USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy, named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America. Launched in 1797, Constitution was one of six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794 and the third constructed. Joshua Humphreys designed the frigates to be the young Navy's capital ships, and so Constitution and her sisters were larger and more heavily armed and built than standard frigates of the period. The Constitution was built in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts, at Edmund Hartt's shipyard. Her first duties with the newly formed U.S. Navy were to provide protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France and to defeat the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War.
Constitution is most famous for her actions during the War of 1812 against the United Kingdom, when she captured numerous merchant ships and defeated five British warships: HMS Guerriere, Java, Pictou, Cyane, and Levant. The battle with Guerriere earned her the nickname of "Old Ironsides" and public adoration that has repeatedly saved her from scrapping. She continued to serve as flagship in the Mediterranean and African squadrons, and circled the world in the 1840s. During the American Civil War, she served as a training ship for the United States Naval Academy. She carried US artwork and industrial displays to the Paris Exposition of 1878. Retired from active service in 1881, Constitution served as a receiving ship until designated a museum ship in 1907. In 1934 she completed a three-year, 90-port tour of the nation. Constitution sailed under her own power for her 200th birthday in 1997, and again in August 2012, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of her victory over Guerriere.
Constitution 's stated mission today is to promote understanding of the Navy's role in war and peace through educational outreach, historic demonstration, and active participation in public events. As a fully commissioned US Navy ship, her crew of 60 officers and sailors participate in ceremonies, educational programs, and special events while keeping the ship open to visitors year round and providing free tours. The officers and crew are all active-duty US Navy personnel and the assignment is considered special duty in the Navy. Traditionally, command of the vessel is assigned to a Navy commander. Usually berthed at Pier 1 of the former Charlestown Navy Yard, at one end of Boston's Freedom Trail, on May 18, 2015 Constitution entered Dry Dock 1 in Charlestown Navy Yard to begin a three-year restoration program. I toured the Constitution in July, 1984.
Facts and General Characteristics of the Ship (as built ca. 1797)::
Ordered: March 1, 1794
Builder: Edmund Hartt’s Shipyard
Cost: $302,718 (1797)
Launched: October 21, 1797
Maiden Voyage: July 22, 1798
Homeport: Charlestown Navy Yard
Status: In active service
Type: 44-gun frigate
Tonnage: 1,576
Displacement: 2,200 tons
Beam: 43’ 6” (13.25 m)
Height: Foremast: 198’ (60 m), Mainmast: 220’ (67 m), Mizzenmast: 172.5’ (52.6 m)
Draft: 21’ (6.4 m) forward, 23’ (7.0 m) aft
Depth of Hold: 14’ 3” (4.34 m)
Decks: Orlop, Berth, Gun, Spar
Propulsion: Sail (three masts, ship rig)
Speed: 13 knots (15 mph; 24 km/h)
Boats and Landing Craft Carried: 8
Complement: 450 including 55 Marines and 30 boys (1797)
Armament: 30 x 24-pounder (11 kg) long gun, 20 x 32-pounder (15 kg) carronade, 2 x 24-pounder (11 kg), bow chasers
The Model:
I built the model ca. 1968 when I was 13. It probably took me several hundred hours and the build is mostly correct except for the mast/sail rigging. I improvised on that as it seemed too difficult at the time.
The model is a little beat up and somewhere over the years, to make it fit on a shelf, I broke off all the studding sail yardarms (studding sails are seen on the photo at top and left off of many models) as they stuck out several inches on each side of the square sails. Also, the tip of the mainmast is missing. I have cleaned and repaired it several times and it really needs a case like I made for my USS Missouri model. I'm amazed it still exists at all as I can't figure out where it was located while I lived in Japan for two years. All my other models I made before it went into the dumpster before the move. It must have been in storage somewhere, perhaps at my grandparents’ home.
Facts and General Characteristics of the Model:
Manufacturer: Revell
Scale: 1/96
Length: 35.0" (88.9 cm)
Height: 25.0" (63.5 cm)
Parts: 1,223
Hours to build and paint: “several hundred”
To scroll through the 10 photos of the model and ship, click on the right "forward" button below the photo. For the last photo, just for fun I shot the model in front of the pool and then photoshopped the water completely around it. I didn't create a wake so it looks dead in the water.