The last ocean liner to capture and hold the Blue Ribbon, SS United States was never pressed beyond 3/4 power and yet was believed to have achieved the incredible speed of 43 knots on her trial. She was to make over 400 successful transatlantic crossings before being retired in 1969, the victim of an ever-busying population attracted to the speed and economy of air travel.

A Bittersweet Transition: On November 11, 2026, SS United States, once a magnificent symbol of American engineering, will enter into her final voyage. Fortunately, rather than suffer the indignity of the scrapyard she will instead be sunk beneath the waters off Florida’s Panhandle to begin her next adventure as an artificial reef and underwater destination for divers.

Painting of SS United States Departing New York Harbor