts on both main engines
Port Said	12-Mar	15-Mar
Haifa	16-Mar	16-Mar
Malta	20-Mar	20-Mar
Bone	21-Mar	21-Mar
Gibraltar	23-Mar	23-Mar
Southampton	27-Mar

On 31 May 2015 Rosalind Fountain posted on Facebook

I sent my 90 yr old father pics of Dunnottar Castle as he'd sailed from Port Said just after the war (1946).

Here is his reply: "Dunnottar Castle pics were fascinating. For war service they retained a deck of cabins for officers and civil officials, etc. The rest of the decks were totally cleared,so that one went down into a vast arena with few partitions but furnished with tables jutting out from walls.

Each table seated twelve men on two fixed benches. In the walls and intervening rafters were hooks for hammocks and one had quickly to learn how to sleep in a hammock or find oneself sleeping on the bare steel plates of the floor. No carpets, tiles, decorations, etc. One man of each twelve went, on schedule, to the kitchen to fetch a large tray of whatever meal was due.

Twice a day groups were called to the open decks for physical training. After that it was impossible to arrange any diversions and one either sat on the bench at the table or went upstairs and leaned on any bit of vacant rail. But after experiencing the Normandy battlefields it was a real holiday jaunt.

Very few of that generation ever went on cruises either before or for years after the war."

Resumption of Intermediate Service after WW2 - 1948

She returned to commercial service in 1948 and, after a refurbishment by Harland & Wolff, resumed deployment on the clockwise Round Africa Service, London-Suez-South Africa-London.

In 1958 she was, after 94 voyages, replaced by the Rhodesia Castle and sold to Incres S.S. Co. of Monrovia and renamed Victoria. On 16th January 1959 she was towed to Holland where she was rebuilt and re-engined, her tonnage being reduced to 14917grt but her length increased to 572ft, and commenced cruising in the Mediterranean on 14th December 1959.

From 1960 until 1964 she cruised between New York and the West Indies. In October 1964 she was sold to to Victoria S.S. Co. of Monrovia and a subsidiary of the Swedish Einar Hansen's Rederi A/B Clipper, Malmo with Incres as managers and on the same itinerary.

She was sold to the Chandris subsidiary Phaidon Navigation Co. (Chandris Inc) London in November 1975 and transferred Greek to registry although briefly registered as being owned by the National American Hellenic Line with the intention of resuming a service across the Atlantic.

On 11th December 1975 she arrived in Piraeus in tow of Moran's Heidi Moran where the engine was overhauled and the cabins refurbished before resuming cruising on 6th June 1976 as The Victoria but under the Panamanian flag. In 1981 she was sold to Victoria Maritime S.A. of Piraeus for cruising and without a change of name.

After 64 years she was still cruising in the Mediterranean as the Princesa Victoria under the ownership of Louis Cruise Lines of Cyprus.

She was finally broken up at Alang in 2004 after 68 years of service.

As Princess Victoria

Life after Union-Castle Line

As The Victoria

Building & Launch - 1936

Master	From	To
A H Blackman	7/1936	10/1937
R W Goodacre	10/1937	10/1938
H Maxwell-Hart	11/1938	2/1939
R C Harris	2/1939	8/1939
Royal Navy
M H Williams	9/1942	1/1943
L P Wilkie	1/1943	5/1945
T W McAllen	5/1945	8/1945
C Gorringe	9/1945	9/1946
R Wren	9/1946	2/1947
C Gorringe	3/1947	5/1947
J H Trayner	5/1947	3/1948
Refit
G H Mayhew	3/1950	5/1950
W S Byles	5/1950	7/1950
D D MacKenzie	1/1951	12/1951
J P Smythe	1/1952	9/1954
A J Hort	4/1956	3/1957
N M Lloyd	4/1957	10/1957
L H Farrow	11/1957	7/1958