HMS ''Pretoria Castle'' (F61) was a
Union-Castle ocean liner that in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
was converted into a
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
armed merchant cruiser, and then converted again into an
escort carrier. After the war she was converted back into a passenger liner and renamed ''Warwick Castle''.
History
Harland and Wolff
Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the W ...
built ''Pretoria Castle'' in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, launching her in 1938 and completing her in April 1939. The
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
requisitioned her for the Royal Navy in October 1939, and had her converted into an armed merchant cruiser with eight and two guns, entering service in November 1939. In this role she served mainly in the
South Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
.
In July 1942 the Admiralty bought her outright for conversion to an escort carrier by
Swan Hunter
Swan Hunter, formerly known as Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, is a shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England.
At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three powe ...
on
Tyneside
Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt.
The population of Tyneside as publishe ...
. For her new role her armament included ten
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models em ...
. She was commissioned in her new role in July 1943. She operated as a trials and training carrier, seeing no active combat service.
In 1945 she twice became part of aviation history, firstly when British
test pilot
A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...
Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown
Captain Eric Melrose "Winkle" Brown, CBE, DSC, AFC, Hon FRAeS, RN (21 January 1919 – 21 February 2016) was a British Royal Navy officer and test pilot who flew 487 types of aircraft, more than anyone else in history.
Brown holds the worl ...
landed a
Bell
A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...
Airacobra Mk. 1 on her flight deck - the first carrier landing made using an aircraft with a tricycle undercarriage, due to a declared emergency during initial trials for
rubber deck landings planned for future carriers, and then by hosting the first ever landings and take-offs by a glider, performed by John Sproule in a
Slingsby T.20 as part of research into "round-down" turbulence. On 11 August 1946, while moored on the Clyde, a
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turb ...
was used for deck handling trials which later led to flight trials on other carriers.
After the war the ship was sold back to the Union-Castle Line in 1946 and converted back to a passenger liner, restored to its route between
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
but renamed ''Warwick Castle''. She was sold and scrapped in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
in July 1962.
Notes
References
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Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pretoria Castle (F61)
1938 ships
World War II Auxiliary cruisers of the Royal Navy
Escort carriers of the Royal Navy
Ocean liners
Passenger ships of the United Kingdom
Ships built in Belfast
Ships built by Harland and Wolff
Ships of the Union-Castle Line
World War II aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom