[3] The turbines both improved her fuel efficiency and made Ranchi slightly faster than her sisters, with a cruising speed of 17.5 kn (32.4 km/h).

The Admiralty requisitioned Ranchi for the Royal Navy on 27 August 1939, less than a week before the UK entered World War II.

AMCs escorted merchant convoys in the early years of the war, as the Royal Navy did not have enough warships to spare for the purpose.

On 16 March 1943 the Admiralty released Ranchi from the Royal Navy, and the Ministry of War Transport had her converted into a troop ship.

One bomb hit Ranchi's fo'c'sle, penetrated the troops' toilets and went out through the ship's side before exploding.

[9] Hilda Bates, who had been interned in Batu Lintang camp at Kuching, Borneo, wrote on 23 October 1945: "We are now speeding towards England aboard the S.S. Ranchi, which is packed with troops and other ex P.O.W.s like ourselves ...

Singer Cliff Richard travelled to his parents native United Kingdom aboard Ranchi when his family left India in 1948.

Her first post war voyage was from Tilbury Docks on 17 June 1948, although her journey was delayed into Fremantle as there were rough seas off the coast of Western Australia.

In 1984 the P&O liner Canberra doubled for Ranchi in the final episode of Tenko, the BBC television drama series about civilian women interned by Japanese forces in the Far East.

[11] The Blue Lotus, fifth volume of the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin, features an ocean liner named Ranchi that operates in Asia.