SS United States’ final journey to become an artificial reef, in photos

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Bon voyage, SS United States.

The historic ocean liner known as “the Big U” and “America’s Flagship” broke the transatlantic speed record in both directions in July 1952, travelling at speeds of more than 38 knots — almost 44 mph! — according to the SS United States Conservancy, the nonprofit that had been taking care of the ship. Its passengers included U.S. presidents and celebrities.

But during Wednesday’s Veterans Day send-off in Florida, the SS United States took its time in saying goodbye to those of us on land, and hello to its new chapter underwater in the Gulf as the world’s largest artificial reef.

Over 863,000 viewers from around the world watched the official YouTube livestream (the sinking begins at around the 9:55:00 mark) from Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida as revelers on land watched in a festive atmosphere, viewers in recreational boats got up close to say a final goodbye, and workers on board the ship took down and folded the ship’s American flag.

But the gorgeous clear views of the iconic ship’s stripped shell sitting in the bright blue water, surrounded by dozens of small maintenance and recreational boats, eventually turned into dark night as the 990-foot long hulk remained upright and illuminated by floodlights from nearby tugboats.

It wasn’t until shortly before midnight that it finally sunk into the now inky black sea, with water spouting up from its 400+ empty portholes and our final view of it being its bow side, with the white letters spelling “UNITED STATES” the last to go down into that good night.

It was a surprisingly emotional and dramatic moment for many. It is not often that anyone really gets to see a ship sink outside of wartime newsreels or film dramatizations of tragedies like what happened to the Titanic.

So to watch this proud ship go down due to, essentially, old age, time and circumstance was disconcerting and surreal, as well as being simultaneously humbling and heart-tugging.

There was also moments of levity, with workers putting on a little shadow puppet show in the tugboat floodlights that illuminated the SS United States as it slowly filled with water.

Especially for those of us used to seeing it sitting stalwartly on the Philadelphia waterfront across from Ikea for decades — did any of us really ever think, during years of rental and renovation disputes since 1996, that its fate would end up being underwater?

But with every end comes a new beginning.

The SS United States now sits about 22 nautical miles southwest of Destin-Fort Walton Beach — 30° 07.148′ N, 86° 46.755′ W to be specific. Scuba divers and marine scientists will be able to explore it for years into the future, and for the next 10 years, it will be monitored by experts and academics at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and Louisiana State University.

“This [was] a historic day for Destin-Fort Walton Beach and for a ship with such a historic story,” said Okaloosa County Board Chairman Trey Goodwin. “Her story will continue to be told by thousands of people who visit her in tandem with the SS United States Conservancy’s land-based museum.”

“Our dive community is really excited,” Jennifer Adams, the tourism director for Okaloosa County, said when the ship was leaving Philly. “We’re just a small fishing village. So to have her, you’ll be able to fish on her, spearfish, explore. And so they’re really, you know, rallying to that.

And on land, there will be a museum for us landlubbers.

The ship’s two smoke stacks, both 65 feet tall, about the height of a six-story building — were removed in the remediation process and will be a feature of the SS United States Conservancy’s land-based museum, along with the liner’s propellers, radar mast, a cocktail bar and items and memorabilia from the ship that the conservancy had gathered and preserved over the years.

“By incorporating iconic components from the historic ocean liner into an architecturally stunning, land-based museum, the SS United States will continue to excite and inspire future generations,” said Susan Gibbs, the conservancy’s president and granddaughter of the ship’s designer, William Francis Gibbs.