ussstlouis

SS St. Louis, was a transatlantic passenger liner built by the William Cramp & Sons Building & Engine Company, Philadelphia and was launched on 12 November 1894; sponsored by Mrs. Grover Cleveland, wife of the President of the United States; and entered merchant service in 1895, under United States registry for the International Navigation Co., of New York with her maiden voyage between New York and Southampton, England. She was acquired by the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War and commissioned under the name USS St. Louis in 1898, and again during World War I under the name USS Louisville (ID-1644) from 1918 to 1919.[Note 1] After she reverted to her original name in 1919, she burned in 1920 while undergoing a refit. St. Louis was scrapped in 1924 in Genoa. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_St._Louis_(1894)

The two liners were sister ships.
"For many years, SS St. Louis was prominent as a passenger liner between New York and Liverpool. On 17 March 1917, she was furnished an armed guard of 26 United States Navy sailors and armed with three 6-inch guns, to protect her from enemy attack as she continued her New York-to-Liverpool service."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_St._Louis_(1894)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Saint_Paul_(SP-1643)

Other Bain photos

See notes under

with her neutral American signage for the u-boats

see note under