MV Stirling Castle

Registration Number: 164570 IMO Number: 534 108

The Stirling Castle was a 1936 put into service passenger ship that was used for the British shipping company Union - Castle Line passenger and mail service between Britain and South Africa. She and her sister ship Athlone Castle were speed record breakers and were among the largest built before the Second World War ships of the Union Castle Line. In 1966 she was scrapped in Japan.

History

The 25,550 -ton motor ship Stirling Castle was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland and was launched on July 15, 1935 from the stack. The 223.72 meters long and 25.29 meters wide, the ship had a chimney, two masts and two propellers. The ship was powered by two diesel engines zehnzylindrigen Burmeister & Wain of which 24,000 BHP (Brake Horse Power) contributed and allowed a speed of 19.5 knots. On board space for 246 passengers in first class and 538 was in the cabin class. The ship was named after the castle in Scotland. The Stirling Castle was the sister ship of the same design Athlone Castle ( 25,564 GRT), which also ran at Harland & Wolff launched on 28 November 1935.

After its completion on 29 January 1936, the Stirling Castle was on February 7, 1936 in Southampton on her maiden voyage to Cape Town. On September 4, 1936, she set a new speed record on this route when they reached Cape Town after a journey time of 13 days, six hours and 30 minutes. The previous record had kept the Scot predecessor Reederei Union Line since 1893. On October 19, 1940, the Stirling Castle was used as a troop carrier requested with a capacity for 5,000 troops and drove among others in WS convoys. In 1942 she was the flagship of the first convoy, which left Brazil after the declaration of war of the United States to the German Reich. From 1943 she ran out of the United States and had on a ride over 6,000 men on board. During its service life, the ship made 505,000 miles and transported 128,000 soldiers.

In October 1947 it was again handed over to the postal service of the Union - Castle Line and equipped with new passenger accommodation for 243 travelers in first class and 540 in economy class. On November 30 1965 she sailed into Southampton at the end of her last voyage. In the following months it was used even for North Africa cruises until they left for Japan on February 1, 1966. On 3 March 1966, the ship arrived in Mihara, where it shortly thereafter Nichimen Kagaku Kogyo KK was scrapped.