SS United States - Speed Records

Speed Records

On her maiden voyage on 4 July 1952, United States broke the transatlantic speed record held by Queen Mary for the previous 14 years by over 10 hours, making the maiden crossing from the Ambrose lightship at New York Harbor to Bishop Rock off Cornwall, UK in three days, 10 hours, 40 minutes at an average speed of 35.59 knots (65.91 km/h; 40.96 mph) The liner also broke the westbound crossing record by returning to America in three days 12 hours and 12 minutes at an average speed of 34.51 knots (63.91 km/h; 39.71 mph), thereby obtaining both the eastbound and westbound speed records and the Blue Riband, the first time a US-flagged ship had held the speed record since SS Baltic claimed the prize 100 years earlier.

United States maintained a 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) crossing speed on the North Atlantic in a service career that lasted 17 years.

United States lost the eastbound speed record in 1990 to Hoverspeed Great Britain; however, she continues to hold the Blue Riband as all subsequent record breakers were neither in passenger service nor were their voyages westbound.

United States' maximum speed was deliberately exaggerated, and kept obscure for many years. An impossible value of 43 knots (80 km/h; 49 mph) was leaked to reporters by engineers after the first speed trial. Her actual top speed—38.3 knots (70.9 km/h; 44.1 mph)—was not revealed until 1977. A Philadelphia Inquirer article reported the top speed achieved as 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) while another source reports that the highest possible sustained top speed was 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph).