Maine could be described as an armoured cruiser or second-class battleship, reflecting the blurred categories of transitional warship design. Maine and Texas used staggered gun turrets and dispensed with a full sailing rig because steam engines had become reliable enough. Maine carried twin ten-inch turrets, six-inch guns, a twelve-inch belt, and torpedo tubes, making her a conspicuous statement in Havana. The protracted construction period left both ships obsolete by the time they entered service, with more modern foreign vessels already complete or nearing completion.
Chapter · 19:58-25:40
USS Maine as an obsolete transitional cruiser
USS Maine's long construction and unusual gun arrangement show how quickly late nineteenth-century warship design could overtake a new vessel.