Speed is of the essence

摘要

On June 23, 1951 the SS United States was 70% complete, allowing it to be floated out of its dry building dock in Virginia, USA where its keel had been laid down in February of 1950. Boasting all the best technology of the time, the 53,000gt vessel remains widely considered a ship of extraordinary grace and power - a one off pure breed that will never be matched or outclassed. It is just short of 1,000ft long with a breadth of 100ft (just enough to pass through the Panama Canal) and was designed by William Francis Gibbs (of Gibbs & Cox of New York) to meet five defining principles: to be fireproof, virtually unsinkable, have a high measure of mechanical redundancy, long range, and sustainability of an elevated rate of speed.