HMS Otranto HMS " Otranto " was a First World War Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser . She was originally the SS " Otranto " , built in 1909 by the Belfast yard of Workman Clark for the Orient Steam Navigation Company . History . Passenger ship . It took two attempts – on 23 March and again on 27 March 1909 – to launch " Otranto " . She was delivered to her owners on 30 June 1909 . Although she was intended for the London – Australia run as a passenger and mail carrier , she spent the summer of 1909 cruising in Northern European waters . She left London on her maiden voyage to Australia on 1 October 1909 . " Otranto " was present at King George V ' s Coronation Naval Review on 26 June 1911 . Auxiliary cruiser . One week after Great Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914 the " Otranto " was requisitioned by the Admiralty for conversion to an auxiliary cruiser , having six guns fitted . She was sent to the South Atlantic to join Rear Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock ' s West Indies squadron . This squadron was subsequently diverted to the South - East Pacific to intercept the German Far East squadron under Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee which was attempting to make for Germany after the loss of its base in Tsingtao , China , to a joint Japan ese - British force . It was " Otranto " which spotted the German squadron on 1 November 1914 off the Chilean coast . The subsequent battle , known as the Battle of Coronel , was a victory for the German squadron , but " Otranto " managed to escape along with the light cruiser . Following the battle , " Otranto " was ordered to the Falkland Islands to act as a guard ship , but returned to the UK in March 1915 after her ex - Merchant Navy crew threatened to mutiny . By May 1915 , " Otranto " was in the Pacific patrolling the West Coast of America . She carried out four refits during her time in the Pacific : in Sydney , Australia during February 1916 , in Esquimault , British Columbia , Canada in October 1916 , again in Esquimault in October 1917 , and finally in Sydney during April 1918 . " Otranto " was then ordered back to Britain , and in June 1918 she became an armed troopship employed in ferrying American " doughboy s " to the Western Front in Europe . Sinking . It was during one such operation on 6 October 1918 that she collided with , another liner turned troopship , in poor visibility in the rough seas between the North East coast of Ireland and the Western Isles of Scotland . She was holed on the port side forward and , in the heavy swell , began to list . The stricken ship then hit rocks and became grounded . With the heavy seas pounding her continually against the rocks the ship eventually broke up and sank with the loss of 431 lives ( 351 American troops and 80 British crew members ) . A number of Americans and crew were saved by a convoy escort , , and were taken to Belfast , Ireland . Many of the survivors were hospitalised there until eventual transfer to England . Probably none of the survivors saw action in the Great War as it ended soon afterwards on 11 November 1918 . Many of the dead were buried in the Belfast City Cemetery . The American servicemen were exhumed and repatriated to the United States in 1920 . Replacement . A second " Otranto " was built by the Orient Line , c . 1927 . She served in the Second World War as a troopship , later being converted to one - class operation and used on the Australia run until being scrapped , c . 1957 . Spike Milligan in his War Memoires ( Hitler - My part in his Downfall ) said that this was the ship that carried him and his Artillery Regiment from Liverpool to Tangiers .