SS United States Oh No!

Who cares about these snob societies anyway, unless you're some serious academic. Usually such groups hoard knowledge, and make it unavailable to hobbyists, charging dues for access. It's sad that an average person can't access historical items unless they are part of some club, or you know someone who is.
 
i think this is a great photo taken from a bomber in ww2. queen mary at speed to evade u boats
 
I would not give one cent to restore a junk ship that does not mean anything to me, more worthwhile to sink it, it should have be done long ago.
 
For a group of people who like doing research, do some research! The United States was towed to Turkey back in the 1990s to yank all the asbestos, PCBs, etc. and there was a lot of asbestos and transite paneling om the ship. Someone, an owner, designer or officer once said the only wood on the ship was the piano. It's been an aluminum shell ever since.
 
pebbleworm said:
For a group of people who like doing research, do some research! The United States was towed to Turkey back in the 1990s to yank all the asbestos, PCBs, etc. and there was a lot of asbestos and transite paneling om the ship. Someone, an owner, designer or officer once said the only wood on the ship was the piano. It's been an aluminum shell ever since.
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Aluminum? Did you, by chance, notice all the rust? Definitely not aluminum.....Screenshot_20250223-094932_Chrome.jpg
 
These large liners are sort of two ships. From the keel up to the “strength deck,” usually the weather deck, the hull is a massive girder designed to withstand bending stresses caused by local in-balances in upward buoyancy and downward weight forces. In addition, this hull girder must be reinforced to withstand additional bending loads from waves. For a large vessel Aluminum is not nearly strong enough. So, the hull itself was steel. Hence the rust.

Above the strength deck, measures are taken to isolate the structure from the high stresses below. The most common solution is to include expansion joints. The superstructure therefore does not bend along with the hull. In addition there is often a need to reduce topside weight. Aluminum then becomes a useful material for the superstructure.

Francis Gibbs, United States designer, was obsessed with fire safety. Among other things he also designed a super fire engine capable of reaching very tall NYC buildings. The aluminum piano story deals with United States internal furnishings, a primary fire hazard. I don’t remember to what extent aluminum was used in her Superstructure.

Roger
 
In 1952 , I was 13 yrs old and returning to America with my parents from a vacation in England on board tge RMS Queen Elizabeth. We were about halfway between America and England when the Caption come on the ship’s loudspeaker system to annoys the off the starboard side is the SS United States on its maiden voyage. It was pass us about 3 or 4 miles away. Our ship sounded is horn two or three times and the United States acknowledged it with a blast from their ships horn. I had an 8mm camera I’d took a movie of it.
Somewhere in my house I still have that movie, if only I could find it.
 
ilanortho said:

Bon Voyage SS United States

The SS United States, a historic 990-foot ocean liner, has begun its final journey from Philadelphia to become the world's largest artificial reef off Florida's Gulf Coast.

Tugboats are guiding the largest passenger ship built in America, nicknamed "the Big U," to Mobile, Alabama, where the crew will remove hazardous materials, including fuel. The process will take at least a year. The ship—more than 100 feet longer than the Titanic—will then continue its journey before resting roughly 180 feet underwater and 20 miles off the coast of Okaloosa County, Florida. The ship will sit upright on the seafloor, becoming a habitat for marine life. The voyage follows a legal battle and decades of decay while the vessel has been anchored in Philadelphia since 1996.

The SS United States ferried four US presidents and hosted numerous celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, and Grace Kelly. It set transatlantic speed records and completed roughly 800 crossings until its retirement in 1969 as air travel took off. See its history here. Explore the ship here (w/video).
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Such a beautiful ship, even in disrepair. Taken February 2002.

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DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:
What's left are cruise ships which don't require speed, just luxury, food and fun activities.
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And happily they succeed!! There are ships for the young and spry, ships for families with young children, ships for families with older kids, and THANKFULLY there are ships for those of us that are up a few years and want to just be around others of our generation.
Allan
 
AllanKP69 said:
She was a lovey lady for her time and fast as heck. A little trivia that makes her more interesting, she was originally destined to be an aircraft carrier thus her top speed and HP were classified through the 60's when we were learning about her in naval architecture classes. It is sad, but she reminds me of Norman Bates trying to preserve his mother Norma Bates. It is a fine thing to let her go and do some good to the marine ecological system.

Allan
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EVerything I ever have seen about this ship is that it was built with a CRUISER hull. Another reason no one wants to touch her. The only commercial shipyard that can technically build a cruiser hull is in Norway or Sweden.
 
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