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SS United States - End of the Road?


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I, as well will miss seeing her driving across the Walt Witman Bridge each day. It is sad to see how she has deteriorated over the years sitting there. Must have been wonderful to have sailed on her at one time.

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Even if the ship does end up getting scrapped you could still find some of her furnishings at the Windmill Point Restaurant in the Outer Banks. :)

 

By the way, the U.S. government underwrote $50 million of the $78 million construction cost, with the ship's operators, United States Lines, contributing the remaining $28 million. In exchange, the ship was designed to be easily converted in times of war to a troopship with a capacity of 15,000 troops, or a hospital ship.

The vessel was constructed from 1950-1952 at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Newport News, Virginia. The keel was laid and the hull was constructed in a graving dock. United States was built to exacting Navy specifications, which required the ship be heavily compartmentalized and have separate engine rooms to optimize war-time survival.

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  • 3 weeks later...

During my first enlistment and while stationed in Norfolk, I used to see the SS United States moored at the cargo piers while I used to drive down Terminal Blvd. It sat behind the Atlantic Fleet Credit Union, her big red funnels already deteriorating back in 1980.

 

The article link the OP posted had this:

 

Still, the members of the SS United States Conservancy remain resolutely optimistic.

"We know our vision exists within the realm of possibility," McSweeney said. "We just need some time and money to kick-start the project."

 

If they haven't got the money now, kick-starting will not work. Besides, this ship is in terrible shape and it's an eyesore now.

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She is worse than a corroding eyesore. All the interior is stripped. All usable mechanical gear has been removed. The hulk is just a corroding hull. It is most unfortunate, but I suspect one could build a full scale replica for less money than a stationary restoration would cost. It is sad, but it is time to admit that the United States is beyond salvage.

 

Doc

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To be fair, C Y TUNG was technically Taiwanese, and the Elizabeth burned in Hong Kong

qe-aka-seawise-university1.jpg

 

Bravo for you ! I thought that they had closed all the schools in America to save money for petrol. Apparently a few people learned something.

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Back in the dark ages when I went to school we had to learn or get thrown out. Be that as it may, a good friend of mine, who is a structural engineer was hired to survey the United States for a potential purchaser several years ago. His concerns were mainly for mechanical integrity and hull soundness. He reported that much of the plating and several frames were corroded to the point of needing replacement, that all mechanical systems were missing major components, that the bridge had been stripped of all usable equipment. In other words, it was a hulk. Since then, the condition has deteriorated further. It is a shame, but that is the way it is.

 

Now, if some company were to devote the money to restoring the hull and the interiors, the vessel would require replacement of the mechanical plant for simply economic reasons. The cost of operating the United States was unbelievably high. The turbines were very powerful and the huge boiler plant could provide extravagant amounts of steam. The plant could drink bunker C in quantities that made this vessel unprofitable when built. It could never have operated without the government picking up the tab.

 

She was built to be the fastest ship on the seas. She was. The top speed is still classified to this day. I had a friend who did the takeoffs at Newport News while she was on the ways. He was aboard for the speed trials. He never would say how fast she went, but said she exceeded the official 45 knots by a wide margin. To increase the speed of a displacement hull of this size and speed by one knot requires a 10-fold increase in the horsepower of the propulsion plant. That is why she was totally uneconomical from day one.

 

God, in her hey day, she was a beautiful ship.

 

Doc

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  • 1 month later...

It is my understanding that the reason the interior is in the current state is that asbestos abatement has already taken place.

 

The value of the hulk makes the possibility of any disposition other than the ship breakers unlikely. I would suggest that all remaining marketable items should be removed for preservation and/or sale to collectors.

 

At that point, the hulk can be made ready for towing. Perhaps Poseidon, the God of the Seas, will see fit to keep him from completing the voyage.

 

Doc

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