The United States was the creation of naval architect William Francis Gibbs. Before his ultimate creation, the United States, he designed the America, and completely rebuilt the Leviathan, formerly the German Vaterland. In designing the United States, his goal was to build the strongest, most fireproof, and fastest liner ever constructed. In order to obtain enough financial assistance to build this ship, the United
States would be able to serve a dual role. In times of peace, the ship would be
a passenger liner. But in times of war, the United States could be
converted to a troop ship practically overnight. Because of this, the exact details
of her construction and design were kept secret from the general public for years, and
that the ship was never to be sold to non-American buyers. However, the concept of
her being a troop ship in times of war never materialized, though she was put on alert
during the When the United States, or "Big U", as she became known, set out on her maiden voyage in 1952, she lived up to that which was expected of her, capturing the coveted Blue Riband from the British Queen Mary. With the Riband in hand, the United States became a very popular passenger liner. Though she was of slightly less capacity than the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth (she could carry 2,008 people), she regularly carried more people than the average amount on a Queen liner.
The United States was, as described above, one of the most
popular liners on the high seas in her day. However, her downfall in the 1960's was
twofold. First off, as happened with many of the other
The first person who had an interest in buying the laid up United
States was the Norwegian Knut Kloster. His plan was to turn the United
States into a cruise liner. Unfortunately, he was turned down, because the United
In 1978, United States Cruises of Seattle purchased the United States for $5 million. The owners planned to give the liner a $150 million refit, and revitalize her as a cruise ship. It was a great plan... or so it seemed. While contracts were signed with shipyards to perform the work, it ended up never happening, and United States Cruises went bankrupt. With the bankruptcy, the United States was sold at auction for
$2.6 million, and the lucky buyer was Fred Mayer, chairman of Commodore Cruise Lines.
The plan then was to return the United States to service as a running mate
to the Queen Elizabeth 2 in an arrangement with the In 1996, the United States was towed to Philadelphia, to the Navy yards, for a refit. She would hopefully be refitted there, but, as happened in the past, the financial support just wasn't there. She was towed to a berth on the Delaware River, and there she remains.
Hopefully, there is more of the United States's story yet to come...
United States Vital Statistics: Gross Tonnage: 53,329 Length: 990 feet Width: 101.6 feet Draft: 31 feet Machinery: Steam turbines geared to quadruple screw Speed: 35 knots, 38.23 maximum Capacity: 913 First, 558 Cabin, 537 Tourist Built: Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia, 1952 Demise: N/A Author's note: Since 1996, I have driven by the United States on an annual basis on my way to visit relatives in New Jersey. She is not far from the Walt Whitman Bridge, on your left if driving towards Camden on the Walt Whitman Bridge (Interstate 76). The picture below was taken from the Walt Whitman Bridge while heading towards Camden in November 2001.
To my knowledge, the authorities around where the United States is docked will not let you get very close at all to the liner. The closest that the average person can get to the United States is around 150 feet. The Classic Liners of Long Ago © 2000-2007 Nick Works, Inc. |
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The United States
was originally built in 1952 for the United States Lines at the Newport News Shipbuilding
and Drydock Company shipyards in Newport News, Virginia. At 53,329 tons, she was not
the largest, at 990 feet, she was not the longest, and at 101.6 feet, she certainly wasn't
the widest, but at 38.23 knots, she certainly was the fastest.
Cuban Missile Crisis. To this end, she also contained two engine rooms.
In the event of a torpedoing of the ship, she could still be able to remain under
way under her own power, using the other engine room.
In terms of safety, the United
States was second to none. Her interiors, while nice enough, were made to be as
fireproof as is humanly possible. The only wood on board was that in the Steinway
pianos, and that was only after it was shown that the pianos would not burn!
ocean liners of her day,
the airliners took over much of the market that the liners previously served.
Secondly, labor problems mounted and worsened. There were tug strikes, dock strikes,
and strikes by the seamen. All of these cut into the United States's
profits, and the remarkable record that she set for herself. In 1964, the United
States's running mate, the America, was sold to the Chandris Group to become
their Australis. The United States remained in service, though she
was losing money by the millions.
On October 25, 1969, the United
States's scheduled cruise was cancelled, and the ship would be sent to Newport News
for an early overhaul. It was the beginning of the end for the United States,
as she has not sailed since she put into Newport News, and upon arrival at Newport News,
was laid up. It should be noted that when she was laid up, the funnels were in the
process of being repainted, and they did not complete the job, painting only the port side
of the forward funnel, as seen in the picture at left.
States could not be
sold to non-American interests. Kloster's plans were eventually realized in the
conversion of the French liner France into Norwegian Cruise Lines' Norway.
Cunard Line. Thus the United
States would serve as a transatlantic liner in the summer, and as a cruise liner in
the winter. She was towed to Istanbul in June 1992 for a refit for this service, but
the financial situation soon deteriorated. As the owners never received the
expected government subsidiaries to perform the work, the work was cancelled, and Cunard
lost interest in operating the liner.
However, it's not the
end of the United States. Recently, she earned a place on the National
Register of Historic Places. Furthermore, her owner, Edward Cantor, plans to sell
the United States to a group that wants to turn her into a floating museum.
