Gratitude Friday 03 28 2025 – The Big U, Pride of American Engineering

“When completed in 1952, the ship was hailed as a technological masterpiece at a time when “made in America” meant the best.” - Steven Ujifusa, A Man and His Ship

William Gibbs greeting his ship in NY, many years ago

Those who know me know that I have a broad variation of interests. There are so many fascinating things in our world and often I find out things that catch my imagination through reading. One of my world views is that we grow old when we lose inquisitiveness. We can decide to remain young in this way across the lifespan. To remain inquisitive, I read a lot of history and other topics. A few decades ago, I am not sure exactly when, I first ran across a reference to the SS United States whose nickname was the Big U. A ship that was the pinnacle of American engineering prowess of the 1950’s whose designer was William Francis Gibbs. He also designed the Liberty Ships and the Fletcher Class Destroyers in WWII. I am not sure if any ship or structure has captured my attention like the Big U has.

The Big U is special. I have read a few books on this amazing vessel. It still holds the record for the fastest Atlantic transit, something called the Blue Riband at a speed of 40.8 mph or 35.51 knots. While 40 miles an hour may not seem fast for a car, for a 47,000 ton vessel it is light speed. The actual top speed of the Big U, which remained classified for decades was revealed to be 44.10 mph, which she achieved during a full-power trial run on June 10, 1952. The ship could actually go over 20 knots in reverse, which is faster than most can do moving forward. It was the finest luxury vessel of its time and carried Presidents, foreign leaders, famous people and even one the Mona Lisa as it made a visit to the United States in 1962. She was our nations flagship and loved by many. Her end as a luxury liner paralleled the rise of jet flight. Ships were slower and could not compete. 

This ship was Gibbs pride and joy too. He would meet it on every return to the harbor in New York. It was an engineering marvel for a host of reasons. Gibbs was afraid of the risks of fire on a liner as fires were relatively commonplace. One of the worst ship disasters of the 20th century was the SS Morro Castle in 1934 where a lot of lives were lost and the still-burning ship eventually beached near the Convention Hall in Asbury Park. It became a major tourist attraction until it was towed away for scrap several months later. Gibbs designed the ship to be wood and combustible free. The decks were not made of teak, even the grand piano was not wood. She was, light, safe and fast and her construction was subsidized by the US government in the event she was needed for troop transport in the event of a war.

Her fate into the 70s and through our current era shifted so many times. Books could be written about the attempts to save her and turn her into a floating hotel of museum like the RMS Queen Mary. The long and the short of it is all these efforts failed. In November 1997, Edward Cantor purchased United States for $6 million. Two years later, the SS United States Foundation and the SS United States Conservancy (then known as the SS United States Preservation Society, Inc.) succeeded in having the ship placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Many could see her when landing at the Philadelphia International Airport and her stacks were visible from 95 as it passed south of center city.  She was docked for all those years up until February off Columbus Avenue in front of the Ikea. Over the years I went down to see her in person and the ship still had a beauty even in her rusted state.

I know a few people who were on her in her heyday. A former neighbor accompanied her father when he was stationed in the 1960s in the military. A member of my wife’ s family immigrated from France and first saw lady liberty in New York harbor from her deck. She was loved by many. I am not sure why this particular vessel has captured my heart. I am not alone in that either so many people over the years had worked to save her. For me, she is our nation’s flagship. Her keel laid before my birth but who sailed when I was a child in what was our “can do” era. We landed on the moon and led the world in so many ways, from engineering to so many other areas. The Big U symbolizes the America I was born and raised in. A nation far different from the one I find myself living in now. While there was derision, unrest and turmoil, there was also a sense that we were in this together and that we were capable of great things.  

The She was towed in February to Mobile Alabama where she will be stripped and cleaned to be sunk as an artificial reef off of Okaloosa County Florida. There is a $9 million budget for the acquisition, remediation, transport, and deployment of the SS United States as a reef. This project also includes plans for a land-based museum dedicated to the ship. From my perspective, this is the worst outcome other than the only one that would have occurred otherwise, which would be to cut her up as scrap. At least now divers can enjoy her until her superstructure which is aluminum decays, which will only take a few decades.

One thing I do wish we were better at was preserving our history. The Big U was one of those things that I suspect we shall look back on and wish could have turned out differently. The sinking of the United States in late 2025 or in 2026 in the year of our Semi quincentennial feels like bad optics to me. But I am grateful that on a few occasions, when she lived in Philadelphia that I would go grab a cheesesteak at Tony Luke’s and spend a few minutes with her. I am grateful she was there for me to visit all of those years.

What are you grateful for today?