Granma, Museum ship at Museum of the Revolution, Havana, Cuba

The Granma is a 19.2-metre wooden motor yacht with a single deck, a slanted bow and a straight stern, displayed behind glass beside Havana's Museum of the Revolution. Its white hull carries a thin green stripe at the waterline, and the upper deck has dark angled windows and a rounded bridge. Two small dark rectangular openings sit on the hull.

Built in 1943 by Wheeler Shipbuilding of Brooklyn as the US Navy target-practice boat C-1994, the wooden yacht was later converted to civilian use. Antonio del Conde bought it on 10 October 1956 for US$20,000, secretly for Fidel Castro, with funds from Carlos Prío Socarrás and Teresa Casuso Morín. On 25 November 1956 it left Tuxpan with 82 expeditionaries and landed at Playa Las Coloradas on 2 December.

The yacht's name comes from an English affectionate term for a grandmother, said to refer to the previous owner's grandmother. The 26th of July Movement named the province of Granma after the vessel. Visitors often note the flag with a star at the stern and the four small portholes along the hull.

The yacht sits in a glass pavilion at the Granma Memorial, next to the Museum of the Revolution on Avenida de las Misiones, a short walk south of the Malecón and the old town. The hull is visible through the panes, so walk around the enclosure to see the bow, the green waterline stripe and the bridge from different sides.

The boat's name comes from an English word meaning grandmother, a nickname given by its former owner that stuck through history. Few visitors expect such a tender origin for an icon of revolution, making it a detail that often surprises people standing before the vessel.