The SS United States is larger than the Titanic, but can still reach high speeds thanks to a propulsion engine with more than 240,000 horsepower.
On July 3, 1952, the ocean liner SS United States set sail on its first voyage. Interestingly, this ship still holds the world record for passenger ships in the speed of crossing the Atlantic Ocean in both directions. Namely, on its first trip, the SS United States achieved a record by crossing the distance from New York to Great Britain in just 3 days, 10 hours and 40 minutes. Its average speed was as high as 35.59 knots, ie 65.91 kilometers per hour.
Interestingly, the SS United States is larger than the Titanic. Namely, it is as long as 300 meters, while the Titanic had 269. Furthermore, the SS United States has 12 decks, while the Titanic had 9. Despite such large dimensions, the SS United States can achieve this high speed thanks to a propulsion engine with more than 240,000 horsepower force. By comparison, the Titanic was powered by a machine of about 46,000 horsepower, which is about 5.2 times less.
The steam turbines on board the SS United States, with the aforementioned over 240,000 horsepower, are the most powerful ever installed on a civilian vessel. By comparison, today’s largest cruise ships (so-called cruisers) have several diesel engines and can develop a total of about 130,000 horsepower. However, on cruisers, this power is converted first into electricity, and only then one part of it is used to drive the propeller (up to a maximum of 80,000 horsepower). Thus, the SS United States could transfer power to the propellers up to three times greater than today’s largest cruisers.
