MV Llangibby Castle
Encyclopedia
MV Llangibby Castle was a passenger liner of the Union-Castle Line
, operating between 1929 and 1954. The ship was named after the castle at Llangybi, Monmouthshire
. The ship was constructed by Harland and Wolff
, at their shipyard in Govan
, Glasgow
. She was the first ship to utilise pressure charging in combination with exhaust gas boilers. 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 Kenya
and Tanganyika
, due to the commencement of the Second World War, to Genoa, Italy
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.
, the Llangibby Castle was torpedoed on 16 January 1942 by the German submarine U-402
, under the command of Siegfried von Forstner
, during U-402s second patrol in the Bay of Biscay
. The torpedo hit the Llangibby Castles stern, killing 26 people and blowing away her after gun and the rudder. Her engines were still operational and she was able to limp to Horta
, in the Azores
, steering with her engines, and only making 9 knots (17.6 km/h). During the voyage she had to fight off attacks from Fw 200s
. She arrived safely at Horta on 19 January, but could only stop for 14 days as Portugal was a neutral country. After making some repairs she prepared to sail again for Gibraltar
on 2 February, escorted by the destroyers , and , and towed by the tugboat
Thames
. The convoy was followed by several U-boats, but escaped damage, with Westcott sinking U-581. The small convoy arrived at Gibraltar on 8 February, where the troops were disembarked, and some temporary repairs carried out. 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
.
After full repairs, Llangibby Castle returned to service as a troopship, and took part in Operation Torch
on 9 November 1942, during which she was hit by a shell from a shore battery, and had one man killed. While being prepared at Gibraltar to take part in the Allied invasion of Italy
she damaged her bows. After being repaired in the UK, she underwent conversion to an Landing Ship, Infantry
. 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 Canadian troops to Juno Beach
. She landed two waves of troops, and was later moved to land troops at Omaha
and Utah Beach
es, and at Le Havre
. She spent the last year of the war as a troopship in the Far East.
died while he was a passenger on the ship in 1948 at Dar es Salaam
. In December 1949, again at Dar es Salaam, the ship had a serious fire in the cargo hold.
Union-Castle Line
The Union-Castle Line was a prominent British shipping line that operated a fleet of passenger liners and cargo ships between Europe and Africa from 1900 to 1977. It was formed from the merger of the Union Line and Castle Shipping Line...
, operating between 1929 and 1954. The ship was named after the castle at Llangybi, Monmouthshire
Llangybi, Monmouthshire
Llangybi is a village in Monmouthshire, in south east Wales, United Kingdom. It is located 3 miles south of the town of Usk and 5 miles north of Caerleon, in the valley of the River Usk.- History and buildings :...
. The ship was constructed by Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....
, at their shipyard in Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. She was the first ship to utilise pressure charging in combination with exhaust gas boilers. 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 Kenya
Kenya Colony
The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya was part of the British Empire in Africa. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a British crown colony in 1920...
and Tanganyika
Tanganyika Territory
Tanganyika Territory was a British colony between 1919 and 1961. Prior to the end of the First World War was part of the German colony of German East Africa. After the war had broke out, the British invaded the German East Africa, but were unable to defeat the German Army...
, due to the commencement of the Second World War, to Genoa, Italy
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
This occurred during the Phoney War, before Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
had formally entered the war against Britain and France. She was damaged during an air raid while docked in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
on the night of on 21/22 December 1940.
Troopship
While sailing as a troopshipTroopship
A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
, the Llangibby Castle was torpedoed on 16 January 1942 by the German submarine U-402
German submarine U-402
German submarine U-402 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for the German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II.U-402 commanded by Kapitänleutnant Siegfried von Forstner carried out eight combat patrols sinking 14 merchantmen and one warship during the Second World War. U-402 also damaged three...
, under the command of Siegfried von Forstner
Siegfried von Forstner
Korvettenkapitän Siegfried Freiherr von Forstner was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...
, during U-402s second patrol in the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
. The torpedo hit the Llangibby Castles stern, killing 26 people and blowing away her after gun and the rudder. Her engines were still operational and she was able to limp to Horta
Horta (Azores)
Horta is a single municipality and city in the western part of the Archipealgo of the Azores, encompassing the island of Faial. Horta has a population of about approximately 15,038 people and an area of 173.1 square kilometers. The population density is about 88 persons per square kilometer...
, in the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
, steering with her engines, and only making 9 knots (17.6 km/h). During the voyage she had to fight off attacks from Fw 200s
Focke-Wulf Fw 200
The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, also known as Kurier to the Allies was a German all-metal four-engine monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner...
. She arrived safely at Horta on 19 January, but could only stop for 14 days as Portugal was a neutral country. After making some repairs she prepared to sail again for Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
on 2 February, escorted by the destroyers , and , and towed by the tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
Thames
Thames (tug)
Thames was a Rescue tugboat that saw service with the Royal Navy during the Second World War.Named for the River Thames in England, she was launched in 1938. With the outbreak of the Second World War, she was acquired by the Royal Navy in June 1940. She was based at the strategically vital naval...
. The convoy was followed by several U-boats, but escaped damage, with Westcott sinking U-581. The small convoy arrived at Gibraltar on 8 February, where the troops were disembarked, and some temporary repairs carried out. 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
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
.
After full repairs, Llangibby Castle returned to service as a troopship, and took part in Operation Torch
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
on 9 November 1942, during which she was hit by a shell from a shore battery, and had one man killed. While being prepared at Gibraltar to take part in the Allied invasion of Italy
Allied invasion of Italy
The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied landing on mainland Italy on September 3, 1943, by General Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group during the Second World War. The operation followed the successful invasion of Sicily during the Italian Campaign...
she damaged her bows. After being repaired in the UK, she underwent conversion to an Landing Ship, Infantry
Landing Ship, Infantry
Landing Ship, Infantry was a British term for a type of ship used to transport infantry in amphibious warfare during the Second World War...
. After working up in Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne is a sea loch on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends inland from the Sound of Bute, making it the longest of the sea lochs...
, she was used to transport troops in the Mediterranean, and was assigned to the Normandy landings in 1944, carrying Canadian troops to Juno Beach
Juno Beach
Juno or Juno Beach was one of five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. The sector spanned from Saint-Aubin, a village just east of the British Gold sector, to Courseulles, just west of the British Sword sector...
. She landed two waves of troops, and was later moved to land troops at Omaha
Omaha Beach
Omaha Beach is the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II...
and Utah Beach
Utah Beach
Utah Beach was the code name for the right flank, or westernmost, of the Allied landing beaches during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, as part of Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944...
es, and at Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
. She spent the last year of the war as a troopship in the Far East.
Post war
Robert McGowan Barrington-Ward, the Editor of The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
died while he was a passenger on the ship in 1948 at Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
. In December 1949, again at Dar es Salaam, the ship had a serious fire in the cargo hold.