USS CONSTITUTION
The 19th century
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, she is the world's oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat. 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'scapital ships, and so Constitution and her sisters were larger and more heavily armed and built than standard frigates of the period. Built in Boston, Massachusetts, at Edmund Hartt's shipyard, her first duties with the newly formed United States 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 Great Britain, 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 StatesNavalAcademy. 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.
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Highlights about the USS Constitution model ship:
• This model ship is entirely handmade by skilled and experienced craftsmen, using the plank on frame construction method
• No kits are use
• Anchors, guns, decorations, and other intricate details sculpted of metal
• Meticulously sewn sails, keep the sails from wrinkle
• Use high-quality wood such as rosewood, ebony, black wood, mahogany wood...., timbers are after process step of pre-construction.
• The USS Constitution model ship is built on scale by the original plan, then drawn up and painted by actual photographs to ensure the best accuracy.
