SS UNITED STATES
Circa 1955
Illustration by Michael C Brady, 2022
‘AMERICA’S FLAGSHIP’
Designed by acclaimed naval architect William F Gibbs, the SS United States was a monumental engineering achievement. Making use of lessons learned from her chief designer throughout her career as well as the absolute latest in marine propulsion, United States went on to become the fastest ocean liner in history cracking speeds over 35 knots. Today she is moored off Philadelphia, her future precarious. Should she be restored to her former glory she would once again earn her title of ‘America’s Flagship’.
ss UNITED STATES
Length: 990’
Beam: 101’
Draught: 31’
Tonnage: 53,330 GRT
Max Speed: 38.3 KN
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“I can empathise deeply with United States’ chief designer William Francis Gibbs. The man lived and breathed ships his whole life and was fascinated from a young age by their technological splendour and engineering complexity. United States was the pinnacle of Gibbs’ career, the culmination of decades of hard work and resolve. Drawing her was a thrill!”
Michael C Brady
THE details
United States’ elegantly curved stern featured panels which could be removed for additional air and light. Her docking bridge equipment was covered underway to prevent corrosion.
Part of the secret to United States’ record-breaking speed was the design of her propellers. Lead by trailblazing female engineer Elaine Kaplan, Gibbs’ design team installed four manganese-bronze propellers of both four and five-bladed configuration to lessen the effects of cavitation on the blades.
Obsessed with fire safety at sea ever since the loss of SS Morro Castle in 1930, Gibbs ensured that United States’ decks were festooned with emergency fire stations. Above the promenade deck are the liner’s massive aluminium lifeboats, each larger than the standard modern sailing yacht.
‘The Big U’ had big funnels, towering well above her decks and featuring a shape pioneered on her predecessor the SS America designed for clearing diverting soot and smoke well clear of the ship’s decks.
United States, as a liner, was expected to plough at speed through even the harshest Atlantic seas. Her bridge and forward superstructure are clearly designed for this task, diverting ocean and spray over the sides and away from passenger spaces.
Superbly raked, United States’ bow featured a large anchor well with a guard to prevent the anchor from damaging the hull when it was hauled in.
