Ship Modelers Database
Image: Public domain (US Navy work) · commons.wikimedia.org
USS Constitution
Preserved / Active — Museum Ship & Commissioned Warship
USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy, one of the original six frigates authorized by the Naval Act of 1794 and designed by Joshua Humphreys. Launched in Boston on 21 October 1797, she is the world's oldest commissioned warship still afloat, with only Britain's HMS Victory (in dry dock) being older.
Kits of this ship
+ Add a kit| USS Constitution | BlueJacket Shipcrafters | 1:96 (1/8 in=1 ft) | Solid Hull | Available | |
No image | USS Constitution | Constructo | 1:82 | Plank-on-Bulkhead | — |
| USS Constitution | Model Shipways | 1:76 (OO) | Plank-on-Bulkhead | Available | |
| U.S.S. Constitution | Billing Boats | 1:100 | Plank-on-Bulkhead | Available | |
| USS Constitution 1:93 | Mamoli | — | Plank-on-Frame | Available | |
| USS Constitution Section (Cross-Section) 1:93 | Mamoli | — | Plank-on-Frame | Available | |
| USS Constitution Childrens/Mini Model Kit | Mini Mamoli | — | Solid Hull | Available | |
| USS Constitution 1/146 (actual 1:196) | Revell | — | Injection-Molded Plastic | Discontinued | |
| USS Constitution 1797 48" Long 1:76 Scale | Model Shipways | 1:76 (OO) | Plank-on-Bulkhead | Available | |
| U.S.S. Constitution Plastic Model Ship Kit (classic release) | Revell/Revell-Monogram | 1:96 (1/8 in=1 ft) | Injection-Molded Plastic | Discontinued | |
| Revell 1/196 USS Constitution | Revell | — | Injection-Molded Plastic | Discontinued | |
| USS Constitution Cross-Section 1797 | Model Shipways | 1:76 (OO) | Plank-on-Bulkhead | Available | |
| USS Constitution - 250 Years U.S. Navy/Sail 2025 (Anniversary Edition) | Revell | 1:96 (1/8 in=1 ft) | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available |
Plans
No plan sets listed for this ship yet. Know of museum, archive or publisher drawings? Add them so the next builder can find them.
Links go to the publisher's or museum's own page. Ship Modelers Database lists plan sets; it doesn't host or display the drawings.
Build logs
+ Link a build logNo build logs linked yet.
Resources
+ Submit a resourceHistory & specifications
- Constitution I (Frigate) - Dictionary of American Naval Fighting ShipsArticle
Official Navy history entry with builder, launch details, and armament specifications.
- USS Constitution - WikipediaWebsite
Comprehensive overview with full general characteristics table (dimensions, armament, sail plan) useful for scale drawings.
- USS Constitution Fact Sheet - Naval History and Heritage CommandWebsite
Official current fact sheet with precise modern dimensions, displacement, and armament breakdown by deck, useful for accurate modeling.
Museums & archives
- USS Constitution Facts - USS Constitution MuseumMuseum
Museum-published facts page covering current displacement, crew size, and dimensions.
Photos
- USS Constitution 1997.jpg - Wikimedia CommonsPhoto
Photograph of Constitution under sail in 1997, the historic first time under her own power in over a century, referenced in the ship's restoration notes.
History
Service history
She was built at Hartt's Shipyard, Boston, under the supervision of George Claghorn with Capt. Samuel Nicholson as inspector, launched on 21 October 1797 and christened by Capt. James Sever, with timbers from States ranging from Maine to Georgia and copper bolts and spikes supplied by Paul Revere. She went on to fight in the Quasi-War with France, the First Barbary War, and most famously the War of 1812, in which she won a string of single-ship victories against Royal Navy frigates, earning a reputation of having won every engagement she ever fought.
Notable facts
The nickname "Old Ironsides" reportedly originated when sailors saw enemy cannonballs appear to bounce off her thick oak hull during battle. A major 1993-1997 restoration rebuilt deck strakes and the diagonal riders that stiffen the hull against the weight of her guns, and re-fitted her fore, main, and mizzen topsails, jib, flying jib, and spanker; on 21 July 1997 she sailed briefly under her own power near Marblehead, the first time in over a century. Today she serves as a living museum ship berthed at Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston while remaining an active-duty commissioned US Navy vessel with a small crew, occasionally getting underway for commemorative sails.