The towering funnels of the legendary SS United States will soon be removed from the historic ocean liner in Mobile, Alabama. Soaring six stories high and sloping backward to convey the record-breaking speed of the ship, the iconic structures will form a dramatic centerpiece of the future SS United States Museum and Visitor Experience. The aft funnel is expected to be removed soon after the forward funnel. The ship is now being prepared for deployment as the “world’s largest artificial reef” off the coast of Florida’s Destin-Fort Walton Beach.
The SS United States, America’s Flagship, arrived in Mobile, Alabama today after an approximately 1,800-mile tow from her berth in Philadelphia. The iconic national symbol and last surviving American ocean liner will now undergo preparations for her deployment as the “World’s Largest Artificial Reef” off Florida’s Gulf Coast near Destin-Fort Walton Beach.
“Today, the nation’s sole surviving ocean liner will glide down the Delaware River to begin the next chapter in her uniquely American story. As the fastest ship to ever cross the Atlantic travels for the first time since arriving in Philadelphia in 1996, we are reminded of the postwar high-water mark that the SS United States so gracefully and powerfully embodied when she was launched in 1951.”
In the first half of the 20th century the transatlantic liner market was dominated by ships flagged in Britain, France, Italy and Germany. The coveted Blue Riband speed record changed hands mainly between the ships of those nations, but one man, William Francis Gibbs (1886-1967), had a dream to design and build a superliner which would put the United States at the forefront of liner technology, and take the coveted record.
For a third consecutive year, the SS United States Conservancy has been selected as a beneficiary of a $1,000 grant from Navy Federal Credit Union's "Dollars for Doers" program thanks to the passionate support of Stanton Daywalt, a friend of the Conservancy and longtime supporter of the SS United States.
