She was built in 1797, to deal with the Barbary pirates. Her frame was made of live oak, a wood so dense and strong that it actually sinks in water. She was also built like a much larger ship--her ribs were spaced mere inches apart, making her sides virtually solid oak, three feet thick. However, when she was launched, there was a problem. Her launching ramp was built at too shallow of an angle, and as a result it took over a month to move her the 100 feet or so to the water. She ran an incredibly successful campaign against the Barbary corsairs; where every other nation, even Great Britain, had failed to defeat the pirates and had resorted to paying large sums of money in return for the pirates leaving their ships alone, theConstitutionand a small fleet of other American ships crushed the pirates in a couple years, freeing the Mediterranean for American trade. In July of 1812, her speed was put to the test. She was ambushed by a large British fleet, consisting of the 64-gun HMSAfrica,the 38-gun HMSShannon, the 38-gun HMSGuerriere, the 36-gun HMSBelvidera, and the 32-gun HMSAeolus. Just as the ships came in sight of each other, the wind died. Captain Isaac Hull had theConstitution'slifeboats launched, and they began to tow the big frigate. The British quickly followed suit. When theConstitutionfailed to add any distance between her and the British fleet, one of the lieutenants came up with an idea. The extra rope aboard theConstitutionwas spliced into two lines, each attached to one of her two anchors. The lifeboats then rowed one of the anchors out, dropped it, and returned for the other anchor. Meanwhile, the men aboard theConstitutionran along the deck, carrying the anchor cable, thus pulling the ship forward. When they reached the stern, they ran to the bow, grabbed the line of the other anchor, and repeated the process. Then a light squall appeared on the horizon. Noticing that the British had followed his every move, Hull had most of theConstitution'ssails furled, as if he was expecting a heavy storm. The British copied. When the squall hit, Hull had every sail set, and theConstitutionraced away from the British fleet. Her first major battle, and her most famous, was against theHMS Guerriere. TheGuerrierewas originally a French ship. She was rated at 38 guns, while theConstitutionwas rated at 44. TheGuerriere'scaptain, James Dacres, believed that his ship would crush theConstitutionin 45 minutes. Instead, in the famous battle where she earned her nickname, "Old Ironsides", theConstitutionsoundly defeated theGuerrierein just 30 minutes. As the Constitution approached the Guerriere, the British ship fired several broadsides, but Captain Hull insisted that the American gunners wait. When the ships were just 25 yards apart, Hull cried, "Now boys! Pour it into them!" The Constitution let go with every gun she could bring to bear.Just a few minutes into the battle, the Guerriere's mizzenmast went over the side, and an American sailor cried, "By god we made a brig of her! Next time we'll make her a sloop!" Shortly thereafter, the Guerriere's foremast toppled, pulling the mainmast down with it. The Guerriere soon struck her colors. TheConstitution'ssecond battle was with the 38 gunHMS Java. TheJava, like theGuerriere,carried 18-pound guns (meaning they shot cannonballs weighing 18 pounds), while theConstitutioncarried 24-pound guns. Over the course of about 3 hours and 40 minutes, theConstitutionand theJavapounded each other relentlessly. TheConstitution maneuvered easily with the Java, even though the Java was a smaller ship and the Constitution's steering wheel was shot away early on in the battle, requiring the Constitution's captain, William Bainbridge, to rig a system of block and tackles to control the Constitution's rudder. But theJava's18-pound cannonballs could barely dent theConstitution'sthick sides, and theJava,like theGuerriere,was so badly damaged that it would not be worth the trouble to take her as a prize, and so, like theGuerriere,theJavawas burned. But that was not to be the last of theConstitution'sbattles. Her last battle came on February 20, 1815, two days after the war had ended, though theConstitutionhad no way of knowing this. That evening, theConstitutionfought a battle with the 32 gunHMS Cyane,and the 18 gunHMS Levant. Combined, the two ships carried more guns theConstitution,though the British ships still used 18-pound cannons, while theConstitutionused 24-pound cannons. Through a dazzling display of nautical skill, theConstitutionmaneuvered easily with the two smaller ships, and, despite being hit in the mizzenmast (the thinnest and weakest of the masts)by an 18-pound cannonball, theConstitutiondefeated theCyaneand theLevant, and was ready for combat only three hours later. She is now berthed in Boston, and is still commissioned. Every year she is towed through the harbor and docked facing the opposite direction, ensuring that she will weather evenly. Every morning at 8:00, and every evening at sunset, she still fires one of her guns. On August 19th, 2012, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of her battle with HMS Guerriere,"Old Ironsides", the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, sailed under her own power for the first time since 1997, and the second time in over 100 years. Under fore, main, and mizzen topsails she sailed for 17 minutes, averaging about two knots, reaching a top speed of 3.1 knots, and traveling over a half of a mile. She sailed for a thirdtime under her own power on August 23, 2013, to celebrate the 201st anniversary of the same battle.

Rated at 44 guns, but actually carried closer to 60: 30 24-lb cannons, 26 32-lb cannons, 1 18-lb cannon

Top speed: 13 knots (About 15 miles per hour)

Length Overall: 204 feet

Beam (width): 43'6"

Sail Area: 42,710 sq ft

Displacement: 2,200 tons

Length at Waterline: 175 ft

Draft: 23 ft

Mast height: Foremast: 198 ft

Mainmast: 220 ft

Mizzenmast: 172.5 ft

Crew: 450