USS Maine (BB-10)

USS ''Maine'' (BB-10), the lead ship of her class of pre-dreadnought battleships, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the 23rd state. ''Maine'' was laid down in February 1899 at the William Cramp & Sons shipyard in Philadelphia. She was launched in July 1901 and commissioned into the fleet in December 1902. She was armed with a main battery of four guns and could steam at a top speed of .

''Maine'' served in the Atlantic for the entirety of her career with the North Atlantic Fleet, which later became the Atlantic Fleet; during the early years of her service, she was the fleet flagship, until she was replaced in 1907. Later that year, she joined the cruise of the Great White Fleet, though her heavy coal consumption prevented her from continuing with the fleet past San Francisco. After returning to the U.S., she served as the 3rd Squadron flagship. During America's participation in World War I from April 1917 to November 1918, ''Maine'' was used as a training ship. She remained in active service until May 1920, when she was decommissioned. The ship was ultimately sold for scrap in January 1922 and broken up for scrap under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty signed that year.

Description

The United States Congress passed a major naval construction program in response to the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in 1898; the program included three new battleships, which were to become the ''Maine'' class. The class incorporated several significant technological developments, including smaller caliber main guns that used smokeless powder to achieve greater muzzle velocity (and thus penetrating power), Krupp cemented armor that was stronger than Harvey armor used on earlier vessels, and water-tube boilers that provided more power for the engines.

''Maine'' was long overall and had a beam of and a draft of . She displaced as designed and up to at full load. The ship was powered by two-shaft triple-expansion steam engines rated at , driving two screw propellers. Steam was provided by twenty-four coal-fired Niclausse boilers, which were vented into three funnels. The propulsion system generated a top speed of . As built, she was fitted with heavy military masts, but these were quickly replaced by cage masts in 1909. She had a crew of 561 officers and enlisted men, which increased to 779–813.

The ship was armed with a main battery of four /40 caliber guns in two twin gun turrets on the centerline, one forward and aft. The secondary battery consisted of sixteen /50 caliber Mark 6 guns, which were placed in casemates in the hull. For close-range defense against torpedo boats, she carried six /50 caliber guns mounted in casemates along the side of the hull, eight 3-pounder guns, and six 1-pounder guns. As was standard for capital ships of the period, ''Maine'' carried two torpedo tubes, submerged in her hull on the broadside.

''Maine''s main armored belt was thick over the magazines and the propulsion machinery spaces and elsewhere. The main battery gun turrets had thick faces, and the supporting barbettes had the same thickness of armor plating on their exposed sides. Armor that was 6 in thick protected the secondary battery. The conning tower had thick sides.

Service history

''Maine'' was built by the William Cramp & Sons shipyard in Philadelphia; her keel was laid down on 15 February 1899. The ship was launched on 27 July 1901 and commissioned into the fleet on 29 December 1902. ''Maine'' operated with the North Atlantic Fleet starting in 1903; over the next four years, she took part in various peacetime training exercises in the Atlantic and Caribbean. During this period she also steamed to the Mediterranean. She served as the flagship of Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans. On 16 April 1907, Evans transferred his flag to the newly commissioned battleship .

''Maine''s next significant action was the cruise of the Great White Fleet around the world, which started with a naval review for President Theodore Roosevelt in Hampton Roads. The cruise of the Great White Fleet was conceived as a way to demonstrate American military power, particularly to Japan. Tensions had begun to rise between the United States and Japan after the latter's victory in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, particularly over racist opposition to Japanese immigration to the United States. The press in both countries began to call for war, and Roosevelt hoped to use the demonstration of naval might to deter Japanese aggression. On 17 December, the fleet steamed out of Hampton Roads and cruised south to the Caribbean and then to South America, making stops in Port of Spain, Rio de Janeiro, Punta Arenas, and Valparaíso, among other cities. After arriving in Mexico in March 1908, the fleet spent three weeks conducting gunnery practice. The fleet then resumed its voyage up the Pacific coast of the Americas, stopping in San Francisco, where ''Maine'' was detached from the rest of the fleet. The ship's boilers had proved to be badly inefficient, requiring excessive amounts of coal to keep up with the fleet. The battleship also left the fleet, owing to a cracked cylinder head.

''Maine'' and ''Alabama'' crossed the Pacific independently, via Guam and the Philippines. After steaming through the Indian Ocean, they transited the Suez Canal and cruised the Mediterranean. They crossed the Atlantic and arrived back on the east coast of the United States in October 1908, well ahead of the rest of the Great White Fleet. Following their arrival, ''Maine'' was assigned as the flagship of the 3rd Squadron, Atlantic Fleet, and operated off the east coast for the next several months. On 14 February, ''Maine'', the new battleships , , and , two armored cruisers and two scout cruisers were organized to meet the returning Great White Fleet. ''Maine'' and the rest of the squadron, under the command of Rear Admiral Conway Hillyer Arnold, steamed out into the Atlantic and rendezvoused with the Great White Fleet on 17 February. The combined fleet arrived in Hampton Roads on the 22nd, where a large naval review was held for Theodore Roosevelt to celebrate the journey. On 31 August 1909, the ship was temporarily decommissioned at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She returned to service on 15 June 1911 for duty with the Atlantic Fleet.

On 6 April 1917, the United States declared war on Germany, entering World War I. During the war, ''Maine'' was employed as a training ship for engine room personnel, armed guards for merchant ships, and midshipmen from the US Naval Academy. On 11 November 1918, Germany signed the Armistice that ended the conflict. ''Maine'' participated in a naval review held in New York on 26 December to celebrate the Allied victory. At the time, most of the battleships of the Atlantic Fleet were used as transports to ferry American soldiers back from France. ''Maine'' and her sisters were not so employed, however, owing to their short range and small size, which would not permit sufficient additional accommodations. ''Maine'' instead remained on the east coast with the Atlantic Fleet. On 15 May 1920, she was decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and was reclassified as BB-10 on 17 July. She was kept laid up for a year and a half before being sold on 23 January 1922 to J.G. Hitner and W.F. Cutler of Philadelphia, to be broken up for scrap. By 17 December 1923, she had been disarmed in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty, which mandated significant reductions in naval strength. ''Maine'' was then scrapped.

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External links

Naval Historical Center USS ''Maine'' (Battleship # 10, later BB-10), 1902–1922
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Maine (BB-10)
Maine-class battleships
Ships built by William Cramp & Sons
1901 ships
World War I battleships of the United States