Kenilworth Castle
Ship Number
356
Vessel Type
Passenger Ship
Built
Belfast
Yard
North Yard
Slip Number
1
Launch Date
December 5, 1903
Delivered
May 14, 1904
Owner
Union-Castle Mail Steamship Co.
Weight
12975 grt
BP Length
570 feet
Breadth
64-3 feet
No. of Screws
Twin
Speed (approx)
17.5 knots
Propulsion
quadruple expansion constructed in Belfast
Official No.
118433
Registered
London
Fate
Scrapped
Kenilworth Castle

Sister of Armandale Castle and the Walmer Castle they were the first mail steamers ordered by the newly-merged Union-Castle.
  
Upon delivery to Union-Castle in May 1904 she was placed on the line's mail service between Southampton and Cape Town. The ship was used as a troop transport during World War I, surviving a June 1918 collision with H.M.S. Rival off Eddystone. In that collision, live depth charges released from H.M.S. Rival exploded under Kenilworth Castle's stern. 15 crew members were drowned and the ship was badly damaged.
 
In 1919 she was quarantined at Table Bay for three weeks during an influenza epidemic which was raging through South Africa. In 1934 her Second Class accommodation was removed and two years later she was sold for scrap.