MV Llangibby Castle
 In naval service during World War II
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | MV Llangibby Castle |
| Owner |  Union-Castle Mail Steamship Company |
| Port of registry |  |
| Builder | |
| Yard number | 841[1] |
| Launched | 4 July 1929 |
| Completed | 21 November 1929[1] |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping on 29 June 1954 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Passenger liner |
| Tonnage | 11,951 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length | 485 ft 7 in (148.01 m) |
| Beam | 66 ft 2 in (20.17 m) |
| Depth | 29 ft 5 in (8.97 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h) |
MV Llangibby Castle was a
Harland and Wolff, at their shipyard in Govan, Glasgow. She was the first ship to utilise pressure charging in combination with exhaust gas boilers.[2]
The ship was principally employed by the company on the Round Africa service.
In 1940, the Llangibby Castle transported a number of Germans, who had been deported from
Second World War, to Genoa, Italy.[3] This occurred during the Phoney War, before Italy had formally entered the war against Britain and France. She was damaged during an air raid while docked in Liverpool on the night of on 21/22 December 1940.[4]
Troopship
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While sailing as a
Thames.[5] The convoy was followed by several U-boats, but escaped damage, with Westcott sinking U-581.[5] The small convoy arrived at Gibraltar on 8 February, where the troops were disembarked, and some temporary repairs carried out.[7] Llangibby Castle sailed for Britain on 6 April, still lacking a rudder. She arrived in Britain on 13 April, having sailed 3400 miles with a damaged stern and steering by engines, an achievement which led to her master, a man named Bayer, being awarded the OBE.[4]
After full repairs, Llangibby Castle returned to service as a troopship, and took part in
Landing Ship, Infantry.[4]
After working up in Loch Fyne, she was used to transport troops in the Mediterranean, and was assigned to the Normandy landings in 1944, carrying over 1,500 Canadian troops to Juno Beach.[4] She landed the troops in two waves, and was later moved to land troops at Omaha and Utah Beaches, and at Le Havre. She spent the last year of the war as a troopship in the Far East.[4]
Post war
Robert McGowan Barrington-Ward, the Editor of The Times died while he was a passenger on the ship in 1948 at Dar es Salaam.[8] In December 1949, again at Dar es Salaam, the ship had a serious fire in the cargo hold.[9]
Fate
The ship was broken up at Newport Docks at the John Cashmore yard on 12 July 1954.[10]
Notes
- ^ ISBN 9780752488615.
- ^ "The Brisbane Courier" 16 January 1930
- ^ "The Sydney Morning Herald" 25 March 1940
- ^ a b c d e f "Llangibby Castle". Uboat.net. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- ^ a b c d Hawkins. Destroyer. p. 164.
- ^ Blair 1996 pp.489-492
- ^ Hawkins. Destroyer. p. 166.
- ^ "The Canberra Times" 1 March 1948
- ^ "The Argus" Melbourne, 28 December 1949
- ^ "Llangibby Castle (1161329)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
References
- Blair, Clay (1996). Hitler's U-Boat War - The Hunters 1939-1942. Random House. ISBN 0-394-58839-8.
- Hawkins, Ian (2003). Destroyer: An Anthology of First-Hand Accounts of the War at Sea, 1939-1945. Anova Books. ISBN 0-85177-947-6.
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "Llangibby Castle". Allied Ships hit by U-boats. Uboat.net. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- War Diary of the 2nd Lothians and Border Horse, 26th Armoured Brigade, 6th Armoured Division 1939-1945.