SS Merion

Postcard image of SS Merion in passenger service
History
Name	SS Merion
Owner	1902–1914: International Mercantile Marine[1] 1914–1915: British Admiralty
Operator	1902–1903: Dominion Line[1] 1903–1914: American Line 1907: Red Star Line (1 voyage) 1914–1915: British Admiralty
Port of registry	Liverpool[1]
Route	1902–1903: Liverpool–Boston[1] 1903–1914: Liverpool–Philadelphia 1907: Antwerp–New York (1 voyage)
Builder	John Brown & Company, Clydebank[1]
Yard number	345[2]
Launched	26 November 1901[2]
Completed	February 1902[2]
Maiden voyage	Liverpool–Boston, 8 March 1902[1]
Fate	torpedoed and sunk by German submarine UB-8, 31 May 1915[1]
Notes	one of the largest ships hit by U-boats in World War I Sister ship: SS Haverford
General characteristics
Type	Ocean liner
Tonnage	11,621 GRT[2]
Length	161.7 m (530 ft 6 in)[2]
Beam	18.0 m (59 ft 1 in)[2]
Propulsion	2 × triple-expansion steam engines[2] 2 × propellers
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)[2]
Passengers:	150 second-class 1,700 third-class
Armament	4 x 6 inches (15 cm) guns (as merchant ship, 1914)[3]
Notes	served as a decoy ship meant to resemble HMS Tiger

SS Merion was an ocean liner built in 1902 for the American Line, a subsidiary line of the International Mercantile Marine (IMM). She also sailed for the Red Star Line and the Dominion Line—both subsidiary lines of IMM—during her passenger career. After the outbreak of World War I she was bought by the British Admiralty and converted to serve as a decoy resembling the Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Tiger. In May 1915, while posing as Tiger in the Aegean Sea, Merion was sunk by the German submarine SM UB-8.