Battleship USS Maine, circa 1909 Anonymous/©Fredrik D.Bodin
The battleship Maine depicted in this photograph was the second United States Navy ship to be named the USS Maine. She was the first of the Maine class battleships, which included the USS Missouri and USS Ohio. Ironically (perhaps), her construction began on February 15th, 1899 – exactly one year after the original “Maine” exploded and sank in Havana Harbor. Almost 400 feet long, and fitted out with the latest armament (such as the first battleship with submerged torpedo tubes) and steel armor, USS Maine sailed with fifteen other US battleships on a 45,000 mile around the world cruise with President Theodore Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet. After serving as a training ship during World War I, the Maine was decommissioned in 1920 and broken up for scrap in 1923. Since then, a third battleship Maine was authorized and then cancelled in 1943. The latest USS Maine is a 560 foot long nuclear powered ballistic submarine (fires missiles while submerged), launched in 1994 and still in active service. They have a Facebook Page. Thank you to all who have served on the USS Maine(s) since 1895, and to all of our veterans.
USS Maine, 2010
Courtesy of the United States Navy
Printed archivally from the original 5×7 inch glass negative in my darkroom. Image #A9257-182 (USS Maine, circa 1909)
From the USS Maine SSBN 741 Facebook Page (USS Maine, 2010)
Fredrik D. Bodin
Bodin Historic Photo
82 Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930
Good Morning Gloucester 