Union-Castle Line

thumb|Union-Castle House, Southampton

The Union-Castle Line was a 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.

It merged with Bullard King and Clan Line in 1956 to form British & Commonwealth Shipping, and then with South African Marine Corporation (commonly referred to as Safmarine) in 1973 to create International Liner Services, but maintained its separate identity throughout. Its shipping operations ceased in 1977.

Predecessor lines

thumb|Gascon was built in 1897

thumb| was built in 1899 and sunk by a [[Naval mine|mine in 1916.]]

thumb| as a First World War [[hospital ship. She was built in 1900 as Galician.]]

The Union Line was founded in 1853 as the Southampton Steam Shipping Company to transport coal from South Wales to Southampton. It was renamed the Union Steam Collier Company and then the Union Steamship Company. In 1857, renamed the Union Line, it won a contract to carry mail to South Africa, mainly the Cape Colony. The inaugural sailing of Dane left Southampton on 15 September.

Meanwhile, Donald Currie had built up the Castle Packet Co. which traded to Calcutta round the Cape of Good Hope. This trade was substantially curtailed by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, and the Castle Line started to run to South Africa instead, later becoming the Castle Mail Packet Company.

In 1872 the Cape Colony gained responsible government and its first Prime Minister, John Molteno, ordered a re-negotiation of the country's mail services. In 1876, keen to avoid either of the two main companies gaining a monopoly on the country's shipping, he awarded the South African mail contract jointly to both the Castle Mail Packet Company and the Union Line. The contract included a condition that the two companies would not amalgamate, as well as other clauses to promote competition, such as alternating services and speed premiums. This competition led to their shipping services running at unprecedented speed and efficiency. The contract was eventually to expire however, and the period of intense competition was later to give way to co-operation, including transporting troops and military equipment during the Boer War. Finally, on 8 March 1900, the Union Line and Castle Shipping Line merged, creating the Union-Castle Mail Steamship Company, Ltd, with Castle Shipping Line taking over the fleet.

Union-Castle Line

thumb| which was built in 1900, was a hospital ship in the First World War and was sunk by torpedo in 1917.

thumb| was built in 1903 and was an [[armed merchant cruiser in the First World War.]]

thumb|Kenilworth Castle was built in 1904, was a passenger ship liner.

thumb|RMS Edinburgh Castle was built in 1910, was an armed merchant cruiser in the First World War and an [[barracks ship|accommodation ship in the Second World War.]]

thumb| was built in 1911 and was a [[hospital ship in the First World War. Afterwards she returned to civilian service. She was sunk by torpedo in 1942.]]

thumb| was built in 1914, was a hospital ship in the First World War and was sunk by torpedo in 1918.

alt=|thumb|Passenger steam liner was built in 1915 and was a troopship in the First World War. She was sunk by torpedo in 1918.

thumb| was built in 1926, was an armed merchant cruiser in the Second World War and fought the [[German auxiliary cruiser Thor|German auxiliary cruiser Thor in 1940.]]

thumb|Athlone Castle was built in 1936 and was a [[troopship in the Second World War.]]

Union-Castle named most of their ships with the suffix "Castle" in their names; the names of several inherited from the Union Line were changed to this scheme (for example, Galician became ) but others (such as ) retained their original name. They were well known for the lavender-hulled liners with red funnels topped in black, running on a rigid timetable between Southampton and Cape Town. Every Thursday at 4pm a Union-Castle Royal Mail Ship would leave Southampton bound for Cape Town. At the same time, a Union-Castle Royal Mail Ship would leave Cape Town bound for Southampton. In 1922 the line introduced its Round Africa service, a nine-week voyage calling at twenty ports en route. Alternate sailings travelled out via the Suez Canal and out via West Africa.

After the war the line made good use of its three ships converted to troop transports to facilitate carrying the vast number of emigrants seeking new lives in East and South Africa. When they ran out of berths the line set up its own internal travel agency to book passages on other lines and even air services. The mail service to South Africa, curtailed during hostilities, recommenced with the sailing of Roxburgh Castle from Southampton on 2 January 1947.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! scope="col" width="150px" |Ship

! scope="col" width="25px" |Built

! scope="col" width="25px" |Tonnage

! scope="col" width="600px" |Notes and references

|||align="center"|1901||align="right"|5,893||Passenger steamer

Built by William Beardmore and Company, Glasgow

Torpedoed by U-81 on 21 March 1917

|||align="center"|1903||align="right"|12,973||1936 scrapped

|||align="center"|1901||align="right"|4,460||Steamer

Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd., Glasgow

Torpedoed by U-90 on 21 Nov 1917

|Arundel Castle||align="center"|1894||align="right"|4,588||Passenger ship built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, launched 1895, sold to the Danish East Asiatic Company in 1905 and renamed Birma

|||align="center"|1921||align="right"|19,023||Passenger ship built by Harland and Wolff, launched 11 September 1919, completed 8 April 1921, maiden voyage 22 April 1921, scrapped 1959

|Athlone Castle||align="center"|1936||align="right"|25,564||Passenger ship built by Harland and Wolff, launched 28 November 1935, completed 13 May 1936, maiden voyage 22 May 1936, scrapped 1965

|Balmoral Castle||align="center"|1910||align="right"|13,361||1939 scrapped

|Balmoral Castle||align="center"|1965||align="right"|7,952||ex-Clan Robertson

1976 renamed Balmoral Castle

1979 renamed Balmoral Universal

1982 sold to Greece, renamed Psara Reefer.

|Bampton Castle||align="center"|1920||align="right"|6,698||1932 sold to Greece, renamed Atlantis

|Banbury Castle||align="center"|1918||align="right"|6,430||ex-Glenstrae

1920 purchased from Glen Line, renamed Banbury Castle

1931 sold to Greece, renamed Rokos

|Berwick Castle||align="center"|1902||align="right"|5,883||1919 burnt out at Mombasa, sold to Italy

|||align="center"|1950||align="right"|18,400||1959 sold to Greece, renamed Patris

|||align="center"|1898||align="right"|6,318||Hospital ship

Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd., Glasgow

Mined and damaged by U-73 in the Aegean Sea in 1916

|Braemar Castle||align="center"|1943||align="right"|7,067||ex-Empire Duchess

1949 purchased from MoWT, renamed Braemar Castle

1950 transferred to King Line, renamed King James

1958 sold to Hong Kong, renamed Tyne Breeze

|Braemar Castle||align="center"|1952||align="right"|17,029||1966 scrapped

|Bratton Castle||align="center"|1920||align="right"|6,696||1931 sold to Greece, renamed Proteus

|||align="center"|1938||align="right"|27,000||1967 scrapped

|Carlisle Castle||align="center"|1913||align="right"|4,325||Steamer

Built by Northumberland SB. Co., Ltd., Newcastle upon Tyne

ex-Holtye

1915 purchased from F.S. Holland & Co., London, renamed Carlisle Castle

Torpedoed by UB-57 near Royal Sovereign Light Vessel on 14 Feb 1918

|Carlow Castle||align="center"|1917||align="right"|5,833||1930 sold to Mitchell, Cotts & Co., renamed Cape St. Columba

|Carnarvon Castle||align="center"|1926||align="right"|20,122||Passenger ship built by Harland and Wolff, launched 14 January 1926, completed 26 June 1926, maiden voyage 16 July 1926, scrapped 1963

|Cawdor Castle||align="center"|1902||align="right"|6,235||1926 went ashore South West Africa and declared a total loss

|Chepstow Castle||align="center"|1913||align="right"|7,494||ex-Anglo-Brazilian

1915 purchased from Nitrate Producers Ltd., renamed Chepstow Castle

1933 scrapped

|Cluny Castle||align="center"|1903||align="right"|5,147||1924 transferred to Bullard King, renamed Umkuzi

|Comrie Castle||align="center"|1903||align="right"|5,173||Passenger steamer

Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd., Glasgow

Torpedoed and damaged by UC-71 S of St.Catherine's Point on 14 Mar 1918

1924 transferred to Bullard King, renamed Umvoti

|Corfe Castle||align="center"|1901||align="right"|4,592||1927 sold to W. Schuchmann, Hamburg, renamed Ostee

|Crawford Castle||align="center"|1910||align="right"|4,264||ex-Hova

1917 purchased from F.S. Holland, London, renamed Crawford Castle

1930 sold to W. Kunstmann, Stettin, renamed Victoria W. Kunstmann

|||align="center"|1904||align="right"|8,271||Hospital ship

Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd., Glasgow

Torpedoed and sunk by UC-67 N of Bona, Algeria on 26 May 1917

|Dover Castle||align="center"|1964||align="right"|7,950||ex-Clan Ranald

1976 renamed Dover Castle

1979 renamed Dover Universal

1981 sold to Greece, renamed Golden Sea

|Drakensberg Castle||align="center"|1945||align="right"|9,905||ex-Empire Allenby

1946 purchased from MoWT, renamed Drakensberg Castle

1959 scrapped

|Dromore Castle||align="center"|1919||align="right"|5,242||Cargo ship

Built by Harland & Wolff at Greenock

Launched as War Poplar, completed as Dromore Castle

She hit a mine and sank whilst in a convoy SE of the River Humber, without any loss of life, on 12 Dec 1941

|Dunbar Castle||align="center"|1883||align="right"|2,837||Steamship

Laid down as Doune Castle and upon purchase named Dunbar Castle

1895 Sold to Fairfield Ship Building and Engineering Co. and renamed Olympia

10 December 1910 – ran aground on Bligh Reef off Alaska's Prince William Sound and sank without loss of life

|Dunbar Castle||align="center"|1930||align="right"|10,002||Passenger ship built by Harland and Wolff, completed 20 May 1930, struck a mine off North Foreland, Kent and sank on 9 January 1940

|Dundrum Castle||align="center"|1919||align="right"|5,259||Cargo ship built by Harland and Wolff, completed 31 December 1919, caught fire and sank in Red Sea 2 April 1943

|Dunluce Castle||align="center"|1904||align="right"|8,114||Passenger ship built by Harland and Wolff, completed 15 September 1904, sold for scrapping in 1939 but purchased by the Admiralty for use as accommodation ship

|||align="center"|1890||align="right"|5,625||Passenger ship

Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co, Goven, Scotland

Dec 1899 requisitioned as a troop transport for the Second Boer War

1913 sold to the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company as Caribbean

|||align="center"|1936||align="right"|15,002||Passenger ship built by Harland and Wolff, launched 25 January 1936, completed 27 June 1936, maiden voyage 10 July 1936, rebuilt and renamed Victoria 1958, renamed The Victoria 1976 and Princesa Victoria 1993, scrapped 2004

|Dunvegan Castle||align="center"|1936||align="right"|15,007||Passenger ship built by Harland and Wolff, launched 26 March 1936, completed 27 August 1936, requisitioned by Admiralty in 1940 as an armed merchant cruiser and renamed HMS Dunvegan Castle, torpedoed and sunk off Ireland by on 27 August 1940

|Durban Castle||align="center"|1938||align="right"|17,382||1962 scrapped. In 1947 it was the crime scene of the Porthole Murder Case

|||align="center"|1904||align="right"|8,217||Passenger/cargo

Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering, Govan

1939 requisitioned by the Admiralty as an accommodation ship

Struck a mine off Cromarty on 20 Jan 1940 and sank

|Edinburgh Castle||align="center"|1910||align="right"|13,326||Passenger ship built by Harland and Wolff, launched 27 January 1910, completed 28 April 1910, maiden voyage May 1910. Fitted with 6-inch guns and operated as armed merchant cruiser during First World War. Requisitioned in Second World War and moored in Freetown as accommodation ship. Judged not worth returning to UK and sunk as a target by gunfire November 1945.

|Edinburgh Castle||align="center"|1947||align="right"|28,700||1976 scrapped

|Edinburgh Universal||align="center"|1979||align="right"|9,996||ex-Polar Honduras (Hamburg-Sud) 1981 leased from Barclays Mercantile Finance Co renamed Edinburgh Universal

1984 transferred to Hong Kong renamed Caspian Universal

|Eider||align="center"|1900||align="right"|1,236||1926 purchased from Royal Mail SP Co., for the Southampton – Bremen – Hamburg feeder service

1936 sold to J. Billmeir, renamed Stanhill

|Galway Castle||align="center"|1911||align="right"|7,988||Passenger ship built by Harland & Wolff, torpedoed by U-82 SW of Fastnet Rock, Ireland on 12 September 1918. Taken under tow but sank on 15 September.

|Garth Castle||align="center"|1910||align="right"|7,612||Launched 13 January 1910. 1939 scrapped

|||align="center"|1900||align="right"|6,807||Formerly Union Line Galician

Hospital ship

Built by Harland & Wolff, Ltd., Belfast

1 Mar 1917 – Mined and damaged by UC-65

26 Feb 1918 – Torpedoed and sunk by UC-56 W of Lundy

|Glengorm Castle||align="center"|1898||align="right"|6,763||Formerly Union Line German

|||align="center"|1911||align="right"|7,999||Hospital ship

Built by Fairfield SB. & Eng. Co., Ltd., Glasgow

31 Mar 1917 – Damaged by UB-32 near the Isle of Wight.

15 Jul 1942 – Sunk by German raider Michel off South West Africa. Captain H.H. Rose and 92 passengers and crew were killed. Two lifeboats containing 61 people were picked up by the raider and taken to Japan as prisoners

|Good Hope Castle||align="center"|1945||align="right"|9,905||ex-Empire Life

1946 purchased from MoWT, renamed Good Hope Castle

1959 scrapped

|Good Hope Castle||align="center"|1965||align="right"|10,500||1978 sold to Italy, renamed Franca C

|Gordon Castle||align="center"|1901||align="right"|4,408||1924 scrapped

|Grantully Castle||align="center"|1909||align="right"|7,612||Launched 14 October 1909.