Passengers:

SS Merion was an ocean liner

Ocean liner

An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...

 built in 1902 for the American Line

American Line

The American Line was a shipping company based in Philadelphia that was founded in 1871. It began as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, although the railroad got out of the shipping business soon after founding the company...

, a subsidiary line of the International Mercantile Marine (IMM). She also sailed for the Red Star Line

Red Star Line

The Red Star Line was an ocean passenger line founded in 1871 as a joint venture between the International Navigation Company of Philadelphia, which also ran the American Line, and the Société Anonyme de Navigation Belgo-Américaine of Antwerp, Belgium...

 and the Dominion Line

Dominion Line

Trans-atlantic passenger line founded in 1870 as the Liverpool & Mississippi Steamship Co., with the official name being changed in 1872 to the Mississippi & Dominion Steamship Co Ltd. The firm was amalgamated in 1902 into the International Mercantile Marine Co....

—both subsidiary lines of IMM—during her passenger career. After the outbreak of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 she was bought by the British Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

 and converted to serve as a decoy resembling the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 battlecruiser . In May 1915, while posing as Tiger in the Aegean Sea

Aegean Sea

The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...

, Merion was sunk by the German submarine .

Career

Merion was built by John Brown & Company

John Brown & Company

John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a pre-eminent Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm, responsible for building many notable and world-famous ships, such as the , the , the , the , the , and the...

 of Clydebank

Clydebank

Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 for the American Line

American Line

The American Line was a shipping company based in Philadelphia that was founded in 1871. It began as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, although the railroad got out of the shipping business soon after founding the company...

, a subsidiary of the International Navigation Company

International Navigation Company

The International Navigation Company was a Philadelphia based holding company owning 26 ships totaling 181,000 tons and carried more passengers than either Cunard or White Star, when the company was reorganized as International Mercantile Marine in 1902...

, and launched on 26 November 1901. The ship was 161.7 metre long (between perpendiculars) and 18 metre abeam

Beam (nautical)

The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...

. She had a gross register tonnage

Gross Register Tonnage

Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...

 (GRT) of 11,621. The ship had twin screw propellers powered by twin triple-expansion steam engines, and, at top speed, could move 14 knots. As built, Merion had accommodations for 150 second- and 1,700 third-class passengers. She was a sister ship to .

Upon completion, the ship was chartered to the Dominion Line

Dominion Line

Trans-atlantic passenger line founded in 1870 as the Liverpool & Mississippi Steamship Co., with the official name being changed in 1872 to the Mississippi & Dominion Steamship Co Ltd. The firm was amalgamated in 1902 into the International Mercantile Marine Co....

, a subsidiary line of International Mercantile Marine (IMM) with which International Navigation had merged in 1902. The liner sailed for Dominion on her maiden voyage on 8 March 1902 from Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 to Boston. After completing eleven voyages on that route, Merion was returned to the American Line in March 1903. The following month she began sailing on the Liverpool–Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

 route on which she sailed most of the rest of her passenger career. She was briefly chartered to the Red Star Line

Red Star Line

The Red Star Line was an ocean passenger line founded in 1871 as a joint venture between the International Navigation Company of Philadelphia, which also ran the American Line, and the Société Anonyme de Navigation Belgo-Américaine of Antwerp, Belgium...

 in 1907 for one Antwerp–New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 voyage.

The liner had several mishaps during her passenger career. On 2 March 1903, an article in The Washington Post

The Washington Post

The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...

 reported that Merion had run aground shortly after leaving Queenstown while en route to Liverpool from Boston. The ship was freed from her perch near Chicago Knoll by the rising tide, but when she got underway again became stuck fast in almost the same spot. At press time, two British Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

 tugs had been dispatched to free the ship. Almost exactly a year later, Merion collided with the steamer Clan Grant off Tuskar Rock on 30 March 1904 and was damaged. On 24 December 1912, Merion collided with a tanker

Tanker (ship)

A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...

 off the Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

 coast and sustained damage which included two flooded compartments. The ship was beached below Cross Ledge, but was refloated and made way under her own power back to Philadelphia, after discharging her cargo and passengers.

After the outbreak of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 in Europe, Merion was equipped with four 6 inches (15.2 cm) guns for defensive purposes. Merion was the subject of a protest by the German Consul at Philadelphia, when she docked at that port equipped with those guns, counter to rules regarding armed ships in neutral ports. The still-neutral United States required that the guns be removed before they would allow Merion to sail;The United States did not enter World War I until April 1917. her guns were stowed belowdecks when she departed Philadelphia on 5 September 1914. Merions final voyage on the Liverpool–Philadelphia route began on 31 October, after which she was sold to the British Admiralty.

Merion was employed as part of a program that disguised ocean liners to resemble Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 capital ships. Merion was patterned after the British battlecruiser and deployed in the Mediterranean.The real was a part of the British Grand Fleet and not in the Mediterranean. See: . For this duty, the liner was equipped with canvas-and-wood replicas of Tigers guns, and her crew had to stow them whenever approached by neutral ships. The ship was also overloaded with ballast to make the ship ride lower in the water to match the profile of the real Tiger.

On 29 May 1915, the German submarine , apparently tempted by the prospect of sinking a British battlecruiser, allowed five loaded transports to sail past before launching a torpedo attack on Merion. One torpedo from UB-8 struck the liner and exploded, sending some of the "cement and stones" used as ballast into the air. Some of Merions crew that were knocked overboard by the explosion were able to float ashore on nearby Strati Island on remnants of the liner's false guns. Despite being severely overloaded, Merion did not immediately sink, remaining afloat more than 24 hours before finally succumbing to the attack on 31 May. There are no reports of any deaths during Merions sinking.