First World War
On 28 July 1914, the First World War began. The British Admiralty had been converting passenger liners into armed merchant cruisers since shortly before the war, and on 6 August listed eight more to be requisitioned, including Victorian. She was at Quebec that day and was detained accordingly.[16] But she seems to have been allowed to proceed to Liverpool in civilian service, as she was requisitioned on 17 August,[15] and was commissioned at Chatham Dockyard on 21 August. Initially her armament was eight 4.7-inch QF guns: two on her forecastle, two on her forward house, two on her after house and two on her poop deck. Her pennant number was M 56.
Victorian served with the 9th Cruiser Squadron from September 1914 until March 1915. In September 1914, she was ordered to the coast of Morocco, which France had invaded in 1907 and forced to become a French protectorate in 1912. Victorian joined the FRENCH CRUISER Cassard off Cape Juby on 26 September, the two cruisers bombarded Moroccan villages the next day, and Victorian withdrew on 28 September.
From October 1914 until January 1915, Victorian patrolled near the Canary Islands. She called at Freetown in Sierra Leone on 23–24 November. She patrolled the coast of Portugal in February, returned to home waters in March and was out of commission in April and May.
In June 1915, Cammell Laird replaced Victorian's forecastle guns with two six-pounder guns that had been removed from HMS Caribbean, an RMSP liner that had briefly been an AMC but had then been deemed unsuitable. At about the same time Victorian's other six 4.7-inch guns were replaced with six BL 6-inch and QF 6-inch naval guns. Also in June 1915, Victorian joined the 10th Cruiser Squadron.
With the 10th Cruiser Squadron Victorian was on the Northern Patrol from June 1915 until July 1917. Her patrols took her to the Norwegian Sea in 1915, around the Faroe Islands and the northern part of the Western Approaches in 1916 and the same plus the Icelandic coast of the Denmark Strait in the first half of 1917.
In May 1916, the two six-pounders were removed from her forecastle and replaced with a pair of anti-aircraft guns. By October 1916, her armament also included depth charges.
From August 1917 until November 1918 Victorian escorted convoys. In 1918 her pennant number was changed twice: to MI 91 in January and to MI 51 in April. From January 1918 she carried cargo and from April she carried troops, including US Army and Australian Army.
On 4 November 1918 Victorian arrived in the River Mersey to be decommissioned from the Royal Navy. Her guns were removed on 27 November and her unused ammunition was unloaded on 27–29 November.
