Harland and Wolff built her two Burmeister & Wain engines under license. They were the largest marine oil engines constructed in Britain until then. Each engine was a double-acting 10-cylinder marine two-stroke diesels developing 24,000 hp with bore x stroke 26inches x 59inches. Each engine was 34feet high from the centre of the crankshaft, 72feet long and weighed 900LT, and drove a single screw.[1]
Stirling Castle left Southampton on her maiden voyage on 7 February 1936. In August of that year she set a new record for the route, reaching Table Bay in 13 days 9 hours, beating the previous record of 14 days, 18 hours, and 57 minutes had set in 1893.
During World War II, Stirling Castle was used as a troopship. She came through the war unscathed after steaming some 505,000 miles and carrying 128,000 personnel.[2]
She was released from government service in 1946. In 1946, she sailed from Southampton on 31 August for Australia arriving at Fremantle on 28 September. Her builders then refitted her and she resumed passenger service in 1947.
The mail service was accelerated in 1965 and Stirling Castle and her sisters had insufficient speed to maintain the new schedule. They were replaced by two new fast cargo ships (the new schedule required only seven ships rather than eight) and Stirling Castle was withdrawn from service upon arrival at Southampton on 30 November 1965.
A proposed sale to Taiwan breakers (where her sister had gone two months earlier) fell through and she was instead sold for scrapping in Japan. She left Southampton on 1 February 1966 for Mihara. She arrived there on 3 March 1966 to be broken up by Nichimen Co.[3]