The Blue Riband of the Atlantic

In 1837, the Sirius and Great Western raced across the Atlantic, and steamships came of age. From then till 1953, when the SS United States won the Blue Riband, only 35 vessels have held the record. Twenty-five have been British, with five German, three American and one French and one Italian liner. From Sirius to the United States, the winners have been legendary and include Brunel’s Great Western, Cunard’s Queen Mary and Mauretania, the American Arctic, the Normandie and the Rex.