19521776 Club
SS United States passes Bishop Rock; America holds the Blue Riband for the first time in a century
Crossing from Ambrose Lightship in 3 days, 10 hours, and 40 minutes at 35.59 knots, she takes the Hales Trophy from the British liners that have ruled the Atlantic.
In the summer of 1952, the fastest way across the Atlantic still belonged to British liners like the Queen Mary. That changed on July 7, when the SS United States passed Bishop Rock off Cornwall, completing the crossing from Ambrose Lightship in 3 days, 10 hours, and 40 minutes at an eastbound average of 35.59 knots. She took the Blue Riband and the Hales Trophy, the first American ship to hold the Blue Riband since SS Baltic claimed it a century earlier. The record has never been broken by a passenger liner since…
