30 Ton Propellers

Back in 1967, our family took the S.S. United States to the UK from New York.

The S.S. United States was the largest ocean liner constructed entirely in the U.S., and the fastest ocean liner to ever cross the Atlantic in either direction.

Built in 1952, at a cost of $78 million, her last uninterupted transatlantic passenger service was in 1969.

This massive ship has been docked, abandoned, on Pier 82 in Philadelphia since 1996. She towers over everything around her.

How big is she? Consider this photo of just one of her four propellers — two four-bladed and two five-bladed, each made of manganese bronze. Each prop weighed an astounding 60,000 pounds -- 30 tons!