S.S. Clarion

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The S.S. Clarion was a large ocean liner operated by the Sogga Shipping Company from 1921 to 1944. She first served as a passenger liner until 1940, where she was retrofitted for cargo and troop transport, shipping Flopmerican supplies and eventually soldiers to Great Sogtain during the Second World War.
==Prebuilding==
On December 7th, 1918, the Sogga Shipping Company wanted to expand their fleet of ships after losing so many in the First World War. They came up with the Union Class. Four ships would be in this class: Union, Clarion, Winston, and Inversion. All the ships in the Union Class would look similar to each other, but there would be small differences. Each ship would have a different amount of port holes, Winston having the most. The interior would also be different. They also had similarities. They would be able to hold around 2,137 passengers and crew. The Union Class would be 637 feet in length. There would be 16 lifeboats on all ships, each having a capacity of 60. All ships had 2 propellers. The Class could hit 18 knots at full ahead. All the ships would use the Floppa Marconi Set. It was estimated to be around $5,000,000.00 Sogtish Pounds per liner. Construction would start.
==Building==
On July 16th, 1919, Union’s keel was laid, followed by Clarion on September 3rd, 1919. Hundreds of thousands of rivets went into the ship’s hull as thousands of all different cat species worked on the ships. Clarion would be launched on September 8th, 1920, one month later than expected. However, this would not change Clarion’s career. Around 2,973 cats were at Clarion’s launch. Finally, Clarion was finished on November 17th, 1921.
==Sea Trials==
The S.S. Clarion had an exclusive livery in her Sea Trials like her sisters. Sogga heads were painted on the Funnels. The flags of the Sogga Shipping Company, Great Sogtain, and the United Flops of America were hung on the A-deck Promenade. In the first time in her career, Clarion achieved max speed. All machinery worked as intended. She reached 18 knots just as planned. S.S. Clarion had passed her Sea Trials
==Maiden Voyage==
On August 20th, 1921, Clarion’s Maiden Voyage started with 1,257 Soggas, and 673 Floppas onboard. Thousands of cats went to Clarion’s departing. Some took cameras to take pictures of her as she left Southampton. Clarion’s horn blasted in the air as she departed. Clarion sailed into the sunset, heading to Halifax.
===Day 1===
Clarion’s first day out at sea was magnificent. The luxurious interior all over the ship dragged viewers in. From First Class to Third, luxurious details were found from the dining rooms to the cabins, halls, doors, windows, etc. For dinner, they offered steak, fish, water, and tea. S.S. Clarion continued to sail, heading for Halifax.
===Day 2===
Clarion’s second day out at sea was great. Not at the same level as on the first day (passengers have gotten used to the luxury), but it was still great. For dinner, they served burgers, salad, fish, tea, and water.
===Day 3===
Clarion had been sailing for three days. A storm came in as Clarion sails. The captain of Clarion, Floppa William Smith ordered half of the lower ranked crew to look out for injuries from the rolling of the ship. The other half looked out for broken objects like glasses to retrieve them. Passengers were banned from the upper decks to prevent people from getting seasick or falling overboard. Dinner had been reduced to basics.
===Day 4===
The storm had started to die down at 2:31 AM. At 5:24 PM, the storm had passed. The ban on the top deck was lifted. They served tea, water, steak, salad, and burgers.
===Day 5===
At around 6:00 PM, Clarion arrived at Halifax. Around 3,256 Floppas and Soggas attended her docking. S.S. Clarion had finished her maiden voyage.
==1921-1924 (Career)==
The S.S. Clarion continued to sail from Southampton to Halifax. Clarion and Union had Successful seasons in 1921 and 1923. More success would come once the third sister, Winston, could be finished. Sogga Shipping Company was in a good position. A group of liners full of luxury making their way to Halifax and Southampton. If any of the liners needed to be repaired, they still had three liners going the same route. Having four ships in a class also was benefiting for Sogga Shipping Company. 2 Liners could be at Halifax, and 2 liners could be at Southampton at the same time. Sogga Shipping Company could have a chance to beat their rival Zabloing Shipping And Sailing. In 1923, Clarion went for a refit. Her grand staircase was upgraded with more windows and chairs. On April 7th, 1924, the Winston was finished. Zabloing Shipping And Sailing had gone ahead of Sogga Shipping Company in 1911. Sogga Shipping Company had beaten Zabloing Shipping And Sailing in luxury like planned; however, this would not be for long. Zabloing Shipping And Sailing would start planning for bigger and more luxurious ships. Even with this, Sogga Shipping Company still pushed the Union Class.
==Collision==
S.S. Clarion was sailing when a massive fog rolled in making it hard to see. Crew looked out for other ships. Immediately a crashing sound was heard. The S.S. Zabloing Lake had rammed into the hull of the Clarion. A panic started on deck, as Floppas and Soggas rushed to the boats. First officer Sogga Liam and Captain Floppa William Smith went to do a damage assessment as the deck crew readied the boats if they needed to evacuate. Luckily, S.S. Clarion was not sinking. The Union class was designed to survive being rammed. Her bulkheads could handle 2 compartments being breached. Instead of sending out an S.O.S with the Floppa Marconi Set, they requested a tow.
==1925-1929 (Golden Years)==
S.S. Clarion continued to sail from Southampton to Halifax. Surviving the collision with Zabloing Lake had made her a small celebrity in the Sogga Shipping Company’s fleet and it would get better from there. In 1926, Clarion picked up an S.O.S message from the R.M.S. Succession. S.S. Clarion rushed to Succession’s coordinates and managed to get there in time. Clarion saved 572 cats. The other ships picked up the other survivors. Saving one of Sogga Shipping Company’s ships made Clarion more famous. In 1927, Clarion got another refit. New flooring was added in the grand staircase and dining room. Because Clarion was a fan favorite, Winston being a second, Clarion became the flagship for the Sogga Shipping Company. On September 12th, 1927, Zabloing Shipping And Sailing’s massive liner, R.M.S. Quadruple, was launched. Sogga Shipping Company was now planning on making more ships that could beat Zabloing Shipping And Sailing’s luxurious Quadruple. Clarion would not be the most luxurious ship in Sogga Shipping Company’s fleet.
==Great Depression==
The Great Depression affected Clarion badly. Cats could not afford tickets to Halifax or Southampton. Also, Clarion would accidentally ram into another vessel. She suffered a telescoped bow, but the other liner sank. Clarion was refitted again. The Floppa Marconi Set was upgraded, and more interior updates were added. In 1931, Clarion’s passenger count had dropped from around 1,993 Floppas and Soggas, to 1,623 Floppas and Soggas. Sogga Shipping Company would make many changes to Clarion trying to get more Floppas and Soggas on the ship.
It was Zabloing Shipping And Sailing’s Quadruple that took the spotlight from Clarion. In 1933, Clarion’s sister, Inversion, had been scrapped for doing the worst. Clarion was going to be next; however, Clarion was still considered an earner, and so she was temporarily spared. Later, in 1934, Clarion and Union were then going to be scrapped; however, Clarion and Union were cheaper to maintain and more reliable, so instead of scrapping Union and Clarion, they scrapped one of Sogga Shipping Company’s new liners. Clarion and Union’s passenger count continued to decrease as time passed. On September 2nd, 1938, it was clear that Clarion and Union could not survive. Sogga Shipping Company had now considered scrapping them. Clarion would continue service until Jun 23rd, 1939. Clarion was finally laid up, waiting for destruction. However, fate kicked in.
Ever since Flopmany rose to power in 1933, chaos had been prevalent and the world was on edge. On September 1, 1939, the Flopmany invasion of Sogland finally sparked the start of the Second World War.
==Second World War==
Great Sogtain needed ships for the war. Clarion’s engines were in fine condition and her interiors had already been removed. This made it a lot easier to convert Clarion into a troop ship. Clarion was bought by Sogtain and converted her into a troop ship. Clarion was painted a battleship grey and covered with tons of anti-aircraft guns. At the stern and bow, she was given a single QF4 inch gun. Thousands of bunk beds were added to accommodate almost 4,000 cats. four new lifeboats were added to the deck along with hundreds of inflatable rafts in quick release boxes. Clarion’s beautiful interior and exterior looked almost unrecognizable now. Her original route had been completely reset to the Mediterranean. It’s unknown if this is true, but some say in 1941, Clarion came within inches of hitting a mine. In 1942, Clarion’s route had changed again, serving the Atlantic, going from Southampton to New Flop City. When sailing, a telescope was thought to be spotted. Clarion shot next to the U-boat to scare it away, which worked. In 1943, Clarion had gotten more guns on her deck. Later in 1943, Clarion had almost sank from a U-boat. One of the Bingus Class U-boats spotted Clarion. three torpedoes were fired at Clarion. Luckily, two fell astern and one failed to detonate. However, This was the last of Clarion’s luck. On April 21st, 1944, Clarion fate had come.
==Sinking==
On April 21st, 1944, Clarion had been sailing for four days. 3,837 cats are aboard Clarion. It is approximately 2:23 PM. Without knowing, U-boats had been tracking Clarion’s location for about 30 minutes. U-Flop 33 had found her. The captain of U-flop 33 (Flop Wilhelm Schmidt) fired 3 torpedoes at Clarion. One fell astern, but the two other ones found their mark, under the second funnel on the starboard side. Immediately, Clarion started to list over to her starboard side. The vibration of the two explosions jammed most of the watertight doors. Water was flooding into Clarion at a rate where no matter what they did, she would sink. Panic had started on the decks seconds after she listed to the starboard side. Cats climbed to the deck as she listed. The cats that could not climb fast enough were swallowed by water rushing in. Many of the cats on the lower decks did not have time to escape the water. At 2:24, the power failed. Luckily, the emergency power kicked in, lighting the halls with a red light. The first distress call was sent at 2:26. The emergency power made it harder to send out distress calls because of the limited range the Floppa Marconi Setup’s emergency power had. The first lifeboat was launched around 2:27 with 60 onboard. At 2:29, a ship known as the U.S.S. Floppa had heard Clarion’s distress call. U.S.S. Floppa had started to broadcast the destress call to alert other ships in the area. U.S.S. Floppa ran full ahead hoping to make it on time. Around 2:30, U-flop 33 had left. At 2:31, the stern had started to flood, 8 minutes after impact. 3 lifeboats had gotten away from the ship. Some of the crew members released some of the quick release rafts. At 2:32, the stern started flooding as all power went out. Clarion at this point started dropping like a rock. At 2:33, Clarion’s second funnel fell. Around this time, U.S.S. Floppa was 13 miles away. Unfortunately, Clarion’s coordinates were off. U.S.S. Floppa passed Clarion, leaving the ship stranded. At 2:34, the sinking had started to slow down because most of the watertight doors could close in the front. At 2:37, Clarion’s bow came high out of the water, around 55 or 60 degrees. At 2:39, Clarion had fully sank. When Clarion failed to get into port the next day, cats went on a search mission. One day later, on April 22nd, 1944, a bundle of lifeboats and rafts were spotted.
==Aftermath==
Out of 3,837 cats, around 2,910 were lost. All dead bodies were buried at Halifax, nova scotia. Headlines were made about the sinking of Clarion. Later, it was found out that U-Flop33 sank Clarion. With Clarion’s sinking, all the Union Class liners were gone. An investigation had started. There were 2 reasons why she sank.
# Coincidence: U-flop 33 had ended up being in the perfect position to fire three torpedoes.
# Speed: Clarion was just not made for speed. Her max speed was 18 knots. 18 knots is not fast enough to outrun a torpedo.
== Wreck ==
The wreck of the Clarion has never been found. Some drawings of the wreck have been made by artists, however, they are fictional. The wreck of the Clarion might never be found. Some attempts have been made to find it, but all have failed. In 1987, a group of cats had thought they found it, but it turned out to be some rocks closely resembling Clarion's port side propeller.
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