EAW017152 ENGLAND (1948). The Union-Castle Line "Pretoria Castle" in Wembury Bay, Heybrook Bay, from the south (approximate location), 1948

Thanks for all the details. The history of the ship starts to make some sense of this batch of images. We'll update the location details and post the new data here in due course.



Yours, Katy

Britain from Above Cataloguing Team Leader

Pretoria Castle. 28,705 grt, 747 ft. long



Given the image date of 1948 this is the then brand new Union-Castle ship which the first to be completed after WW2.

She and her sister Edinburgh Castle sailed on the mail run to Cape Town from 1948.



She was sold to Safmarine in 1966 and renamed S.A. Oranje, but continued in the same service managed by Union-Castle.



As S S Oranje 27,513 tons, 135 first class passengers, 534 tourist class passengers.



She was sold to be broken up in 1975.





(To avoid confusion: There was an earlier ship of this name, acquired by the Royal Navy in World War II (F61); employed as armed merchant cruiser; later converted to escort carrier; resold to Union-Castle in 1946 and renamed Warwick Castle; scrapped in 1962)

Vessel is situated off Plymouth. View is looking north east.