At the turn of the 20th century, European giants Cunard, Hamburg-Amerika Line, and White Star dominated the transatlantic market, but few know that plans for a major American competitor were in the works.
Ever notice that at the turn of the 20th century, the transatlantic market was dominated by three large European players: Cunard, Hamburg-Amerika Line, and White Star (the latter, though, being arguably a quasi-American company)? All these companies were making immense profits running liner routes to the United States, but no large American company ever went up against the big three. Well, what if I told you there had been plans all along for an American entrant into that market?
At the turn of the 20th century, the United States found itself lagging behind Europe in the race to dominate the seas. Determined to change that were two visionary brothers; William Francis Gibbs (later of SS United States fame) and Frederic H. Gibbs. The two set out to design two groundbreaking ships around the mid-to-late 1910’s. These vessels, if built, would not only have been the largest in the world, but also the first to break the iconic 1,000-foot mark. With a planned gross tonnage of 55,000 each, they would have redefined maritime engineering.
What makes their story even more remarkable is the Gibbs brothers’ unconventional path. Originally aspiring to be lawyers, their lives took a dramatic turn when they attended the launch of the American Line’s St. Louis near their home in Pennsylvania. That moment inspired them to pursue a completely different field: naval architecture. Despite being largely self-taught, the brothers’ contributions would go on to significantly impact both the U.S. Navy and the Merchant Marine, helping to rejuvenate American maritime power.
While still pursuing their university studies for Law, William Francis Gibbs and Frederic H. Gibbs conceived a bold idea: to design two massive ocean liners that would revolutionize maritime travel. Remarkably, the brothers managed to balance their legal studies while teaching themselves the intricacies of ship design, working on the project at their own expense. After William earned two degrees in 1913—Bachelor of Law and Master of Arts from Columbia University—he began financing the ship designs with his legal earnings.
The proposed liners were to be impressive four-funnel ships, stretching 1,000 feet long and measuring 57,000grt. For comparison, the Titanic and Olympic were 882ft LOA and 46,329grt.
The Gibbs’ ships would have accommodated 3,000 passengers, with a crew of 1,000. These liners were groundbreaking in many ways, including their planned speed of 30 knots, powered by 185,000-horsepower electric-drive engines—the first time this method was proposed for a large ocean liner. This innovative propulsion system was developed with the help of W.L.R. Emmet, Chief Engineer at General Electric, who believed that electric propulsion was the only way to generate the required power.
Fuel efficiency was also a priority. The ships would be oil-fueled, giving them a cruising range of 7,000 miles, and they would refuel in the U.S., where oil was cheaper. The Gibbs brothers also planned to operate the ships from Fort Pond Bay, Long Island, saving time on transatlantic crossings by avoiding the slow approach to Manhattan and trip up the river. This would allow the liners to make the trip in four days, an attractive proposition for travelers at that time.
In July 1916, the Gibbs brothers presented their design to Philip A.S. Franklin, president of the International Mercantile Marine (IMM). He was so impressed that he swiftly introduced them to J.P. Morgan, Jr. The same Morgan who’s father was the shipping magnet that owned the IMM. It was shortly after this time that they were given names Boston and Baltimore. This was of course in line with the naming tradition of the American Line at that time.
The brothers set up offices in New York and tested their designs at the U.S. Experimental Model Basin in Washington. The results were promising, but unfortunately, the outbreak of the World War shifted the U.S. government’s priorities, and funding for the project was put on hold.
Although the Boston and Baltimore never materialized, the idea of electric-drive propulsion took hold. In 1928, the first turbo-electric liner, SS California, was built for the Panama Pacific Line, a subsidiary of IMM. The California was smaller than the Gibbs brothers’ proposed ships but still carried forward their innovative propulsion concept.
After World War I, the Gibbs brothers modified their designs, incorporating military versatility such as space for seaplanes and increased fuel capacity for wartime use. However, by the time the war ended, the post-war depression and the surplus of war-built ships made their dream unfeasible.
Despite the project’s cancellation, the Gibbs brothers’ vision of 1,000-foot, turbo-electric super-liners remains a fascinating chapter in maritime history, demonstrating their innovative approach and their potential to reshape American shipbuilding.
Unlike their European counterparts, the U.S. Congress didn’t see the benefit of subsidizing the construction of ocean liners for the dual purpose of swiftly converting them into armed merchant cruisers or large troop transport vessels early on. Otherwise, these may have been commercially viable back in the late 1910’s and maritime history could have turned out rather differently.