In 1925 Blue Star ordered a set of new liners for its new London – Rio de Janeiro – Buenos Aires route.

Avila made her maiden voyage in April 1927 on Blue Star Line's route between London and Buenos Aires via Boulogne, Madeira, Tenerife, Rio de Janeiro, Santos and Montevideo.

This may have been partly to help distinguish Blue Star from Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, whose ships bore similar Spanish names.

She continued her valuable service shipping frozen meat from South America to Britain but was largely left to sail unescorted.

At first she continued her peacetime route of London – Lisbon – Mindelo, Cape Verde – Rio de Janeiro – Santos – Montevideo – Buenos Aires.

In June France surrendered to Germany and in July–August 1940 Avila Star docked in Cardiff and Swansea to avoid a now-dangerous voyage via the English Channel and North Sea to London.

There were repeated Luftwaffe attacks on Cardiff, and on her next two arrivals home in September 1940 and January 1941 Avila Star docked in Liverpool.

[9] In November she called at Rio de Janeiro and Santos on her outward voyage but not on her return from Buenos Aires and Montevideo.

[10] The Luftwaffe was also inflicting heavy damage on Liverpool and April 1941 Avila Star changed again, calling at Belfast Lough and docking at Avonmouth.

On this visit she also called at Avonmouth and Belfast Lough, and then on 8 July 1941 reached the Firth of Clyde to join Convoy WS 9C.

This time she joined a small transatlantic convoy, CT 4, which seems to have been three passenger liners sailing together with no naval escort.

[10] Avila Star's next outward voyage she left Liverpool on 20 April, went straight to Trinidad and reached Buenos Aires on 16 May.

She loaded a cargo of 5,659 tons of frozen meat and embarked passengers, left Buenos Aires on 12 June, called at Montevideo three days later, and then set off across the South Atlantic for Freetown.

[13] In mid-Atlantic Avila Star found and rescued the First and Third officers and a DEMS gunner from J&J Denholm's 5,186 GRT cargo steamship Lylepark, which the German auxiliary cruiser Michel had sunk in on 11 June.

The crew and passengers had a lifeboat drill every day, and throughout the voyage each person either wore or carried a lifejacket plus a red marker light to attach to it.

At 00:36 on 6 July by Berlin Time, 90 miles (140 km) east of São Miguel in the Azores, the submarine hit Avila's starboard side with two G7e torpedoes,[15] one of which detonated in her boiler room.

The ship's engines and main generator were disabled, but her emergency dynamo was started which restored electric light.

Dr Crawford was wearing a rucksack packed with medicines, dressings and a syringe to treat survivors, but alone in the water he had to abandon it to swim for his life.

[13] After all boats had been launched four crew remained aboard ship: Captain Fisher, his First Officer, Michael Tallack, the junior Fourth Engineer, Habid Massouda, and a quartermaster, John Campbell.

[1] The nearest land was the Azores 90 miles (140 km) to the west, but with crude navigation in lifeboats there was too great a risk of missing the islands and continuing out into the Atlantic.

The ship was a Portuguese Navy Douro-class destroyer, NRP Lima, en route from Lisbon to Ponta Delgada on São Miguel Island in the Azores.

Half were covered with oil, one had a smashed and bleeding hand and injured ankle, a second had a bad cut across his eyebrow and a third seemed to have a broken rib.

North easterly trade winds had blown the boat much further south than Anson had estimated: about 100 miles (160 km) off the West African coast at 34°00′N 11°45′W / 34.000°N 11.750°W / 34.000; -11.750.

Ship's carpenter Alexander Sutherland and Captain Charles Low, who had been Master of the Lylepark, received commendations.

The London Gazette commended Pearce for "outstanding leadership... steady discipline and [keeping] everyone in good heart".

The London Gazette commended Ferguson for "great courage... nursing four injured men... [making] no fuss... and her general behaviour during the 20 days' ordeal... was excellent".

The London Gazette said that "It was due to the courage, skill and fortitude of Mr Clarke during the latter part of the voyage that the boat was brought to safety.

One member of Avila Star's crew, 17-year-old Donald Black, is buried in the British Protestant Churchyard at Ponta Delgada.

Three more are buried in the British Cemetery at St. George's Church, Lisbon: Assistant Steward William Clarke, Donkeyman Charles Ellis and Third Engineer Raymond Girdler.

[21] Ferguson's WRNS uniform jacket, bearing her medal ribbons, is now an exhibit in the Imperial War Museum.