MV Stirling Castle

"For other ships named after the castle, see Stirling Castle (disambiguation)"

The RMMV "Stirling Castle" was an ocean liner of the Union-Castle Line in service from the 1930s to the 1960s, primarily on the Southampton - Cape Town route.

Named after Stirling Castle in Scotland, she was built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast, and launched July 1935. She left Southampton on her maiden voyage, 7 February 1936. In August of that year, "Stirling Castle" set a new record for the route, reaching Table Bay in 13 days 9 hours, beating the previous record of 14 days, 18 hours, and 57 minutes set by "Scot" in 1893.

During World War II, "Stirling Castle" was used as a troopship, returning to passenger service in 1946. She was broken up in Japan in 1966.

References

See an account of life on board this ship and others of the Union-Castle Line in the 1960s, at http://rgascoyne.canadianwebs.com/LifeAtSea.htm