On this date in 1898 the American "battleship" Maine was destroyed in Havana harbor. I put battleship in quotations like that because she was only a battleship by courtesy. She was actually classified a 2nd class battleship, more like an coastal defense ship than anything else. A while back there was a program on one is the history or discovery channels explaining how it was almost certainly not a mine that caused her destruction but rather her own coal catching fire spontaneously which ignited a magazine.

I thought you battleship folks would be interested.

Hi Rodger

Thanks for sharing and remembering that event!

Skipper