The USS Maine (ACR-1) was an American, pre-dreadnought battleship that was in active service with the US Navy only three years, from 1895 to 1898. She was sunk by a massive explosion while she was lying at anchor in Havana harbor. This incident would be the spark that ignited the Spanish-American War. The USS Maine was an advanced, well-protected capital ship of the time, which was fitted with a modern propulsion system capable of generating 9,293 horsepower. She was a symbol the American steel industry of the second industrial revolution and its sinking remained a source of controversy ever since.
The USS Maine (ACR-1) was ordered in August 1886 as a need to modernize the US Navy and catch up with the European nations', which were competing in the arms race for the European and world geopolitical hegemony. Designed by the US Navy Department, she was laid down on October 17, 1888, at New York Naval Shipyard, and launched on November 18, 1890. After five years of sea trials, the USS Maine would be commissioned for service with the US Navy on September 17, 1895. In January 1898, the USS Maine paid a good-will visit to Cuba in an attempt to lower the US-Spanish political tension. On February 15, she was anchored in Havana harbor when she was suddenly destroyed and sunk by a powerful explosion which killed 260 men. Without tangible proof, a US court of inquiry quickly concluded on April 21 that the ship had been sunk by the explosion of a mine that had been placed beneath the ship. This conclusion led the United States to declare war on Spain.
Technical Description
With a length of 96.9 m (318 feet) and a beam of 17.4 m, the USS Maine was slightly larger than the Brazilian battleship Riachuelo, which was a modern warship that had been built in the United Kingdom. The American capital ship was armed with four 254-mm main guns, which were mounted in two twin turrets, en echelon, with the forward one set up to starboard and the after one to port. They were sponsoned to fire dead ahead and astern. She also featured six 152-mm guns as secondary naval ordnance. The ship was propelled by two vertical, triple-expansion steam engines, with the boilers combustion gases being exhausted through two smokestacks.
Specifications
Type: pre-dreadnought battleship
Completed: 1895
Number in Class: 1
Displacement: 6,682 tons (standard); 7,180 tons (full-loaded).
Length: 96.9 m (318 feet)
Beam: 17.4 m (57 feet)
Draft: 6.6 m (21.5 feet)
Propulsion System: two triple-expansion steam engines, with two shafts, fed by 8 boilers, generating 9,293 iHP.
Maximum Speed: 16.45 knots (30.47 km/h, or 18.93 mph)
Range: 3,600 nautical miles (6,670 km) sailing at 10 knots.
Armor: Harvey and nickel steel; ship belt: 305-mm; deck: 76 and 51-mm; barbetts: 305 and 254-mm thick.
Armament: four 254-mm main guns; six 152-mm secondary guns.
Compliment: 374 men.
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| Above, starboard view of the USS Maine, showing two of her four 254-mm naval guns. |
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| The USS Maine battleship sailing into Havana harbor in 1898. |