SS United States

The SS United States is a retired ocean liners built for the United States Lines in 1950-51 at a cost US$79.4million. The ship is the most massive ocean liner built entirely in the United States. It also has the fastest Atlantic crossing in either direction. The ship was designed by William Francis Gibbs, an American naval architect. It could be converted into a troopship by the Navy during wartime. The United States maintained an uninterrupted transatlantic passenger service schedule until 1969, but it was never used as troopship.

Since the 1970s, the ship has been sold multiple times. Each new owner tried unsuccessfully to make it profitable. The ship's fittings were eventually sold at auction. Hazardous wastes, including asbestos panels, were also removed from the ship. She was almost completely decommissioned by 1994. She was towed to Pier 82, Philadelphia, two years later.

Her eastbound record has been broken many times since then (first by Virgin Atlantic Challenger II in 1986 and then by Destriero in 1990), but these vessels were not passenger-carrying Ocean liners. In 1990, the Hales Trophy was lost to Hoverspeed Great Britain. This set a new eastbound speed record by a commercial vessel.

United States at Pier 86 in New York, July 31, 1964.

After the restaurant closed down in 2007, the large collection of dining room furniture, as well as other memorabilia, was purchased at an auction in 1984. It was incorporated at Windmill Point Restaurant in Nags head, North Carolina. The Mariners' Museum cafe uses the chairs from the tourist-class dining room.

SS United States won the Blue Riband with both the eastbound speed record and the westbound speed record. This was the first time a US-flagged vessel had held the record since SS Baltic 100 years ago. In a 17-year service career, the United States maintained a crossing speed of 30 knots (56 km/h, 35 mph) on the North Atlantic. The Blue Riband never had to challenge the ship throughout her career. The trans-Atlantic passenger traffic shifted to air travel during this time, and many consider the Blue Riband's story over with the United States.

The ship's bell is kept on the clock tower at Christopher Newport University in Newport News. It is used to celebrate special occasions, including being rung both by incoming freshmen and outgoing graduates.

One of the ship's Horns was displayed for decades over the Rent-A-Tool building at Revere, Massachusetts. However, it was sold to a Texas private collector for $8,000 in 2017.

Philadelphia PA Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum
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