Login
You're viewing the functional.cafe public feed.

Replies

  • W6KMEW6KME@mastodon.radio
    Nov 11, 2026, 8:21 PM

    @AbandonedAmerica

    This ship is two totally separate things.

    One, an astonishing machine, the last of its kind, with capabilities that boggle the mind. It's sad to see it go, but its time clearly ended decades ago. Air travel killed any need for this machine almost overnight.

    It's also a symbol of the excesses of the wealthy. Normal people could only get glimpses on special tour days; it was never for them. It wasted resources at an unbelievable rate to satisfy the rich.

    1/2

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • W6KMEW6KME@mastodon.radio
    Nov 11, 2026, 8:23 PM

    @AbandonedAmerica There is a parallel in aviation...liners like this were the Concorde. As long as the rich could make the rest of us fans of their toys, they were awesome. But the minute their toys weren't cutting edge, they threw them away.

    The 747 gave world travel to the middle class, killing the Concorde AND the ocean liner.

    What an amazing ship this was though. Like the Concorde, sleek and beautiful and unimaginable powerful.

    But never for us.

    💬 0🔄 0⭐ 4
  • Abandoned AmericaAbandonedAmerica@mastodon.social
    Nov 11, 2026, 10:03 PM

    @W6KME I agree with most of what you're saying, but ocean liners transported more people than aircraft and there were options other than first class. I've heard from a bunch of people lucky enough to have sailed on the SS US who weren't filthy rich. It did have that set of passengers, absolutely, but they weren't the only ones on board. Catering to the middle and lower economic classes was a very viable business strategy in the postwar years. Necessary, even.

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • W6KMEW6KME@mastodon.radio
    Nov 11, 2026, 10:09 PM

    @AbandonedAmerica Absolutely agreed...what made the SS US a symbol of wealth was the insanely wasteful and unnecessary, yet absolutely incredible power and speed. It crossed the sea at over 40 mph, at great cost. That was the party trick that drew the richest passengers and made all the headlines.

    It was so insanely inefficient that once the rich abandoned it for their jets, it instantly became nothing more than an eyesore and source of pollution.

    This is a happy day for the ship IMO.

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Roger MooreVATVSLPR@c.im
    Nov 11, 2026, 10:24 PM

    @W6KME @AbandonedAmerica
    An interesting side note is that ships like the SS United States were designed (and subsidized!) to be convertible into troop ships in wartime. The tremendous speed was militarily useful. Not only could troops get where they were going in a hurry, but the speed was enough to let them outrun submarines, so they didn't need escort ships. It probably didn't justify the subsidies, which were largely about national pride for having the fastest ocean liner, but it helps to explain some of the design decisions.

    💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0