Old Ironsides Deploys to Sea Again!
 

The oldest operational Warship in the World....Wood Timbers, Canvas sails, and yet a new generation of Sailors....amazing tradition and history.

USS Constitution sails again | Photo Gallery - Yahoo! News


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Go on then, what's the connection with military aviation?

S-D

OK - canvas sails I'll accept, but what else would wood timbers be made of?

She seems to be making decent headway, given that the canvas sails are fairly slack, or is there a boat pushing from behind, or an invisible cable towing from in front (note the use of traditional naval terms - behind and front). Perhaps they've refurbished the original inboard Perkins diesel to save wear and tear on the sails and all the associated ropes that hold them up:E

Mister B

It's military. It's a craft. And it requires the movement of air to allow it to progress. A military aircraft it is. What's the problem? A beauty too.

we should use an SSN to torpedo it............... that'll keep the USN in harbour from now on

RN dream......

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and after the bean counters get their hands on it, the reality?

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SASless,

Ignore salad-dodger! Thanks for posting such a wonderful photo. I see she's flying her battle ensign - obviously preparing for a battle with the Colonialist Navy! ;)

If she has got a Perkins diesel below decks, Jack Aubrey will be in for a surprise when he tries to take the weather gauge. :E

If you look carefully there is a rather large tug right astern of her.
Colin

Old Ironsides Timbers
 

White Oak.

Hull Planking specification is 32 foot clear oak.
Oak is custom grown at the Navy's base at Crane Indiana.

Boston Navy Yard does its own custom sawing using a Woodmizer portable mill last I heard.

I notice in photo 8/12 that all the hands are wearing safety harnesses on the yard arms - bloody farmers the lot of 'em!

Here's how we used to do it - me top left.

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Nope, no engine at all. I've toured it from stem to stern and there is nothing that powers that ship except the wind and the backs of men. Well and women today. ;)

When I toured Old Ironsides the commanding office was a woman. A Lt. Commander if I remember correctly.

"The oldest operational Warship in the World"

Methinks not.

If you mean commisioned, then HMS Victory has that by a good few years.

If you actually mean operational, then neither is even remotely qualified.

Eat your heart out....she's underway, in full service...doing her duty. I know it gets up your nose our old girl is not mired in the mud rotting to death...but it is what it is.

She is beautiful....has a long history...and is still doing the deal after Two Hundred Years. New Chiefs get their Initiations done onboard....including Aviation Chiefs which I find commendable to see the Navy reminding the backbone of the Fleet what their service is all about.

She's not just a showboat...but a cornerstone of the Navy.

Bless her and all that sail on her!

HMS Victory serves a very similar purpose and remains the flagship of our navy. HMS Fordroyant is still afloat and older than old Ironsides up in Hartlepool

In fact....we do have old Ironsides sister ship still just outside Pompey.
The Chesapeake Mill - history

Thought this was going to be about Adm. Draper...

In full service, doing her duty...

Can we then expect to see this beautifully presented vessel being deployed to a conflict zone, where the full might of her 50 cannon could wreak havoc on a hostile naval force?

She serves a purpose - much as the 3-masted topsail schooners of our Sail Training Association used to do - building character, teaching teamwork and resilience, often in testing weather conditions; but more than that, I don't think so.

A good historical link for a bygone USN, and probably an excellent ambassador in domestic and foreign ports, but I suspect that the crew spend as much time painting and polishing as they do sailing.

Mister B

A point of admin - whilst Victory is sadly rotting away she is doing it in the splendor of a dry dock, not the Portsmouth mud.

She's not just a showboat...but a cornerstone of the Navy.

Indeed both VICTORY and USS CONSTITUTION are in their respective navies, although somehow the Ship of Theseus or, perhaps at a lower level, Trigger's Broom come readily to mind.:ok:

Jack

PS And I have very fine oil paintings of both of them

No it isn't. The ship you believe is the Fordroyant is the Trincomalee, built Bombay 1812, which spent a time renamed the Fordroyant after the original bashed itself to bits on Blackpool Pier and ended up as the Blackpool FC boardroom.

I think you will find that the Victory is still carrying out the Royal Navy's principle operational role....


....magnificent cocktail parties and dining outs!