She was built as HMS Loch Ard (K602) for the Royal Navy during World War II, but was transferred to the SAN in 1944 before completion and renamed as HMSAS Transvaal.

Transvaal was assigned to ferry troops home from Egypt after the war and participated in the annexation of the Prince Edward Islands in late 1947.

The ship carried 730 long tons (740 t) of fuel oil that gave it a range of 9,500 nautical miles (17,600 km; 10,900 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).

[2] When Transvaal began her long refit in 1957, her main armament was replaced by a twin-gun turret fitted with more powerful four-inch Mk XVI guns.

[6] Transvaal and her sister ships Natal and Good Hope repatriated some 700 troops from Egypt between November 1945 and March 1946 and escorted the battleship HMS Vanguard while she was serving as the royal yacht during King George VI's tour of South Africa in 1947.

At the end of the year, Transvaal's captain, Lieutenant-Commander John Fairbairn, read the proclamation annexing the Prince Edward Islands.

A few months later, Transvaal rescued survivors from the tanker Esso Wheeling whilst sailing from Durban to Simon's Town to begin a brief refit.

Two years later, she represented South Africa during the celebrations of Australia's Golden Jubilee in Sydney and then participated in exercises with other Commonwealth.

After the eruption of Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha on 10 October 1961, Transvaal ferried a team of scientists from the Royal Geographical Society to investigate conditions on the island in January 1962.