Old Ironsides Trivia Quiz Questions With Answers

Old Ironsides Trivia quiz questions about the USS Constitution

Old Ironsides Trivia Quiz Questions With Answers

What is Old Ironsides (USS Constitution)?
A: USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy.

Who named it?
A: It was named by President George Washington after the United States Constitution.

She is the world's oldest what?
A: Commissioned naval vessel still afloat.

She was launched in what year?
A: 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 what?
A: Larger and more heavily armed and built than standard frigates of the period.

Where was she was built?
A: At Edmund Hartt's shipyard in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts.

What were her first duties?
A: 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 noted for her actions during what war?
A: The War of 1812 against the United Kingdom.

Why?
A: She captured numerous merchant ships and defeated five British warships: HMS Guerriere, Java, Pictou, Cyane, and Levant.

What battle with earned her the nickname "Old Ironsides"?
A: The battle with Guerriere.

She continued to serve as what?
A: The flagship in the Mediterranean and African squadrons, and she circled the world in the 1840s.

During the American Civil War, she served as a what?
A: A training ship for the United States Naval Academy.

What did she carry to the Paris Exposition of 1878?
A: American artwork and industrial displays.

Constitution was retired from active service in what year?
A: 1881.

After that, she served as a receiving ship until being designated a what, in 1907?
A: A museum ship.

In 1934, she completed what?
A: A three-year, 90-port tour of the nation.

She sailed under her own power for her what?
A: 200th birthday in 1997.

She sailed again in August 2012 to commemorate what?
A: The 200th anniversary of her victory over Guerriere.

What is Constitution's stated mission today?
A: To promote understanding of the Navy's role in war and peace through educational outreach, historical demonstration, and active participation in public events as part of the Naval History & Heritage Command.

As a fully commissioned Navy ship, her crew of 60 officers and sailors participate in what?
A: Ceremonies, educational programs, and special events.

She is open to visitors year round and provides what?
A: Free tours.

The officers and crew are all what?
A: Active-duty Navy personnel.

The assignment is considered to be what?
A: Special duty.

Where is she is usually berthed?
A: At Pier 1 of the former Charlestown Navy Yard at one end of Boston's Freedom Trail.

How was Joshua Humphreys' design unusual for the time?
A: It was deep, long, narrow and had very heavy guns.

How thick was Constitution's hull?
A: 21 inches.

How long was she?
A: 204 ft.

How wide was she?
A: 43 ft 6 in.

In total, how many acres of trees were needed for her construction?
A: 60 acres.

Primary materials consisted of what?
A: Pine and oak, including southern live oak which was cut from Gascoigne Bluff and milled near St. Simons, Georgia.

Constitution's launching ceremony on 20 September 1797 was attended by whom?
A: President John Adams and Massachusetts Governor Increase Sumner.

What happened upon launch?
A: She slid down the ways only 27 feet before stopping.

An attempt two days later resulted in what?
A: An additional 31 feet of travel before the ship again stopped.

After a month of rebuilding the ways, Constitution finally slipped into Boston Harbor on what date?
A: 21 October 1797.

Who was the Captain?
A: James Sever .

He broke a bottle of what on her bowsprit?
A: Madeira wine.

Constitution was rated as a 44-gun frigate, but she often carried how many?
A: More than 50 guns.

The guns and cannons were designed to be what?
A: Completely portable and often were exchanged between ships as situations warranted.

Each commanding officer outfitted armaments to what?
A: His liking, taking into consideration factors such as the overall tonnage of cargo, complement of personnel aboard, and planned routes to be sailed.

During the War of 1812, Constitution's battery of guns typically consisted of what?
A: Thirty 24-pounder cannons with 15 on each side of the gun deck, 22 32-pounder cannons on the spar deck, 11 per side, and four chase guns were also positioned, two each at the stern and bow.

Since her 1927–1931 restoration, all of the guns aboard Constitution are what?
A: Replicas.

Most were cast in 1930, but two carronades on the spar deck were cast when?
A: In 1983.

A modern 40 mm (1.6 in) saluting gun was hidden inside the forward long gun on each side during her 1973–1976 restoration in order to what?
A: Restore the capability of firing ceremonial salutes.

Constitution typically makes at least one what each year?
A: "turnaround cruise".

She is towed into Boston Harbor to perform underway demonstrations, including what?
A: A gun drill.

She then returns to her dock in what direction?
A: In the opposite direction to ensure that she weathers evenly.

The "turnaround cruise" is open to the general public based on what?
A: A "lottery draw" of interested persons each year.

In 2003, the special effects crew from the production of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World spent several days using Constitution as what?
A: As a computer model for the fictional French frigate Acheron, using stem-to-stern digital image scans of "Old Ironsides."

In November 2010, Constitution emerged from what?
A: A three-year repair period.

During this time, the entire spar deck was stripped down to the support beams, and the decking overhead was replaced to restore its original curvature, allowing what?
A: Water to drain overboard and not remain standing on the deck.

In addition to decking repairs, 50 hull planks and the main hatch were what?
A: Repaired or replaced.

The restoration continued the focus toward keeping what appearance?
A: Her appearance of 1812.

She now resembles what she looked like after her triumph over what ship?
A: The Guerriere, when she gained her nickname "Old Ironsides".

Why did the crew of Constitution under Commander Matt Bonner sail Constitution under her own power on 19 August 2012?
A: The anniversary of her victory over Guerriere.

On 18 May 2015, the ship entered Dry Dock 1 in Charlestown Navy Yard to begin what?
A: A two-year restoration program.

The restoration planned to restore what?
A: The copper sheets on the ship's hull and replace additional deck boards.

The Department of the Navy provided what?
A: The $12–15 million expected cost.

After the restoration was complete, she was what?
A: Returned to the water on 23 July 2017.