During times of war, the ship could be converted to troop transport and was capable of carrying over 14,000 troops. With investors having such special purposes in mind, the ship was built to exceed the exacting standards of the United States Navy. Indeed, the multitude of innovations for which the liner is reputed have drawn their inception from some of the brightest naval architects in the nation. Such expertise has not been expended in American shipbuilding since WWII when by sheer weight of dollars and productive drive the US turned out quickly built and quickly aging freighters for war cargos. The United Stated though is designed to last.
Swiftness is only one of the liner's new defense features.
The United States construction is divided into more watertight compartments than any large passenger vessel ever built. No single torpedo could sink her and the ship could survive even a collision like that which sank the ill-fated Titanic . The United States was built with dual engine rooms, each having it's own oil-fired boiler room driving two of the four massive propellers. Again, a protective measure against torpedo strike. Among the ship's most prominent innovations is her convertibility to troopship in a period literally overnight.