When the American passenger ship entered service in 1952, the British magazine Punch grudgingly wrote of her, “After the loud and fantastic claims made in advance for the liner United States, it comes as something of a disappointment to find them all true.” Indeed, on her first transatlantic voyage the United States, at a length 100 feet greater than the RMS Titanic, beat the previously existing speed record set by the Great Britain’s RMS Queen Mary – by 10 hours. She still holds the transatlantic Blue Riband record, in both directions, 65 years later, having achieved trial speeds as high as 38.32 knots (44 mph) and average speeds across the Atlantic in her maiden voyage of 35.59 knots (40.96 mph).Read more from Newsday's William F.B. O'Reilly HERE
"We are the United States" Campaign
In case you missed it, our new "We are the United States" campaign launched May 12th urging all Americans to rally around the values embodied in our flagship and help raise critically-needed funds to prevent her from being lost to history. Visit https://www.wearetheunitedstates.org/ to learn how you can help join the effort to save America's Flagship!
Your role is powerful and essential to the success of this effort. Please help us spread the word by sharing links to our GoFundMe page and our new website and blog - WeAreTheUnitedStates.org - on your favorite social media channels. So tell a friend about the campaign-- together, we can - and we must - save the United States!
Mar 15, 2017 -- Newsday: Tending to a giant liner’s grand history
Courtesy of Heather Walsh/Newsday.
This excellent profile of Robert Sturm, former SS United States engineer and author of the book SS United States: The View From Down Below, explores his decades-long fascination with the Big U.
“The ship is the epitome of American genius when it comes to naval architecture and marine engineering, both in design and construction and in operation,” Sturm told Newsday.
“It was truly a magnificent piece of work.”
Sturm spoke with reporter Bill Bleyer about his book -- available for purchase here -- in which he "details his knowledge about the ship gleaned during his 44 transatlantic voyages, from 1957 to 1959."
He also discussed his work as a volunteer archivist at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, organizing and cataloging boxes of documents and photographs the museum acquired when United States Lines was dissolved in 1992. Unsurprisingly, the files he lingers the longest over are those related to the Big U.
To read the profile in its entirety, click here.