SS El Sol was a cargo ship built in 1910 for the Morgan Line, a subsidiary of the Southern Pacific Company.

The U.S. Army acquired her after the United States entered World War I in April 1917, converting her to carry horses and mules to France.

[6] Although there is no information about the specific conversion of El Sol, for other ships, this typically meant that any second- or third-class passenger accommodations had to be ripped out and replaced with ramps and stalls for the horses and mules carried.

[7] Sources do not reveal all of El Sol's movements, but it is known that she departed on her second trip to France from Newport News on 10 February 1918.

El Sol was assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS) and continued to carry animals and supplies for the U.S.

While returning to the United States from her last NOTS sailing in late March 1919, El Sol responded to distress calls from Scranton,[5] a Navy troop transport which had a damaged rudder and was disabled.

El Sol came to the aid of the stricken ship 900 nautical miles (1,700 km) east of New York to attempt to take her under tow.

[9] During the day on 28 March,[10] Scranton attempted to run a towline to El Sol by sending a launch in the rolling seas, but it capsized, killing three men.

[15] Sac City's bow had some slight damage, but El Sol sank quickly in about 60 feet (18 m) of water about a half-mile (800 m) south of the Statue of Liberty.

[15] Even though the sunken vessel was not considered a hazard to navigation,[15] in another fog two days later, a Staten Island Ferryboat nearly hit El Sol's wreck.