Ships Monthly: SS United States - William Francis Gibbs' Superliner
SS United States - William Francis Gibbs' Superliner
Dan Bennington - January 2021
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.