History

 
 


 
  RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE                                                                                                                                                                                                                       S/S UNITED STATES
 
 

 

The S/S United States is truly one of the most iconic ocean liners ever built and is a maritime icon and a masterpiece of naval engineering and American ingenuity. She is a true American icon and transatlantic legend. Today it seems unlikely that she will ever relinquish the title of “The Fastest Ocean Liner in the World” that she gained in breathtaking style from the RMS Queen Mary in 1952 during her maiden voyage.

 

Today she lingers on laid up in Philadelphia facing an uncertain future. But let us hope that she soon finds better times and is one day restored to her former grandeur and that her legacy endures for many generations to come.

 

Design and Construction (1946 – 1952):

 

The SS United States was the brainchild of one of the world's foremost marine architects, William Francis Gibbs. As such the United States was the culmination of a lifetime's achievement for him. He was one of this era's most renowned and accomplished maritime architects. From the rebuilding of the Leviathan, to the design and construction of ships like the Malolo, and the America, Gibbs brought with him innovation and a passion which revolutionized the American shipping industry.

 

Indeed, the United States not only represents the climax of Gibb's creative genius, but a bid to reclaim America's long lost reputation for building swift passenger vessels. In fact the United States had not been a major player in North Atlantic passenger shipping since the mid 19th century. Maritime Administration officials stated after tests off the Virginia Capes that she had "considerably exceeded 34 knots". Informed observers at the tests placed the speed closer to 40 knots, the speed of an American destroyer. Later it was revealed that she had 241,000 horsepower engines that allowed her to reach an astonishing top speed of 43 knots (79.12 km/hr or 49.48 mph). However her design was so secret that it was only released very recently that the United States on her sea trials actually achieved speeds exceeding 44 knots, or 50mph.  At 990 ft 6 inches in length, she is the largest passenger vessel ever built in the United States. She also had a remarkable endurance and could steam 10,000 miles without stopping for fuel or supplies.

 

William Francis Gibbs’s dream was to build a passenger ship that was faster, safer and more technologically advanced than anything else afloat. It was truly a construction project that challenged conventional thinking.

 

The ambition of the Gibbs Brothers and United States Lines to build a 1000 ft ocean liner dates back to the turn of the 20th century. The concept of a 1000-foot liner was initially developed by the Gibbs brothers in 1907. Designs for two express American super liners were, approved for construction by the U.S. Shipping Board by 1916, but were not built when the First World War diverted national resources into the creation of new wartime tonnage.

 

In 1939 a new American merchant flagship was launched in the form of the S/S America, the largest passenger liner constructed in the USA at that time. The America's construction costs were largely underwritten by the United States Government with the requirement that in time of war the ship would be converted into a troop carrier and pressed into national service. Indeed the very day that the America slid down the ways, Hitler was invading Poland, and the darkness of what would become the Second World War began to settle across the North Atlantic, where German U-boats carried out frequent and unprovoked attacks against international merchant shipping. The America was almost immediately converted into a troop carrier, and Gibbs & Cox would provide significant designs for large numbers of merchant marine and military vessels, including the famed Liberty Ships, to aid in the war effort. The Gibbs brothers' dream of constructing a 1000-foot liner was yet again postponed by war. Following the end of the Second World War in 1945, the S/S America was converted back into a highly regarded and successful American passenger liner and set out in her intended role on the North Atlantic route in 1946. To be competitive in the North Atlantic passenger trade, a consort was needed to replace the aging American liner Manhattan.

 

As a result plans were submitted for what would ultimately become the S/S United States and construction was started on the 8th February 1950 with the laying of the keel at Newport News shipyard at Slipway 10. The liner’s costs were massively subsidised by the United States Government. As with the America, the building subsidy was provided with the understanding that the liner would be requisitioned for military service when required.

 

On the 15th September 1950, the US Defence Department ordered the United States to be completed as a troopship due to the escalating crisis in Korea. However on the 1st November 1950 the US Defence Department announced that the ship was to be completed as a luxury liner after all.

 

In 1951 the legendary United States was launched at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company at a cost of $70,000,000, at the time the details of the United States were kept under a strict veil of secrecy. However this was to be no ordinary launch. The United States was the first passenger liner to be floated out of a graving dock. This floatation process was started on the 22nd July 1951 when the first water was allowed into the dock. By the 23rd July 1951 the ship was afloat and it was time for her naming ceremony. This was conducted by Mrs Tom Connely (wife of the prominent Texas senator). Afterwards the ship was towed to Pier 10 for fitting out. Her construction largely government subsidized, the United States was to be built for a dual purpose. In peacetime, the liner would serve as a passenger vessel, accommodating up to 1,982 passengers in three classes. During times of war, inspired by the sterling work of the Cunard Queens during the Second World War, the ship could be converted to troop transport and was capable of carrying over 14,000 troops.

 

With investors having such special purposes in mind, the ship was built to exceed the exacting standards of the United States Navy. Indeed, the multitude of innovations for which the liner is renowned for have drawn their inception from some of the brightest naval architects in America. Such expertise had not been expended in American shipbuilding since the Second World War when by sheer weight of dollars and productive drive the USA turned out quickly built and quickly aging freighters for war cargos.

 

The United States was built to last and so is of very sturdy construction. Swiftness is only one of the liner's new defence features. The United States is divided into more watertight compartments than any large passenger vessel ever built. Apparently no single torpedo could sink her and the ship could survive even a collision like that which sank the ill-fated Titanic. The United States was built with dual engine rooms, each having its own oil-fired boiler room driving two of the four massive propellers. Again, this was a protective measure against torpedo strike.

 

Among the ship's most prominent innovations is her convertibility to a troopship in a short period - literally overnight. This was inspired by the sterling work of the Cunard Queens during the Second World War which made the US Government desire to have a superliner of their own that could be adapted quickly for troopship duties should the need arise. It is estimated that on her first trip she would be able to carry 5,000 troops. On her second voyage, 9,000 men, and a capacity of 14,000 on her third. Other ships would lay idle for almost a period of three months while conversions to troop transports were made. She could outrun anything afloat and steam non-stop anywhere in the world in less than 10 days. Although she was briefly on stand-by during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, she was never called to troopship duty.

 

The dimensions of the United States allow her to slip through the Panama Canal, which the Cunard Queens could not do. She is 101.5 feet wide, just 16.5 feet narrower than the Queen Mary.

 

The most striking feature of the United States was its fireproofing. The ship was designed entirely of steel, aluminium, and other non-flammable materials. Hand rails, deck chairs, and furniture were all constructed out of aluminium. The decks were covered with a new non-flammable material in place of the traditional teakwood found on other contemporary liners. The interior decoration was done completely in spun glass, plastics, and a special flame-resistant fibre Dynel. A staggering ninety-nine kinds of fire retardant paint were used throughout the ship. Indeed publicists were fond of pointing out that the only wood on board were in her pianos and the chopping blocks.

 

With the innovative use of aluminium in the ship's construction, a new process of inserting rivets had to be developed by the Aluminium Co. of America. Since aluminium loses strength and resistance when heated, the rivets were heated, then cooled, and finally frozen and stored in ice-cream cabinets to keep them at 15 degrees below zero until finally hammered into place. The use of aluminium in her construction also gave her a power-to-weight ratio that has never been equalled.

 

In May 1952 the United States undertook its first phase of sea trials then in June the second phase was undertaken off the Virginia Capes in the presence of 17,000 invited guests, reporters and crew. During the trials the liner even travelled in reverse at 20 knots (near the maximum top forward speed of the ill fated Titanic). At the time it was announced that she had "considerably exceeded 34 knots” and outpaced a US Navy destroyer. Thus the ship exceeded the expectations of its designer William Francis Gibbs. Only later when details of her design secrets were finally revealed was it discovered that she had actually made a top speed of well above 44 knots!

 

United States Lines era (1952 – 1970):

 

On the 20th June 1952 the United States was officially handed over to her new owners, United States Lines. On the 22nd June 1952 she departed Newport News with 1,200 invited guests onboard on a special voyage to New York.

 

In preparation for the maiden voyage, some $1,350,000 was spent to renovate and redecorate the liner's home berth, Hudson River pier 86. Prior to her maiden voyage the public was invited to swarm over the ship, with the proceeds going to Travellers' Aid, and thousands of invited shipping experts were on hand to glimpse the latest product of American Industry.

 

The United States was received by the American public with due appreciation. The ship was regarded a supremely American possession and for the first time in decades, America could participate and regale in all the fanfare accompanying a grand transatlantic liner.

 

Commanding the new liner was United States Lines' most celebrated skipper-hero, the frequently decorated Commodore Harry Manning, who won America's first encounter with a German submarine in the Second World War. After loading 1,000 passengers of the S/S Washington into lifeboats when challenged by a U-boat in 1940, Manning stayed at his post and argued the enemy commander out of torpedoing his vessel. Manning held the United States Gold Medal for lifesaving, the Navy and Marine Corps medal, the Italian Government medal for lifesaving, and was a Chevalier of the Order of Maritime Merit of France. The United States Lines was sending its new flagship out with only the best at her helm.

 

Thus on the 3rd July 1952, the United States embarked on her maiden voyage leaving New York bound for Le Havre and Southampton. Following an extensive build up in the press and news media, the ship's inaugural voyage was sold-out well in advance. Indeed, the ship would live up to the expectations of it's owners and the nation for the United States steamed the 2,942 nautical miles from Ambrose Lightship to Bishop Rock in 3 days 10 hours 40 minutes at an average speed of 35.59 knots. On the 7th July 1952 she arrived at Southampton to a rapturous welcome. On the 10th July 1952 she departed Southampton bound for New York via Le Havre. Homewards, she made the crossing in 3 days, 12 hours 12 minutes at an average speed of 34.51 knots and so captured the revered 'Blue Riband' in both directions from the Queen Mary. America had proven its superiority once again and reigned supreme as speed champion of the North Atlantic and the dream of William Francis Gibbs to design the fastest ocean liner in the world had turned into reality. To this day the United States still is the fastest ocean liner in the world as her speed records have never been surpassed and are never likely to be.

 

The United States Lines immediately set about trying to make a reputation for the new ship in the Atlantic 'who's who' social set. With an advertising blitz touting travel-wise passengers who preferred the United States, the roll call sounded more like the roster of a large companies' Board of Directors than a cross-section of New York and Hollywood's social scene. Sadly the United States, through its entire career would never manage to steal the high profile travellers from their loyalties to the Cunard and French Lines. Perhaps this was in part due to the stark, antiseptic feel to the interiors of the ship. The aluminium interiors created an institutional look, barren painted metal walls and harsh lighting negated any notion of luxury and put the United States in a new category of ships outside the peer of travellers whose concept of luxury included commissioned artworks and plush interiors.

 

However the United States did manage to attract a loyal clientele, among which were notable names such as Cary Grant, and HRH the Duke and Duchess of Windsor who switched their allegiance from the Cunard Queens to the new United States.

 

In the 1950's, the United States would join with the America and begin its career on Atlantic ferry service, offering healthy competition to Cunard's mighty Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth who until this time had reigned undisputed in the Atlantic trade, ferrying passengers, tourists, and cargo from Europe to the Americas. Both the United States and the America would sail from New York's Pier 86. Five days later, the United States would call at Le Havre and Southampton and on the sixth day reaching Bremerhaven in Germany. The America would depart at 4pm from New York and reached Cobh on the sixth day, Le Havre and Southampton on the seventh and Bremerhaven on the eighth. In September 1958 the United States clocked her millionth mile at sea.

 

As the 1960's approached, airline competition became real. The economic viability of the larger liners would be in question within just a few short years. The story is the same for all the large liners of this decade and the United States was not immune to this. As airlines began to steal the transatlantic traffic, the steamship companies’ profits decreased.

 

Not only were airlines causing major headaches for shipping companies but the steamship lines began to face incessant strife from within. In October 1960 the eastbound crossing of the United States was cancelled due to industrial action. In July 1961 her voyages are again disrupted by unions and industrial action. Her partner, the America, is also affected. In August 1961 some good news comes for the United States as Walt Disney films “Bon Voyage” on board the liner.  In 1961 / 1962 due to increasing competition from air travel the United States starts cruising to the Caribbean. In 1962 the ship was briefly put on standby by the US Government during the rising tension in the Cuban Missile Crisis for possible use as a troopship but is never actually called up. Unions became increasingly vocal and the beginning of the end was marked on the 15th September 1963 when 680 unlicensed crew members of the National Maritime Union went on strike, demanding the removal of senior engineer officer Louis B. Neurohr on charges that he took discriminatory actions against Puerto Rican crew members.

 

In 1964, the America was sold to Chandris Lines for $4.25 million, leaving the United States to continue flying the American flag alone. In July / August 1965 the voyages of the United States are once again disrupted by industrial action. By 1966, the United States was losing $8 million per year. In 1967 the designer of the United States, William Francis Gibbs, dies. In 1968 United States Lines is acquired by the conglomerate Walter Kidde & Co. In January 1969 the United States undertakes a cruise to Cape Town.  By 1969, the United States had consumed over $100 million in government subsidies. Rising operating costs and lost revenues due to workers strikes were slowly taking their toll.

 

Between the 1st January 1961 and the 25th October 1969, union worker strikes forced cancellation of voyages on eleven different occasions. In late 1969 the US Government decided to withdrawn their subsidy. She departed New York on the 25th October 1969 on what turned out to be her final eastbound crossing to Bremerhaven via Southampton and Le Havre. While at sea the death knell fell when Captain John S. Tucker received a wireless message informing him that the 9th November 1969 'Autumn Adventure' cruise would be cancelled and that upon the ship's return to New York, the United States would depart for Newport News for an early annual overhaul. The rescheduling was intended to head off another threatened union strike but upon her arrival in Newport News, the United States would never sail under her own power again. After seventeen years of sailing the United States, a wonder of American cooperative effort and engineering, would fall victim to American labour unrest. On the 7th November 1969 the United States arrived back at Pier 86 in New York after what turned out to be her final transatlantic crossing. That evening she departed quietly for Newport News and what was expected to be an annual overhaul. But on the 11th November while her overhaul was underway the order was received to stop all work and the United States was abruptly laid up and as things turned out she would never sail again under her own power. On the 16th November 1969 orders were received to deactivate the liner. In June 1970 she was towed to the Norfolk International Terminal and laid up indefinitely. But throughout her somewhat brief 17 year career the United States had performed faultlessly and maintained a near perfect schedule.

 

The Wilderness Years (1970 – Present):

 

So the United States was abruptly withdrawn from service due to union disputes and laid up at the Norfolk International Terminal from June 1970. The Pentagon, which was largely responsible for her construction, was, ironically, largely responsible for her demise. Because of the ship's highly secret design specifications, one of the stipulations that put in place by the Government was that the ship could never be sold to foreign interests. In the late 1970's Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) was looking for a large vessel that it could convert to cruise service. After being turned down by the Maritime Administration to purchase the SS United States, the company purchased the idle transatlantic greyhound S/S France (which was laid up in Le Havre) from the French government, rechristened her Norway, and returned her to service as the world's longest cruise ship.

In 1973, the ship was placed under the authority of the US Federal Maritime Administration. They installed an extensive dehumidification system throughout the ship, leaving it virtually airtight. The system proved remarkably good when an unfaded copy of the New York Times from November 1969 was found in a lounge, ten years later.

 

By this time it was becoming clear that the government had no future plans for the United States. Once the proud flagship of a nation, the Maritime Administration now saw the S/S United States as a liability on their balance sheet. In 1978, the Maritime Administration accepted a bid of $5 million from Seattle-based United States Cruises Inc. who planned to return the ship to service as the world's first condominium-style cruise ship. The ship's new owner, Richard H. Hadley, planned to finance the $150 million refit by selling cabins on a time-share basis. Brochures were printed, press releases issued and even contracts with shipyards signed, but nothing ever came to pass. In October 1984 to stave off mounting costs the contents of the United States are auctioned off. Unable to pay the mounting dockage fees, in February 1992, United States Cruises Inc. was forced into bankruptcy. U.S Marshals seized the ship and filed a court motion to sell the ship at auction.

The ship's fate was sealed. After a failed attempt at returning her to service, the United States, it seemed, would end up at the ship breakers somewhere in the Far East. A stay of execution was granted when Fred Mayer of Marmara Marine Inc., purchased the ship at auction for $2.6 million in 1992. Mayer, Chairman of Commodore Cruise Lines, emigrated to the United States in the mid-1960's aboard the United States. He and his partners, one of which was a wealthy shipyard owner in Istanbul, Turkey, negotiated a plan with Cunard Line who would operate her as a running mate to the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2. The ship would sail between New York and Southampton in the summer months while the winter months would be spent cruising the tropics. In June 1992, the ship departed U.S. waters in tow, for Istanbul, Turkey, where once financing was secured workers would restore the ship to her former glory.

Originally designed as a fireproof ship, asbestos was used extensively in the ship's interior construction. An asbestos compound called Marinite was used in favour of plywood. The ship was loaded with it and if she were to sail in the 1990s, the compound would have to be removed. Workmen began the arduous process of stripping the ship's interior right down to her metal bulkheads. As was the case ten years earlier, attempts to secure government assistance in the project proved unsuccessful. Furthermore, faced with corporate restructuring, Cunard Line was no longer interested in operating another ship, especially one the size of the United States. It was thought that she would never see home waters again, but in July 1996 the SS United States returned to her homeland, but this time to Philadelphia, where the dormant Navy yard would reopen with the task of restoring the superliner to it's long lost former glory. As had happened so many times in the past, financing for the enormous project failed to materialise. Soon after this in November 1997 the ship was sold to Edward A. Cantor who was a real estate developer for $6 million. However the United States remained laid up at Pier 82 in
Philadelphia awaiting a higher bidder or for restoration to start Cantor’s SS United States Project as a cruise ship operating out of Philadelphia. In 1997 the first of many preservation campaigns was begun when the United States Foundation was set up to try to save the ship. In June 1999 the SS United States was placed on the US National Register of Historic Places after requests by the Foundation. However in 2002 Edward Cantor died and the ship’s fate fell into uncertainty once more.  On the 4th July 2002 the United States celebrated the 50th Anniversary of its maiden voyage back in 1952.

 

Then on the 14th April 2003, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) owned by Star Cruises, a Malaysian casino / cruise group, announced they had “purchased” the SS United States and intended to return the ship to service as a state-of-the-art cruise ship as a part of the companies proposed US flagged fleet. They also purchased SS Independence. The plan to rebuild the United States, according to NCL, would mean that several decks would be built atop her, similar to SS Norway, as well as placing new engines in her. However it is thought that the ship is only leased to NCL. NCL needed to acquire two American built ships in order to get around an Act of Parliament so that they could sail their cruise ships in their new NCL America division from one US port to another. So NCL needed these two American ships to ensure that the US Government would give them permission to form a US flagged cruise company, which has now succeeded with the formation of NCL America. So what this means for the Independence and United States is as yet unknown. Many really doubt whether NCL are actually serious about restoring the Independence and United States to active service as cruise ships, most now believe that they only acquired them for legal reasons in order to get permission to set up their NCL America.

 

However we have received information from the USA which clearly says that NCL only lease the United States and do not own her. We believe that there is apparently a campaign to save the United States for use as a landmark static attraction in New York in the centre of Manhattan and close to the USS Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. This is one of the many preservation campaigns underway at the moment that are interested in saving the United States; others include the SS United States Foundation and the SS United States Conservancy. It is also rumoured that an organisation called Americas Choice Inc. (ACI) may be interested in the ship as well. What success these preservation campaigns may have only time will tell.


But with the ship being totally gutted and only the hulk remaining any restoration will be a very expensive undertaking for any outfit. I fear that the big difficulty with the SS United States is the manner of her retirement from service. This was very sudden and in fact half way through one of her refits. This refit was never completed and all her furniture and interiors were stored in warehouses and thus later were auctioned off. This left her basically as a half painted, empty hulk with the only items of interest left on her being her magnificent engines and machinery spaces. There is also her illustrious history of course but some may say that can be remembered in other ways and you don't necessarily need the ship. Now to those without vision she may come across as simply a pile of metal and I fear may be more attractive to scrap merchants than property developers and as a hotel ship. To them other ships with their interiors still intact and that are still in operational condition (or that have been only briefly laid up when compared to the United States) may be more attractive. Now over 40 years in lay up have taken their toll and any project to rebuild and refit her as a hotel and museum will be a huge task and need vast sums of money. Saving the SS United States I fear may be a near impossible dream. It is of course possible if you had the funds, vision and resources, but as time goes on that solution seems ever more unlikely. So sadly in her current condition as an empty hulk I really fear for the future of the SS United States. I fear that she may go to scrap one day. The involvement of NCL / Star Cruises also heightens that possibility judging by their handling of the SS Norway (former SS France) and now the SS Independence. But I hope someone proves me wrong! It will need a miracle to save the United States from her current derelict state but you never know.


I just hope that somehow the United States can be given rebirth and reinvented as a floating hotel ship, museum, restaurant and entertainment complex for present and future generations. The most appropriate location for her ought to be New York. She could house a maritime museum on board showcasing her illustrious history and that of United States Lines. She could also be a floating ambassador promoting the very best that the United States as to offer and celebrating the positive aspects of American culture. That would be a truly great role for this famous ship in light of the tarnished reputation of the USA currently in light of the troubling conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq in recent years. But don't be deceived such a rebirth will be expensive.

 

Today the United States lingers on laid up in Philadelphia facing an uncertain future. But she is still a maritime icon and a masterpiece of naval engineering and American ingenuity. She truly is a transatlantic legend, an American icon and justly deserves the title of “The Fastest Ocean Liner in the World”. Indeed her Blue Riband speed record that she set in 1952 on her maiden voyage has never been surpassed and is never likely to be. Thus she will probably always remain as the final ocean liner to hold the coveted Blue Riband and will always remain “The Fastest Ocean Liner in the World”.  

 

 





(c) Cruise Ship History Collection 2018 including www.thecunarders.co.uk                                                                                                                                                                 A Edward Elliott