Across the river is Camden, NJ. In the background is the Walt Whitman Bridge. The ship is still visible from I-95, and is close to the Stadium complex. They could make a little money from tours, but liability could be an issue.
Posted on 03/10/2024 1:52:07 PM PDT by Dr. Franklin
You've probably seen this massive ship here docked at Pier 82 in Philadelphia. It's the SS United States. Once known as the queen of the seas, the vessel's caretakers are sending out an sos as it faces the threat of eviction. There has been an on going dispute between the SS United States conservancy and Penn warehousing about unjust docking fees. The once grand ocean liner is simultaneously knotted in a legal mess. Its fate lies in the hands of a federal judge who could decide the ship must be booted due to hundreds of thousands of dollars in outstanding fees. Such a move based on timing could leave the conservancy that owns the 990-foot boat in need of finding a new home, possibly sinking it for good.
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
William F. Gibbs
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Francis_Gibbs
I visited a fellow’s office regarding a tech question, and on his wall (and in some tall narrow cans) he had naval arch. drawings of the ocean liner SS United States. Turns out, the fellow was a lead architect for Mr. Gibbs, and the fellow had made the drawings himself.
This little bit of history, changed the course of our conversation.
If it were given a south of the border name biden would find a good place for it.
bttt
I think it would be less expensive to built a new ship of that size than trying to fix up the SS United States.
As pointed out in previous posts there were some discussions back in the early 1980’s to rebuilt the ship. I worked with several people in the maritime industry that wanted to sell cabins as condos and start sailing again.
The larger issue is that the SS United States was never built as a cruise ship; it was built as a passenger ship to carrry people from the United States to Europe.
And can it make it out to 200 NM offshore?
.........so a bunch of wealthy, fortunate people went for a cruise on this now hunk of rusting iron and some bleeding hearts want to make a museum out of it using taxpayers money.
Meanwhile, the US dollar is becoming more and more worthless every day due to dollars printed by the federal government to satisfy loud mouth liberals. Those of us who can afford it march on but many of those who cannot have to choose between food and rent.
As the Indians used to wisely say....”Only the rocks live forever”. Sell it for scrap and give the proceeds to the landlord.
Since the hull of the SS United States is no longer ocean-worthy, it will never make it to the Alang ship breaking yard in India, thus the cost to scrap it domestically would most likely exceed the value of the scrap.
As a setting for a dystopian Hollywood movie and then sunk as an artificial reef, possibly as part of a finale in the same movie.
>>so a bunch of wealthy, fortunate people went for a cruise on this now hunk of rusting iron...<<
.
Not so. The United States was designed and built in a public-private partnership as a dual purpose vessel that could move an entire Army division in time of war. In its commercial incarnation, it carried private passengers as well as service members and their families between the U.S. and Europe. It won the Blue Riband as the fastest ocean liner to make a round trip of the Atlantic, and did so on its maiden voyage in 1952. It remains an engineering marvel and an icon of American ingenuity and preeminence on the seas.
.
The jet age obsoleted the ship after only 17 years in service. That said, it would be a shame to lose this symbol of national pride. It looks to be in rough shape, but much is surface rust that can be remediated. Hazmat mitigation was completed years ago, and reconfiguration of the interior for multi-use would be straightforward. The hull remains watertight, and the engineering spaces are essentially intact. Don’t want to see her scrapped or sunk.
.
Big U passenger, Le Havre, France to New York City as an Army brat (1960)
Yes, two very good possibilities.
Most unlikely, restoring the vessel to its previous glory.
That ship sailed a long long time ago.
USS Franklin (CV/CVA/CVS-13, AVT-8), nicknamed “Big Ben,” was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy, and the fifth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in January 1944, she served in several campaigns in the Pacific War, earning four battle stars. In March 1945, while launching strikes against the Japanese mainland, she was badly damaged when a single Japanese dive bomber struck her with two bombs. The attack resulted in the loss of 807 of her crew and Franklin became the most heavily-damaged United States aircraft carrier to survive the war.[1] The complement of Franklin suffered 924 killed in action during the war, the worst for any surviving U.S. warship and second only to that of USS Arizona.[2][3]
***********************************************************
I sincerely respect your point and your opinion. That said, these people trying to save the SS United States ship have tried and failed for years. Their landlord should not have to bear the brunt of their “feelings” about this boat. If 904 of my fellow sailors had been killed on it (and countless hundreds maimed and/or crippled for life), I would be up there helping to raise money for the SS United States.
Growing up, we saw the ship return to the yard every Christmas for overhaul and saw the ship in dry dock ablaze with Christmas lights until it was retired. One of my childhood memories that has stuck with me. As a youngster, I thought it was the most beautiful ship I had ever seen. A great ship with many innovations, including its remarkable speed.
Thanks for the update. A sad ending for a great ship.
I had relatives that sailed from NYC on the USS United States in that era and I saw them off. I would love to see their photos.
Instead of being obsessed with our USA, and preserving our history and country for our citizens, our leaders are instead obessed with globalism, Ukraine, GAZA, Israel, DEI and other countries.
Thanks for the link. What an amazing ship!
What a fast ship! 43 mph!
I learned:
SS = Screw Steamer
Peak USA was when that ship sailed the Atlantic in world record time.
Let’s hope Uncle Joe doesn’t hear about it or we will all be paying for restoring it so that illegals can live in it for free.
Thanks again-
“I actually crossed the Atlantic on the SS United States in 1966. Great ship.”
I crossed the Atlantic (with my family) on this ship in 1954. My dad got stationed in Germany and that’s how we got there. This is so sad.
Tow it out and sink it. The longer it stays there, the more likely tax payers will bail it out costing billions to be made in to an illegal alien housing project.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.