SS UNITED STATES WILLIAM FRANCIS GIBBS’ SUPERLINER

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.

Gibbs developed a passion for ships after watching the launch of the SS in 1894. From a young age he read engineering journals and, despite relatively poor high school grades, gained a place at Harvard’s Lawrence Scientific School, probably thanks to his very wealthy father. His grades at Harvard were also lacklustre. For