Carnarvon Castle (2)

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.

1943 Decommissioned and converted for Trooping

1947 Returned to owners as “austerity” emigrant ship

1950 Returned to The Cape Mail Service

1962 Scrapped in Japan

Launch - 14 January 1926

Carnarvon Castle Interior

21st February 1952: The South African rugby union team on board the liner Carnarvon Castle, on their voyage home following a series of matches in Britain

Captain J F Oakley in the centre

Springboks Tour of United Kingdom - 1952

Carnarvon Castle , 1956

back row from left: B.Bennet 2/O, S. Cazalet, X/4/O, Bernard Wallace-Bradley J/4/O, ???, John Canner, 3/O

seated: H. Dryden C/O, Capt Billy Byles, Sam Hagan, 1/O

Carnarvon Castle Deck Officers - 1956

Carnarvon Castle

Artist - Maurice Randall

By Colin Verity

Carnarvon Castle - Art Gallery

Refitted - 1937

In October 1937 she returned to her builders for a dramatic refit and a far more elegant appearance

Funnels were reduced to one, fitted with a raked and flared bow, new 10 cylinder diesel engines giving an increase in service speed from 18 to 20 knots

In July 1938 she returned to the mail service and set a new southbound record of 12 days 13 hours 38 minutes

Service in WW2

In September 1939 she was requisition by The Royal Navy and converted at Simonstown into an Armed Merchant Cruiser.

She was now HMS Carnarvon Castle

In November 1943 she was decomissioned and sent to New York to be refitted as a troopship

Port	Arrived	Sailed	Comments
Swansea	25-Nov		De-arming for conversion to troop transport

1943

Port	Arrived	Sailed	Comments
Swansea		25-Feb
New York	09-Mar	15-Oct	Conversion to troop transport Drydocking fitting tail shafts, anchor and cables
Southampton	25-Oct	28-Oct
Greenock	30-Oct	06-Nov	Voyage repairs
New York	16-Nov	23-Nov
Southampton	04-Dec	07-Dec
Liverpool	08-Dec		Voyage repairs Fitting bulwarks on fore well-deck

1944

Port	Arrived	Sailed	Comments
Liverpool		05-Jan
Gibraltar	11-Jan	12-Jan
Port Said	15-Jan	16-Jan
Suez	17-Jan	21-Jan
Aden	25-Jan	25-Jan
Bombay	30-Jan	09-Feb
Suez	16-Feb	22-Feb
Port Said	22-Feb	25-Feb
Algiers	01-Mar	03-Mar
Gibraltar	05-Mar	06-Mar
Liverpool	12-Mar	30-Mar	Voyage repairs Troop accommodation repairs
Taranto	11-Apr	11-Apr
Port Said	14-Apr	15-Apr
Suez	15-Apr	16-Apr
Aden	19-Apr	21-Apr	Engine repairs
Kilindini	25-Apr	29-Apr
Berbera	03-May	04-May
Suez	07-May	07-May
Port Said	08-May	11-May
Gibraltar	16-May	17-May
Greenock	22-May	28-May
Glasgow	28-May	07-Jun	Voyage repairs, repairs to generator and boat winches
Greenock	07-Jun	09-Jun
Naples	15-Jun	20-Jun
Southampton	25-Jun	29-Jun
Gibraltar	02-Jul	02-Jul
Taranto	07-Jul	06-Jul
Alexandria	09-Jul	12-Jul
Malta	14-Jul	14-Jul
Southampton	21-Jul	30-Jul	Engine repairs and drydocking
Taranto	10-Sep	11-Sep
Alexandria	13-Sep	14-Sep
Port Said	15-Sep	16-Sep
Suez	16-Sep	18-Sep
Kilindini	25-Sep	26-Sep
Durban	01-Oct	10-Oct	Voyage repairs
Kilindini	14-Oct	15-Oct
Suez	26-Oct	26-Oct
Durban	06-Nov	16-Nov
Kilindini	21-Nov	22-Nov
Aden	26-Nov	26-Nov
Suez	29-Nov	03-Dec
Kilindini	11-Dec	11-Dec
Durban	17-Dec	29-Dec	Voyage repairs
Cape Town	31-Dec

1945

1946

Port	Arrived	Sailed	Comments
Cape Town		02-Jan
Southampton	20-Jan	22-Jan	Engine repairs
Plymouth	24-Jan	26-Jan	Generator repairs
Freetown	05-Mar	05-Mar
Cape Town	14-Mar	21-Mar
Southampton	05-Apr	04-May	Voyage repairs and generator repairs
Port Said	12-May	17-May
Malta	19-May	19-May
Southampton	24-May	07-Jun	Voyage repairs
Cape Town	22-Jun	30-Jun
Southampton	14-Jul	01-Aug	Voyage repairs
Cape Town	16-Aug	24-Aug
Southampton	07-Sep	27-Sep	Engine and general voyage repairs
Cape Town	12-Oct	17-Oct
Southampton	02-Nov	18-Nov	Voyage repairs
Cape Town	04-Dec	07-Dec
Las Palmas	18-Dec	18-Dec
Southampton	22-Dec		Voyage repairs and overhaul Drydocked

1947

Port	Arrived	Sailed	Comments
Southampton		10-Jan

Resumption of Mail Service after WW2 - June 1950

She remained on trooping duties after the war, and was finally released from naval service in March 1947.

Returned to her original owners, she was back on the route to South Africa by June 1947.

With her trooping accommodation only marginally upgraded, she carried a flood of post war emigrants from Britain on low cost assisted passages to East and South Africa.

She was again refitted, to more luxurious standards, by Harland and Wolff in early 1949.

Resuming service on 15 June 1950, she served until her retirement and sale.

Farewell Carnarvon Castle - 1962

Review - October 1962

Master	From	To
J W Hague	7/1926	6/1927
H Strong	7/1927	10/1927
W F Stanley	10/1927	4/1930
Refit
H B Harvey	4/1930	6/1930
G Owens	6/1930	11/1930
Sir B Chave	11/1930	4/1931
H B Harvey	4/1931	6/1931
W Morton-Betts	6/1931	4/1932
H B Harvey	4/1932	6/1932
E S Vincent	7/1932	8/1932
J H Kerbey	9/1932	5/1933
C E Stuart	5/1933	12/1935
C R Bickford	12/1935	10/1936
E E Spradbrow	10/1936	2/1937
W Weller	8/1937	10/1937
A H Blackman	7/1938	9/1939
Royal Navy
R Wren	1/1944	10/1944
A Alderson	10/1944	11/1944
M H Williams	12/1944	11/1946
R T Smailes	12/1946	4/1947
T W McAllen	5/1947	1/1948
Refit
J F Oakley	6/1950	10/1953
W S Byles	10/1953	1/1960
J D Fisher	10/1957	3/1958
J P Smythe	2/1960	2/1961
G E Stephenson	3/1961	12/1961
W S Byles	12/1961	6/1962
Laid up
F J Pye	8/1962	9/1962