USS Maine (ACR-1) in Havana Harbor circa January 1898 (port stern).

“Remember the Maine!”

Was the ship mined…or did a fire in the coal bunker ignite the ship’s magazine?

While anchored in Havana harbor in the evening of February 15, 1898, a massive explosion ripped apart the U.S. Navy’s newest battleship, the USS Maine. Killing 250 Sailors and two officers outright, another 14 would die later from their injuries. The sinking of the Maine still ranks as one of the worst peacetime naval catastrophes in the history of our Navy.

While there is strong evidence for both sides of the argument on the reason for the ship’s destruction, or whether it caused the Spanish-American War, it definitely attributed support for the war.

Aft view, looking forward of Maine, showing a Navy diving team on board (Naval History & Heritage Command photograph).

Some bits of interesting history:

• Authorized by an Act of Congress on August 3, 1886, the ship was initially designated Armored Cruiser №1 (ACR-1).
• Maine was the largest ship designed by the U.S. Navy at the time, and the first built in an American shipyard.
• The ship was also the first armored battleship built entirely of domestically produced materials. The initial design was to employ sails and rigging in addition to coal-powered…