The three Maine-class battleships—Maine, Missouri, and Ohio—were built at the turn of the 20th century for the United States Navy. Based on the preceding Illinois class, they incorporated several significant technological advances over the earlier ships. They were the first American battleships to incorporate Krupp cemented armor, which was stronger than Harvey armor, smokeless powder, which allowed for higher-velocity guns and water-tube boilers, which were more efficient and lighter. The Maines were armed with four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and sixteen 6-inch (152 mm) guns, and they could steam at a speed of 18 knots, a significant increase over the Illinois class.

USS Maine (BB-10), the lead ship of her class of pre-dreadnought battleships, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the 23rd state. Maine was laid down in February 1899 at the William Cramp & Sons shipyard in Philadelphia. She was launched in July 1901 and commissioned into the fleet in December 1902. She was armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and could steam at a top speed of 18 knots.