William Francis Gibbs - Gibbs & Cox

Gibbs & Cox

In 1922 the Gibbs brothers started their own naval architecture firm, Gibbs Brothers, Inc., which was renamed Gibbs & Cox in 1929. Their first major contract was to convert the former German liner Vaterland into the American luxury liner SS Leviathan. When shipbuilders Blohm + Voss asked over $1 million for the original plans, Gibbs decided to draw his own. Between 100 and 150 draftsmen documented the existing ship and designed its new layout.

The Gibbs designed a series of trim white-hulled ocean liners for the Matson Lines service to Hawaii, starting with the SS Malolo in 1925 and continuing with the SS Monterey and SS Mariposa in 1931 and the SS Lurline in 1932. The Grace Line contracted with Gibbs & Cox for four smaller 9,000 tonne ocean liners in 1930, receiving the Santa Rosa, Santa Paula, Santa Lucia, and Santa Elena in 1932. Gibbs & Cox also designed the SS America for the United States Lines, which was completed in 1940 after World War II had broken out in Europe. All nine of these ships served as U.S. troopships in the war.

During the war, Gibbs & Cox created plans for thousands of American warships and cargo vessels, including destroyers, LST landing craft, minesweepers, tankers, cruisers, and Liberty ships. Between 1940 through 1946, 63 per cent of all merchant ships of 2,000 tons up and 74 per cent of all American naval vessels (destroyers, landing craft, escort carriers, etc.) were built to the designs or working plans of Gibbs & Cox.

After the war, the Gibbs brothers again began design for a new 1,000-foot ocean liner. The SS United States entered service in 1952, after five years of design and 28 months of construction. On her maiden voyage, she became the fastest ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean, averaging 35.59 knots, and reducing the crossing time by 10 hours. Between 1952 and 1969, the SS United States completed 400 problem-free voyages. She was the largest liner ever built in the United States and the fastest liner built anywhere.