SS ''Maine'' was a British

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

launched in 1905 as a 3600-ton cargo steamer with a triple-expansion engine. She was

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

ed and sunk on 21 November 1917 by ''UC-17'', about off

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

. She sank "gracefully, upright and on an even keel" and sits on shingle deep at . The Torbay British Sub-Aqua Club bought the wreck for £100 in 1962 and salvaged the bronze propeller, selling it for £800. The propeller was proudly displayed on a plinth outside Safeway supermarket in Paignton town centre, until the redevelopment of the site in the early 2000s. The propeller was being sold for scrap, but was rescued by a farmer and now is in a field in Kingsteignton.

References

1904 ships Wreck diving sites in the United Kingdom World War I shipwrecks in the English Channel Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I Maritime incidents in 1917 {{ship-stub