The book of the leading domestic specialist in the history of heavy artillery ships of the early XX century, candidate of historical sciences, senior researcher at the Central Museum of the Armed Forces of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation S.E. Vinogradov is dedicated to the "Empress Maria" - a ship of short but bright fate. The entry into operation of this battleship in the summer of 1915 was a milestone in the combat activities of the Black Sea Fleet, ensured qualitative superiority over the enemy and made it possible to freely carry out any operations throughout the Black Sea. For the first time, on an extensive documentary basis, the circumstances of the fire and explosion of the battleship in Sevastopol on October 7 (20), 1916 are investigated in detail, what is happening on the dreadnought, the crew's struggle for the survivability of the ship and its death are described in detail. The materials of the investigation of the commissions of the Black Sea Fleet and the Ministry of the Sea, their conclusions are given; polynomial versions of the cause of the fire and explosion are considered, the actions of the command sailors of the battleship in the process of the disaster are analyzed. The operation to extract ammunition from the flooded ship, lifting the battleship and its gun turrets to the surface is covered in detail.