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USS Maine (BB-10)
Encyclopedia
USS Maine (BB-10), the lead ship
of her class
of battleship
s, was the second ship of the United States Navy
to be named in honor of the 23rd state
.
The contract to build Maine was awarded to William Cramp and Sons
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
on 1 October 1898, and her keel was laid down on 15 February 1899, a year to the day after the destruction of the first Maine
. She was launched
on 27 July 1901, sponsored by Miss Mary Preble Anderson of Portland, great granddaughter of Commodore
Edward Preble
. Maine
Governor John Fremont Hill
and his staff attended; and commissioned
at Philadelphia on 29 December 1902, Captain
Eugene Henry Cozzens Leutze, USNA 1867 in command.
coast south to the West Indies, and she completed one cruise to the Mediterranean Sea
. On 16 December 1907 she left Hampton Roads
with the rest of the Atlantic Fleet
en route to the Pacific Ocean
, where she joined ships of the Pacific Fleet
for a cruise as the "Great White Fleet
". In company with , she went to Guam
and the Philippines
, through the Suez Canal
and the Mediterranean, and returned to the Atlantic coast in October 1908, considerably in advance of the rest of the Great White Fleet.
Fitted out as flagship of the 3rd Squadron, Atlantic Fleet, Maine resumed operations along the Atlantic coast and into Caribbean waters during the next several months. She decommissioned at Portsmouth, New Hampshire
on 31 August 1909.
, she trained engineers, armed guard crews, and midshipmen. Following the defeat of the Central Powers
, she took part in the review of the fleet at New York City
on 26 December 1918.
Maine operated with ships of the Atlantic Fleet until 15 May 1920, when she decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard. She was sold on 23 January 1922 to Joseph G. Hitner
and William F. Cutlet of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
for scrap. She was rendered incapable of further warlike service on 17 December 1923 in accordance with terms of the Washington Naval Treaty
, and subsequently broken up for scrap.
Lead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
of her class
Maine class battleship
The three Maine class battleships: , , and were launched in the first several years of the 20th century. These were the first US capital ships to use smokeless powder for their main batteries, and the last to use Harvey armor. Smokeless powder allowed a decrease in gun size, with an increase in...
of battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s, was the second ship of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
to be named in honor of the 23rd state
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
.
The contract to build Maine was awarded to William Cramp and Sons
William Cramp and Sons
thumb | upright | 1899 advertisement for William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia was founded in 1825 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder in the 19th century. The American Ship & Commerce Corporation bought the yard in 1919 but closed...
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
on 1 October 1898, and her keel was laid down on 15 February 1899, a year to the day after the destruction of the first Maine
USS Maine (ACR-1)
USS Maine was the United States Navy's second commissioned pre-dreadnought battleship, although she was originally classified as an armored cruiser. She is best known for her catastrophic loss in Havana harbor. Maine had been sent to Havana, Cuba to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban revolt...
. She was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 27 July 1901, sponsored by Miss Mary Preble Anderson of Portland, great granddaughter of Commodore
Commodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
Edward Preble
Edward Preble
Edward Preble was a United States naval officer.-Early life and Revolutionary War:Preble was born at Falmouth, Eastern Massachusetts, now Portland, Maine, 15 August 1761, the son of Gen. Jedidiah Preble. As a boy, his home was destroyed in the burning of Falmouth by British Naval Commander Henry...
. Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
Governor John Fremont Hill
John Fremont Hill
John Fremont Hill was an American capitalist and public official.He graduated from the Medical School of Maine in 1877 and studied at the Long Island College Hospital Medical School, but practiced medicine only a year. In 1879 he became a member of the law firm of J.F...
and his staff attended; and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
at Philadelphia on 29 December 1902, Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Eugene Henry Cozzens Leutze, USNA 1867 in command.
Pre-World War I
From 1903 to 1907, Maine cruised along the AtlanticAtlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
coast south to the West Indies, and she completed one cruise to the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. On 16 December 1907 she left Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
with the rest of the Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
en route to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, where she joined ships of the Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
for a cruise as the "Great White Fleet
Great White Fleet
The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the United States Navy battle fleet that completed a circumnavigation of the globe from 16 December 1907 to 22 February 1909 by order of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. It consisted of 16 battleships divided into two squadrons, along with...
". In company with , she went to Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, through the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
and the Mediterranean, and returned to the Atlantic coast in October 1908, considerably in advance of the rest of the Great White Fleet.
Fitted out as flagship of the 3rd Squadron, Atlantic Fleet, Maine resumed operations along the Atlantic coast and into Caribbean waters during the next several months. She decommissioned at Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
on 31 August 1909.
World War I
Recommissioned on 15 June 1911, Maine operated along the east coast. During World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, she trained engineers, armed guard crews, and midshipmen. Following the defeat of the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
, she took part in the review of the fleet at New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on 26 December 1918.
Maine operated with ships of the Atlantic Fleet until 15 May 1920, when she decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard. She was sold on 23 January 1922 to Joseph G. Hitner
Joseph G. Hitner
Joseph G. Hitner owned an iron works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.He purchased many United States Navy ships in the early 1900s, converting some of them to merchant ships and scrapping others.-References:...
and William F. Cutlet of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
for scrap. She was rendered incapable of further warlike service on 17 December 1923 in accordance with terms of the Washington Naval Treaty
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
, and subsequently broken up for scrap.