completed in november 1929 as motor passenger ship llangibby castle for union-castle mail ss co ltd, london. in july 1940 requisitioned as troop transport after a voyage from capetown to falmouth and carried troops to south and east africa. in the night on 21/22 dec, 1940, damaged during an air raid in liverpool.
on 9 nov, 1942, the llangibby castle was part of the kmf-convoy in the operation torch, the landing in north africa. she was hit by an 8in shell from a vichy-french shore battery which killed one person. in 1943 the ship returned to the uk for repairs to her bow, which had been damaged at gibraltar during the preparations for the italian landings. at the same time, she was converted into a landing ship infantry (lsi) equipped with 18 landing craft and able to carry 1590 troops. after making exercises at loch fyne, she spent the next six months ferrying troops in the mediterranean. in 1944, hms llangibby castle was allotted to force j3 (juno beach) for the normandy landings, based at southampton. she practiced the landings at bracklesham bay. on 6 june, she landed the first wave of 750 canadian troops at coirseilles, loosing ten of her landing craft, which swamped on the return trip with the loss of 12 lives. the second wave of 750 men had to be landed by the remaining landing craft, which had to make two trips. after nine hours, the ship returned to southampton. she later landed troops at the omaha and utah beaches and also at le havre, in all she made over 70 crossings and carried over 100,000 troops.