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NavSource Online: Battleship Photo Archive

MAINE
(2nd Class Battleship)
Construction - Active Service


To Additional Pages

Destruction


Maine Class Battleship: Displacement 6,682 Tons, Dimensions, 324' 4" (oa) x 57' x 22' 6" (Max). Armament 4 x 10"/30 6 x 6"/30, 4 x 21" tt. Armor, 12" Belt, 8" Turrets, 3" Decks, 10" Conning Tower. Machinery, 9,000 IHP; 2 Vertical, Triple expansion engines, 2 screws. Speed, 17 Knots, Crew 374.

Operational and Building Data: Laid down by New York Naval Ship Yard on October 17 1888. Launched November 18 1890. Commissioned September 17 1895. Decommissioned (Lost due to explosion.)
Fate: Blew up and sank, Havana Harbor, Cuba, February 15 1898. Hulk raised February 13 1912, Towed to sea and sunk in 600 fanthoms of water in the Florida Strait, March 16 1912. 260 Officers and men died in the explosion of the Maine and remain on duty.

In Memorium:

In the Second Book of Shmuel (Samuel), 22nd chapter, 5th through the 19th verses, translated from the original in Hebrew and published by the Koren Publishers of Jerusalem, Israel, can perhaps aptly describe the fate of the crew and all other U.S.sailors who died defending their county:

"When the waves of death compassed me / the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; / the bonds of She'ol encircled me; / the snares of death took me by surprise; / in my distress I called upon the Lord, / and cried to my G-D: / and he heard my voice out of his temple, / and my cry entered into his ears. / Then the earth shook and trembled; /the foundations of heaven moved / and shook because of his anger /...the heavy mass of waters, and thick clouds of the skies /... And the channels of the sea appeared, / the foundations of the world were laid bare, / at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast at the breath of his nostrils. / He sent from above, he took me; / he drew me out of many waters; / he delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too strong for me. / They surprised me in the day of my calamity: / but the Lord was my stay..."

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Maine208Construction & Repair proposal that became the Maine. Note the 10-inch guns are in open shields. The ship was actually built with enclosed turrets, which had to be mounted a deck height lower because of their weight. The shields and barbettes were initially attractive because they were light enough to be mounted very high in a ship, but they grew less and less attractive as rapidly firing guns came to threaten their crewa. The heavier guns fired slowly enough that they had to concentrate on easier targets such as belt armor. Photo and text courtesy of U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman.
Maine108kLaunching of the Maine at the New York Navy Yard, 18 November 1889. Engraving copied from Scientific American magazine, Vol. 45, 1898.Courtey of the United States Navy Historical Center, photo # NH 46767.
Maine71k Maine in the stream after the launching. 18 November 1889. Photo by Edward H. Hart, courtesy of Library of Congress, # LC-D4-20528.
Maine74k Maine under construction at Brooklyn Navy Yard. 1889? Photo by Edward H. Hart, courtesy of Library of Congress, # 4a28249r.
Maine92k The Maine, sometime between her launching on 18 November 1889 & commissioning 17 September 1895. Note that she appears not to have received her main armament in this port side photograph.Photo courtesy of Geff Adams.
Maine89k View looking forward on deck, port side, taken while the Maine was visiting Bar Harbor, Maine, 1895. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 48621.
Maine6.8m Port quarter view of the Maine taken in Bar Harbor, Maine, 1895. USN photo courtesy Pieter Bakels. Photo added 05/01/08.
Maine82k Maine taken in Bar Harbor, Maine, possibly 1895. Photo courtesy of Robert Hurst.
Maine37k Maine as completed, line drawing by A.D. Baker III. Photo and text courtesy of U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman.
Maine59kMaine photographed circa 1895-98.U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 60255-A.
Maine85kPort view, circa 1895-1898.USN photo.
Maine127k"Gunner's Gang", photographed in one of the ship's torpedo rooms. Halftoned photograph, published in Uncle Sam's Navy, 1898.U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 50183.
Maine85kStarboard stern view of the Maine by E. Miller, 1898.
U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri.
Maine96kLaundry day on the Maine by E. Miller, 1898 U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri.
Maine75kRetouched image of a photograph by A. Loeffler, with an inset portrait of her last Commanding Officer, Captain Charles D. Sigsbee, USN. This print was published as a memento following the ship's loss on 15 February 1898.U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph photo # NH 61674.
Maine38k Maine underway, circa 1898. From'Atlas Editions', TRH Pictures. Courtesy of Eric W. Dahlstrom.
Maine50kA watercolor by the artist Richard C. Moore entitled "Battleship Maine" depicting the Maine underway, circa 1898. Photo courtesy of ship-paintings.com. Courtesy of the artist Richard C. Moore.
Maine382kThe Maine entering Havana Harbor, 25 Jan. 1898.
She would blow up and sink three weeks after this picture was taken.
USN Photo # HD-SN-99-01929, from the Defense Visual Information Center, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
Text courtesy of National Archives photo # 111-SC-94543.
Maine111kMaine in Havana Harbor, Cuba, shortly before the explosion that would sink her.Courtesy of Scot McCoy.
Maine120kOil on canvas painting by the artist James Flood entitled "Maine - 1898." A bad day for the crew, a bad day for Havana, and a bad day for Spain. Photo and text courtesy of oldgloryprints.com

Additional Maine Images
Maine (Over View) 19 Images From The Library Of Congress Server.
Maine (Launch) 12 Images From The Library Of Congress Server.
Maine (Details) 10 Images From The Library Of Congress Server.
Maine (Crew) 22 Images From The Library Of Congress Server.
Maine (Marines) 6 Images From The Library Of Congress Server.
Maine (Wreck) 14 Images From The Library Of Congress Server.

MAINE History
View This Vessels DANFS History Entry
(Located On The Hazegray & Underway Web Site, This Is The Main Archive For The DANFS Online Project.)

Crew Contact And Reunion Information

Not Applicable To This Ship.

Additional Resources
Hazegray & Underway Battleship Pages By Andrew Toppan.
Maine Links Additional Links of Interest.

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