USS MAINE (SSBN 741)

USS Maine (1895 - 1912 ) Armored Battleship
 

Maine departed New York Navy Yard 5 November 1895 for Newport, R.I., via Gardiner's Bay, N.Y., to fit out 16 to 23 November, and then proceeded on the 25th to Portland, Maine, to visit her namesake. The battlewagon then put to sea on the 29th on trials and inspection, being assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron 16 December, and sailing via Newport to Tompkinsville, N.Y., arriving 23 December. The ship sailed the next day for Fort Monroe, Va., arriving on Christmas Day. She operated out of that place and Newport News through June 1898 and then on the 4th sailed for Key West on a 2-month training cruise, returning to Norfolk 3 August. Maine continued extensive east coast operations until late 1897. Then the ship prepared for a voyage to Havana, Cuba, to show the flag and to protect American citizens in event of violence in the Spanish struggle with the revolutionary forces in Cuba.

On 11 December Maine stood out of Hampton Roads bound for Key West, arriving on the 15th. She was joined there by ships of the North Atlantic Squadron on maneuvers, then left Key West 24 January 1898 for Havana.

Arriving 25 January, Maine anchored in the center of the port, remained on vigilant watch, allowed no liberty, and took extra precautions against sabotage. Shortly after 2140, 15 February, the battleship was torn apart by a tremendous explosion that shattered the entire forward part of the ship. Out of 350 officers and men on board that night (4 officers were ashore), 252 were dead or missing. Eight more were to die in Havana hospitals during the next few days. The survivors of the disaster were taken on board Ward Line steamer City of Washington and Spanish cruiser Alfonso XII. The Spanish officials at Havana showed every attention to the survivors of the disaster and great respect for those killed. The court of inquiry convened in March was unable to obtain evidence associating the destruction of the battleship with any person or persons, but public opinion in the United States was so inflamed that the Maine disaster led eventually to the declaration of war on Spain 21 April.

On 5 August 1910, Congress authorized the raising of Maine and directed Army engineers to supervise the work. A second board of inquiry appointed to inspect the wreck after it was raised reported that injuries to the ship's bottom were caused b y an external explosion of low magnitude that set off the forward magazine, completing destruction of the ship. It has never been determined who placed the explosive, responsibility for the sinking of Maine remains one of the continuing enigmas of American history.

Maine's hulk was finally floated 2 February 1912 and towed out to sea where it was sunk in deep water in the Gulf of Mexico with appropriate ceremony and military honors 16 March.

USS Maine (1902 - 1923) Battleship #10, BB-10
 

From 1903 to 1907 Maine cruised along the Atlantic coast south to the West Indies, and she completed one cruise to the Mediterranean. On 16 December 1907 she left Hampton Roads with the rest of the Atlantic Fleet en route to the Pacific where she joined ships of that fleet for a cruise around the world. In company with the Alabama, she went to Guam and the Philippines, through the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean, and returned to the Atlantic coast in October 1908, considerably in advance o f the rest of the "Great White Fleet."

Fitted out as flagship of the 3d Squadron, Atlantic Fleet, Maine resumed operations along the Atlantic coast and into Caribbean waters during the next several months. She decommissioned at Portsmouth, NH, 31 August 1908. Recommissioned 15 June 1911, Maine operated along the east coast. During World War I, she trained engineers, armed guard crews, and midshipmen. Following the defeat of the Central Powers, she took part in the review of the fleet at New York 26 December 1918.

Maine operated with ships of the Atlantic Fleet until 15 May 1920 when she decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard. Classified as BB-10 on 17 July 1920, she was sold to J. G. Hitner & W. F. Cutler of Philadelphia, Pa., 23 January 1922; rendered incapable of further warlike service 17 December 1923; and subsequently broken up and scrapped In accordance with terms of the Washington treaty limiting naval armaments.

USS Maine (1995 - Present) SSBN-741

Keel Layed:  4 April 1989
Christening Date:  16 July 1994
Commissioning Date:  29 July 1995
Currently:  In Active Service

USS MAINE PHOTOGRAPHS

USS MAINE (2nd-Class Battleship)

USS MAINE (BB-10)

USS MAINE (SSBN 741)

USS MAINE (BB-10)