"The USS ""Constitution"", launched in 1797, earned the nickname of ""Old Ironsides"" when she defeated the British warship HMS Guerriere in the War of 1812. What is her hull made of?"
USS Constitution USS Constitution USS "Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides", is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy named by President George Washington after the United States Constitution. She is the world's oldest commissioned naval vessel still afloat. She was launched in 1797, 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. She was built at Edmund
War of 1812 much damage enemy shot does to a ship) than "Guerriere". Unsurprisingly, "Constitution" emerged the victor. After a 35-minute battle, "Guerriere" had been dis-masted and captured, and was later burned. "Constitution" earned the nickname "Old Ironsides" following this battle as many of the British cannonballs were seen to bounce off her hull due to "Constitution"s heavy scantlings. Hull returned to Boston with news of this significant victory. Similarly, On October 25, USS "United States", commanded by Captain Decatur, captured the British frigate , which he then carried back to port. At the close of the month, "Constitution" sailed south, now under