On February 8, 1950, construction began on the ocean liner SS United States at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Newport News, Virginia, the first large vessel to be built in a dry dock. United States was constructed to exacting Navy specifications, which required that the ship be heavily compartmentalized, and have separate engine rooms to optimize wartime survival. She was built for United … Continue reading The Birth, Career & Sad Deterioration of SS United States