44-Gun Frigate USS Constitution 'Old Ironsides', The

‘Old Ironsides’, as the USS Constitution is affectionately known, acquired her nickname during the dramatic confrontation with HMS Guerriere in 1812, during which the enemy’s shot failed to penetrate her strong oak hull. By this time she was already fifteen years old. As one of the six original frigates ordered by George Washington on March 27th, 1794, she and her sisters represent the birth of the US Navy and she occupies a special place in its history.

In 1954 President Eisenhower signed into law the repair and restoration of Constitution as a museum vessel, and she has remained one of the major visitor attractions of the Boston National Historic Park since its inception twenty years later. In this brand new addition to the well-established and highly popular ‘Anatomy’ series, the author has compared draughts from the twentieth-century restorations with original plans from 1796 and drawings from her major refit in the 1840’s, to produce, for the first time, and accurate set of plans for the frigate as she would have appeared during the Anglo-American War.

This volume Features:

A full description of one of the United States’ most famous historic preserved ships in her 1812-1815 appearance

More than 250 perspective and 3-view drawings, with in-depth descriptive keys, of every detail of the ship – general arrangements, hull construction, fittings, masts, and yards, rigging, and sails, and armament

Pictorial section showing full-view and on-board photographs

One large-scale plan on the reverse of the fold-out jacket

A complete anatomy of the ship in words, photographs, and drawings.