The SS United States is such an amazing ship. I'm thrilled to see you giving it some attention. I sure hope someone can save it as it's one of a kind. I doubt anyone will ever build anything that large than will go that fast. It does appear to be in much better structural shape than you would expect. It would be amazing to tour the engine room as a museum.
@kylek9432 God, don't say that, we don't really have any good options for troop ships. Most everything inservice today is just too slow. SS United States I question if her condition is as good as they state, namely the turbines. We could probably build something if the need truely did arise quickishly, depending on where we build these ships.
This SS United States series is a terrific compliment to the regular battleship presentations. The skeleton, and yes it is sad to see the ship stripped, provides an exceptional opportunity to understand the inherent strength of that shell. Hoping there are more videos to come on this liner.
Great video Ryan. Praying the SS US can be saved! Hopefully your informative videos on this ship will spark some more interest in preserving or repurposing it. Wish I had the funds!
I read an account that Normandie's designer was in NY when it caught fire. He told the firefighters what to do and not do and was ignored. The fact that the NYFD was not experienced in onboard ship fires wasn't the problem, it was not listening! It didn't have to end that way!
Yes he wanted too get on board and let the water run down in the bilges but wasn't allowed to do so he knew she could not take al that water high up in the ship
If you ever need a reason why corrosion must be dealt with, if you have read Bruce Taylor's end of glory book on the HMS Hood, corrosion was rampant on the ship in its final years all being covered up by tons of paint
Having been in the Navy, and thinking about all the Millionaires and Billionaires in our country, if we could just get them to collaborate on a fund raising program to raise the funds to restore her. Yes, the task is huge, but we send people to outer space, we have been restoring Steam Locomotives, Airplanes and other historic items. I also think that she should find a home perhaps on the Hudson River, perhaps in the berth where the QM2 used to be. I would love to see her someday. Thanks for the great information. Dave
I'm currently restoring a 1940's era SNAPON tool cart, it is amazing how much better they built things back then, I would guess the same can be said for military ships. I know for our trucks in the army it sure is. I'd take a long nose 900 series 5 ton on a cross country trip way before I'd take the newer LMTV family of trucks,especially if my life depended on it.
Compared with the competition from HF, Lowes, Craftsman, Lowes, etc. they are still built like a brick outhouse, made in the US... and, yes, priced accordingly.
@@fredinit Oh yah, the prices are wild. I actually dont' really NEED this, but I like restoring items from time to time just to see if I can do it. And this has a cool factor to it.
The type of corrosion that forms between two or more dissimilar metals is typically called bimetallic corrosion, DISsimilar corrosion or more commonly call galvanic corrosion.
And my understanding is a welded bimetal joint does not have the corrosion issues a bolted or riveted joint does. I worked on a steel research ship with aluminum deck houses and we did a lot of research into this. The problem with welding steel and aluminum is that the melting point of steel is so much higher than aluminum it isn't practical... Expect for explosive welding! They literally put two bars of metals together and welding them with high explosives. You then use the welded bar as a filler and weld it to the two sections. It just is very expensive.
Its encouraging that its actually in pretty good condition. It always makes me sad when Im driving on Delaware Ave to see it slowly rusting away. Hopefully theres time to save it.
She really is in amazing condition. Thanks to Gibbs’s engineering genius and commitment to safety, she’s been able to look as good as she does. At the very least, she should be given a new shiny coat of paint to bring her back to her cosmetic glory. It may also draw more attention and generate intrigue from Philadelphians and Americans as a whole to bring in more donations to her. Best part about her modernist interior, is it would be rather simple to find replacement furniture and fixtures for her considering how popular modernism/post-modernism is today. Whether she remains in Philadelphia where her designer was born, or is towed back to her port registry in New York, I do hope the SS United States will be preserved and be around for many more years just like the Queen Mary.
If you go back 100 years French liners (other than Normandie) seemed to have a high incidence of burning such as Paris, L'Atlantique, Lafayette and several others.
I helped to scrap nickel copper out of the ss United States about 15 years ago. There was a lot in the boilers and engine room. We were filling 20yd dumpsters daily.
My understanding from accounts which I've read about the "Big U" is that the builders used a sheet of solid neoprene between the aluminum and steel at the joints to slow the galvanic corrosion. It looks like it worked.
I think maybe because of the involvement with the government maybe it was built well above the normal ocean liner standard I do wish someone could dry dock it sand blast it and paint it like new and then do something positive with it
River boat builders use a bi metal strip that had aluminum cast onto the roughened steel creating a strip both metals can be welded to. I think there is also an ultra sound process that can join the two metals. The trucking industry has fought with ways to mate aluminum and steel for decades with varying degrees of sucess.
Yay some ocean liner content! Yes it is tragic but she is still around. She could be saved. I wish the same was true for Olympic or Warspite. Rusting away at some dock, eventually money could be found. I'm sure by the 80s or 90s Warspite would have been restored. And if Olympic was around the Titanic mania in 50s would have drummed up some cash, had she survived the war in this scenario. But it's a shame how the gutted the United States. Perhaps not as glamorous as the Aquitania or Isle de France but what a marvel of engineering. Perhaps now that the Iowas are retired we may find out what the powerplant was truly capable of, is it now known how fast she could go? I had to triple check that when I first heard it. 42+ knots out of an ocean liner.... ridiculous. And the hull is fully submerged. What bow wave canceling magic is going on? Because 42 knots out of an ocean liner the size of Olympic is ridiculous. There's aircraft that can sustain flight at that speed.
I saw on youtube a talk given by former Governor harold Stassen who was on Admiral Halsey's flag staff during WW2. About halfway through the talk he talks abuout the modifications to New Jersey's flag plot for Admiral Halsey in 1944. Knocking out a bulkhead and relocating the admirals radio room down into radio central to expand flag plot, and cutting in a hatchway and installing a ladder direct from flag plot to Halsey's stateroom one deck below. WWII History round table (WW2HRT_03-05) Don't know if you knew about it or not.
She does look remarkably good with virtually no protection . Aluminium has been used for some warship superstructure but was found to be vulnerable in the Falklands . Dissimilar metals do create corrosion problems , the worst being brass and aluminium . Considering the total lack of paint and the length of time the United States is amazing . A testimony to the design and workmanship of its builders .
The Orient Line ship Oriana built at Barrow in Furness UK also had aluminium superstructure. I remember being taken to see her on the fitting out berth in the early 60s. She was finally scrapped in 2005. The ship yard in Barrow is still flourishing, one of few places in the world that build nuclear submarines.
royal caribbean cruise voyager i think went she was built they was about to weld steel and aluminum on the top decks in 1999 they had a video telling you about it deck 11 you could see the weld line
Modern Navy ships with steel hulls and aluminum superstructures are welded. If you look at the joint, there is an inch or two wide strip of aluminum/steel that is welded to each respective metal. That strip is made by an explosion welding process (EXW). The two dissimilar metals are machined flat and laid together on a bed of sand. High explosives are detonated above them fusing the two together. This is cut into strips and used to join the ship together.
And I believe the Steinway story is true. He was so horrified at the idea of an aluminium piano on this grand ship that he attempted to burn one of his very nice ones. The Hindenburg did have an aluminium piano for weight reasons and alledgedly it did not sound very good.
5:20 5:30 in a prior vid, some in the comment section complained that the ship should not have had internal fittings sold at auction, the time stamp above explains why the interior is stripped out.
At least in the short term as a method to raise money for the future, it could feature dockside concerts first to raise money. Later, after raising enough to create an up to code pathway to the top deck, concerts could be held on the recreation/ top deck so those attending could appreciate the ship’s features. Seeing the ship up close and personal will hopefully allow them to grow to love our namesake. With additional income streams it will hopefully open up more opportunities. I’m going to always hope that she sails again someday. It was a happy ship due to its many celebrations that was held on her. Just like the freedoms our Creator endowed to our country we’ve also been allowed to celebrate our freedoms through our gatherings whether spiritual or personal. Nearly everything in life was included in the design of this ship and it could be again with adjustments in the design and restoring the cabins for passengers.
As a "non-oceangoing" guy, who doesn't live near waterfront, it was kind of shocking, to see how damned big that thing is, when it's docked, all by itself in philly. I also vaguely recall a story that the ship was also secretly designed to be converted, very quickly, into a wartime troop transport, but I can't remember where I heard that.
The ship should be a National Monument. God forbid that it be sunken and contaminate the ocean. America should have something to be proud of - the great ship of America
I very much hope that the SS United States can be saved. She looks to be in very good shape internally. Newport News Shipbuilding do a very good job of building a durable ship. The Guinness Book Of Records records notes the MV Dulos (ex SS Medina and built by Newport News Shipbuilding in 1914) held the distinction as the worlds oldest seagoing steel ship being continuously immersed in salt water. The ship gave 95 years of continuous service. Marine engineers would fall over each other to be given the chance to work on her as they knew how special she was. The ship was so good every time she went in for Survey she would pass-the near 100 year old hull plates were still in good shape. Quite incredible that steel can survive for so long in salt water. Goes to show what good design and careful manufacture, combined with good maintenance can do. She was only taken out of service as the new SOLAS requirements for low flammable interior fixtures came in to effect and the owners (who were a bible distribution charity) felt it too expensive to refit the ship. So she was sold to a businessman who has since hoisted her right out of the water, and converted the ship into a hotel on Bintan Island, Indonesia.
Thank you Ryan for another great episode. Do have a question. Is there a way to take a tour around the SS United States are at least on the weather deck?
Ryan says ‘steel’ not (elemental) iron, is the top really (elemental) aluminum or is it one of the aluminum alloys? Pure aluminum is corrosion resistant but is vastly softer and weaker than the alloys. Alclad is the duralumin aluminum-copper alloy with a coating of pure aluminum for corrosion resistance and strength in some aircraft.
Sir the steel today on all navy vessels, is it as strong as STS from WWII. Chad Paddock a great fan of u and BBG. Would love one day to talk about your theory of a BBG missile location secondary armament.
I see a few comments about the Microphone. I wonder, is there a person out there that knows what microphone Ryan needs to address this and, if so, can't all of us chip in somehow so that he can get that?
The space he's in probably contributed to the echo problem more than the mic. A couple of blankets hung off camera forming a small room around him would have helped.
Great afternoon they should restore painted and overhaul the engine and send all the corrosion and be good as new also they should save it SS United States it was excellent Cruise ship ⚓🚢 also they should put it on a dry dock for the restoration and repairs
Anyone who can afford luxury apartments doesn't want to live in that area of philly, have to park in puddles on the dock and spend 15 minutes making one way trips to put their groceries away.
The corrosion problem is on the aluminium side, not the steel side! In this case it is galvanic corrosion or dissimilar metal corrosion. It can affect aluminium when it is physically or through an electrolyte connected to a more noble metal. The noble metal can be any metal that has lesser reactivity compared to aluminium - although iron isn't exactly a noble metal it is still less reactive than aluminium. Reactivity of a metal depends on its position in the electrochemical series. The severity of corrosion will be worse if the other metal is further away from aluminium in the electrochemical series - copper (in brass) would corrode aluminium rather quickly, faster that it's corroding steel.
Zinc in contact with aliumium wouldn't work on the longer run, because is is still more nobel than aluminium. Dissimilar metal corrosion can affect aluminium when it is connected to a more noble metal. The noble metal can be any metal that has lesser reactivity compared to aluminium. Zinc is less reactive than aluminium, but more reactive than iron. Aluminium and zinc are naturally protectect against atmospheric corrosion by an oxid layer - that grey stuff on the surface of zinc. In aluminium this layer it is almost invisible. Iron is more vulnerable to atmospheric corrosion, although it is less reactive than aluminium or zinc, because it has no protecting oxyd layer on its surface.
the lection how to made a basic chemical batery, or the way to eat up self your metal constuction. :) 2 diferent metal +electrolit. Like a citrom and put a steel nail and a bit away another metal in it. You have a batery(voltige depend on metal selection), its existed in ancient Egypt and used for trick's in a temple. Aluminium is tricky by rosting. If its a normal surface Al-O3 is air tight, and stop the corrosion by a thin layer.
The Normandie had and excellent fire suppression system, but at the time it was inoperative. It was a pile of life jackets that fueled the fire and the port that went overboard on water and caused capsizing. Terrible waste of a ship.
She's riverfront in Philadelphia spitting distance from Trenton. She's got almost half a state worth of river and land between her and the ocean she's fine.
Britain learnt during the Falklands war that aluminium as hull material is a BAD idea. eg the Sheffield. The aluminium (alumina) structures in the hull, the scaffold lit up like magnesium when an Exocet hit, then the aluminium melted, preventing the aluminium oxide coating that naturally forms protecting lower aluminium metal from corroding, failed. Result even if the ship has a pair of fire tenders were on each side, the ship would have still been lost. lessons hopefully learnt, to structure, or use only steel alloys. Let alone the galvanic problems of mixing steel and aluminium. Solutions on latter, electrically isolate both metals, use active electric anti corrosion methods or zinc/magnesium sacrificial anodes. Plus keep the aluminium bits to the superstructure NOT the hull.
This ship is a health hazard with all the asbestos additives they used in paints, coatings, and insulation materials. I dont recommend anyone going in there without a mask and suit
Fun fact, they removed the majority of the hazardous materials from the ship at one point, especially the asbestos. Which is partially why the ship is so empty.
The SS is almost fully gutted and is in awful condition. The chance to save the ship as a museum ship has long sailed past. Put the ship out of its misery and sink her as a artificial reef. It pains me to say, but I see absolutely zero chance of being able to save the ship.
So sad that making her fireproof is wat finished her of, I mean she would have been developed if she still had her original fittings like the queen Mary I'm sure. Now she is just a big money pit and isn't gonna be saved I'm afraid 😢
what does a non active ship emit? I hope you are joking. The process of scrapping a ship is putting Co2 into the atmosphere as the tools they are working with for sure are powered not by green energy
I wonder how many are driven away due to bad audio Good lord it's atrocious, maybe a handheld mic or an audio engineer are in-store. PLEASE DO SOMETHING!
NOT I. He has good consistent volume. What was not done was a pan / perhaps a slow 360 turn of the cameraperson to show the size, features of this room/ compartment - it is to be expected.
That ship has been stripped internally, Ryan is effectively sitting in a giant empty metal box - it would be almost impossible to make the audio quality much better than it is
