https://lflank.wordpress.com/2023/02/14/ss-united-states/ Hidden History Hidden History Search Primary Menu Skip to content * About Search for: [ ] [Search] History SS United States February 14, 2023 Lenny Flank 1 Comment The fastest passenger liner ever built, the SS United States was a joint undertaking by a civilian shipping line and the US Navy. [image] SS United States, rusting away in Philadelphia photo from WikiCommons By 1940, the United States government knew that it would inevitably be drawn into the Second World War, and began to quietly make preparations. And one thing it would need desperately were troopships, capable of carrying large numbers of soldiers cross the Atlantic to Europe. To do this as quickly as possible, the War Department cut a deal with shipping companies in the US to finance the construction of several new large passenger-carrying trans-Atlantic ocean liners, on the condition that these ships be built with the capability of being quickly converted into troop carriers, and the understanding that they would be placed under military control if war were declared. The first of these ships was the SS America, designed for the United States Lines by William Francis Gibbs, who had earlier overseen the conversion of the confiscated German liner Fatherland into a World War One troopship and then re-converted her to the postwar American passenger liner Leviathan. Entering service in 1940, the America made regular passenger runs across the Atlantic, with huge American flags painted prominently on her sides to signal German U-boats that she was a neutral vessel. When the US entered the war in December 1941, the America entered drydock and was rapidly converted to a troop-carrier. Meanwhile, the British Royal Navy converted the liners Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth to military use as a hospital ship and a troop-carrier. In the post-World War II period, the passenger liner industry fell on hard times, as competition from jet airliners began to bite into their business. In a last desperate bid to stay relevant, the United States Lines made plans for a new ship to replace their now-aging fleet, and Gibbs was asked to design a new "super-liner", almost 1000 feet in length and with all the latest technology and luxuries. It would be called SS United States. The Pentagon also quickly took interest in the project. The Cold War had already begun, and the US feared that the Soviet Union, with their huge army, would roll across Europe and seize control. To move American troops to Europe as quickly as possible, the military wanted a troopship that would be capable of carrying an entire army division-some 15,000 men-over the Atlantic in one trip. And the planned super-liner would fit that bill. So a deal was made. The US Government would pay for most of the new liner's construction, which would reduce the financial risk for the United States Lines. Of the estimated $78 million budget, the Pentagon provided almost two-thirds, plus a portion of the yearly operating expenses. In exchange, the ship would be designed from the beginning as a fast auxiliary troopship which could, in the event of hostilities with the Russians, rapidly deliver American soldiers and their equipment to the presumed European battlefields. That meant meeting full US Navy standards in regards to anti-flooding provisions and internal compartment bulkheads, mechanical reliability (including separate redundant engine rooms with duplicate equipment), and extensive fire protection and suppression systems. She also carried twice as many lifeboats as were needed to carry all the passengers aboard (a precaution in case the ship would take on a list and make half of the lifeboats unusable, and also to be able to quickly evacuate a large number of troops if it became necessary). There was a full complement of the latest radar sets to allow sailing in any weather. The SS United States would be, without doubt, the safest passenger liner ever to set sail. She would also be among the fastest. Her dual engines, with almost a quarter-million horsepower, were virtual copies of the top-secret high-temperature high-pressure powerplants then being installed in the Navy's newest aircraft carriers, and to save weight (and increase speed), the liner's superstructure was made of aluminum. Even at almost 1000 feet long, the United States displaced only a little over 45,000 long tons, and with a power-to-weight ratio from her four propellers that was almost twice as high as any other passenger liner, she could reach a top speed of around 45mph (a figure which at the time was a classified military secret). She was faster than all but the most modern of Navy battleships from the period. Extra fuel tanks would allow her to travel some 12,000 miles without refueling. The key to the ship's success was her hull. A variety of shapes were tested using water tanks and wind tunnels, in an effort to get the sleekest and fastest hull with the minimum of drag. Construction began on "Hull 488" in February 1950 at the shipyard in Newport News VA. Some of the details are still classified. The bow was long and slender, with a knife-edge at the front to cut through water more efficiently. The entire hull was made of 183,000 one-inch steel plates, but rather than being riveted together like most ships, these were edge-welded, reducing the weight as well as providing a smooth surface for water to flow along. When the United States was being built, her drydock was specially blocked off from view, and no photos of her hull below the waterline were released. When her finished hull was launched in June 1951, she was not slid down a traditional ramp into the sea, but instead her drydock was filled with water, allowing her to float out (and concealing her classified lower hull). Her design was then applied to new Navy ships. The United States entered service in July 1952, with her maiden voyage leaving New York City for France and England on July 3. The passenger list included comedian Bob Hope and President Harry Truman's daughter Margaret. Averaging about 40mph (her true top speed was still a protected secret), the United States made the crossing, running at just three-fourths power, in 3 days, 10 hours and 40 minutes-beating the Queen Mary's old record by over 10 hours and winning the prestigious Blue Riband, given to the ship that makes the fastest Atlantic crossing. It was the first time an American ship had broken the speed record since 1854. The United States had been going so fast through the water that it had worn some of the paint off her bow. The ship now settled into the routine of regular scheduled trans-Atlantic trips, and made 400 voyages over the next 17 years. Passenger amenities included a number of enclosed weather-protected promenade decks, a swimming pool, tennis courts, and regularly-scheduled turtle races on deck. Each cabin as well as all of the shared public spaces were air-conditioned, and the ship's galleys were the first at sea to use microwave ovens. But things were getting tougher for the ship. By the 1960s air travel was eroding away the passenger liner industry's customer base, and rising fuel costs were cutting into their profits. One by one, the "queens of the sea" dropped away: America in 1964, Queen Mary in 1967, Queen Elizabeth in 1968. The Pentagon, with an increasing ability to ferry large numbers of troops quickly by air, was beginning to view the United States as no longer necessary, and they eventually cut off their subsidy. By 1968, when the United States Lines was purchased by Walter Kidde & Company, the ship was losing over $4 million a year. Kidde, who wanted to get out of the passenger business and concentrate on freight ships, pulled the plug in November 1969. The United States went to a berth at Newport News Shipyard-and was left there. In 1973, after being moved to Norfolk, the ship was turned over to the US Government's Maritime Administration. She was mothballed for the next five years, then put up for sale after her once-secret structures were declassified. The ship was purchased by United States Cruises of Seattle, which planned to convert her into a floating time-share condominium. But that idea fell through when their funding failed, and the ship was seized by the US Government in 1992 and put up for auction to pay off the debts. This marked the beginning of a long streak of grand plans and ideas, none of which came to fruition. One of the most intransigent difficulties, ironically, came from the Navy's emphasis on fire safety. Most of the inner walls of the United States had been made with an asbestos compound. It wasn't until many years after the ship had been built that the safety hazards of asbestos were recognized, and now any remodeling effort would have to begin by tearing out all of those walls and replacing them-a fantastically expensive undertaking. The interior was finally gutted by a shipyard in Sevastopol, but once again the owner fell behind on the debts and the ship was auctioned, and passed through several hands. In 1999 the SS United States was placed on the National Register of Historic Places-but this did not provide any money for her upkeep or restoration. She continued to rust away. Finally in 2011 the ship was purchased by the nonprofit SS United States Conservancy, with most of the $3 million price coming from a Philadelphia philanthropist. There were plans to renovate her and turn her back into a cruise ship, then another plan to convert her into a static floating motel and casino. Today, the United States is still docked at Pier 82 in Philadelphia, awaiting her final fate. Advertisement Share this: * Twitter * Facebook * Post navigation Previous PostFlorida's Terror Birds One thought on "SS United States" 1. [685] Lenny Flank says: February 14, 2023 at 4:25 pm Back when I was a kid I had a rather large collection of model airplanes, most of which were hanging from my bedroom ceiling. But I also had a couple of model ships--including the SS United States. At the time, back in the early 70s, I did not realize why that model ship stopped at the waterline and did not show the lower hull or propellers. It was, of course, because those things were still classified, and the model-maker had no idea what they looked like. Reply Post a Comment Cancel reply Enter your comment here... 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