SS United States: An Operational Guide to America's Flagship

The most detailed technical history of one of the world's greatest ocean liners.

SS United States set the record for fastest transatlantic journey by a surface vessel on her first voyage in 1952, a record that stood until 1986. It was the flagship of the United States Lines and represented the apex of steam engineering technology. Designed by William Francis Gibbs, the ship was fast, safe, and luxurious.

This work chronicles the design, construction, and operation of the liner. Coauthor Jim Rindfleisch spent significant time aboard the ship in the late 1980s and early 1990s, serving as the owner’s agent and unofficial caretaker. He is one of the few people outside of the ship’s crew who learned to navigate the entire ship without a map.

The book is richly illustrated with many previously unpublished photographs and diagrams, including those sourced from the ship's onboard archives. Also included are personnel lists, performance and engineering data, transcripts of ship’s logs, and other documents that illustrate the massive undertaking and attention to detail that made this “America’s Flagship."

Jim Rindfleisch's first steps aboard SS United States were in 1984, when the ship was opened for tours. With repeated visits and an eventual ascension to ship’s caretaker, he gained a detailed knowledge of the general workings of the ship.


A professor of psychology, Sam Bauer spent countless hours aboard the laid-up superliner SS United States, collecting items and documents. Along with Stanton Daywalt, he has edited and expanded this book, first drafted by the late Jim Rindfleisch.


Before assisting Sam Bauer with Jim’s original manuscript, Stanton Daywalt already had an extensive knowledge of SS United States. After reading and digitizing Jim’s massive collection of ship documents, Stanton learned even more that contributed to this book’s details.