[3] Rewa was ordered in 1905 by the British India Steam Navigation Company (BI) from William Denny & Bros at Dumbarton at the same time as sister ship SS Rohilla from Harland & Wolff Ltd of Belfast.

Although ordered for the London to Calcutta service, increased competition prompted BI to design the two sisters to be suitable also as troopships.

[5][6][7] In 1913 she entered the Suez Canal from Karachi carrying the 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment homeward bound to England.

However, German naval command had declared unrestricted submarine warfare in a desperate effort to win the war.

To confirm that a U-boat was not just hiding on the sea bed, Allied ships would drop depth charges, called opening the "tin can".