‘Not Safe in Rough Seas’: The U.S. Navy’s Worst Battleship Ever Was Sunk as Target Practice

‘Not Safe in Rough Seas’: The U.S. Navy’s Worst Battleship Ever Was Sunk as Target Practice

In the 1890s, when the world’s modern navies were still in the throes of battleship mania, the United States commissioned the USS Massachusetts (BB-2), a member of the Indiana-class battleship line. The Indiana-class was America’s first true attempt at modern battleships. Unlike most battleships of the day, though, the Indiana-class was designed for coastal defense–not blue-water warfare.  And that is one of the primary reasons Massachusetts is …