USS Constellation, sloop-of-war

USS Constellation, photo credit: Naval History and Heritage Command
click image to enlarge

I have been volunteering as a docent at the Naval War College Museum for over 10 years. It provides an opportunity to give back, add value and help navy personnel, families, friends and the public understand the importance of the sea in our history and our future. Later in this post I'll tell you a little more about my background and how it intersects with my efforts at the museum and the topic of this article, the Constellation. 

Constellation is a sloop-of-war, the last sail-only warship designed and built by the United States Navy. She was built at the Gosport Shipyard between 1853 and 1854 and was named for the earlier frigate of the same name that had been broken up in 1853. For more on the history of all 5 U.S. Navy ships that have received the name Constellation, check out our other blog post titled FIVE SHIPS, ONE NAME http://navalwarcollegemuseum.blogspot.com/2022/02/five-ships-one-name.html

In 1767 a merchant and ship owner established the Gosport Shipyard on the Elizabeth River under the British flag. The business developed and prospered as both a naval and merchant shipyard. In 1775, when the American Revolution began, the owner chose to remain loyal to the British and fled the area. His properties were confiscated by the Colony of Virginia. While being operated by Virginia, the shipyard was burned by the British in 1779. 

This former colonial shipyard became the Navy's center in the Hampton Roads area where the largest naval base in the world has been developed. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard is the US Navy's oldest and predates the United States Navy Department. It was renamed "Norfolk" in 1862 after the largest city in the area. 

Rhode Island was the first colony to formally propose a Continental Navy. On August 26, 1775, the State Assembly passed a resolution wherein the delegates to Congress were to produce legislation that provided for a fleet of fighting ships sufficient to protect the colonies. Rhode Island passed this resolution because its merchants' widespread shipping activities were being severely harassed by British frigates. 

With the Naval Act of 1794 the United States Congress authorized the original six frigates of the United States Navy. These ships, built during the early years of the United States Navy, were a fleet powerful enough to engage any frigate or smaller sized ship in the French or British navies, yet fast enough to evade any ship of the line. These frigates were Constellation, Constitution, Chesapeake, President, United States, and Congress. 

There have been four ships built so far in the US Navy with this name: 38 gun frigate (1797), sloop-of-
war (1854) the last sail only warship, a Battlecruiser CC 2 (1922) that was never finished, and CV 64 (1960), an aircraft carrier with the A6 and related aircraft aboard. 

This is a close-up view of the nose section of an A-6 Intruder of Attack Squadron (VA) 165 on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Constellation (CVA 64) in 1974.
Photo credit: Naval History and Heritage Command
click image to enlarge

I highlight the CV 64 because it had the A6 aircraft aboard. As an engineer out of college, I was recruited by Grumman Aircraft and Engineering Company. Trained in electronics, the company assigned me to a group implementing Ground Support Equipment (GSE) for a number of its programs. At the time Grumman was an airframe manufacturer with contracts for carrier-based navy aircraft and NASA spacecraft. The GSE effort was to keep the on-board electronic systems functional and within specifications. This included maintenance platforms located at land bases, on aircraft carriers, and in mobile trailers. I worked on the A6 program, and this Constellation (CV 64) was one of the implementation platforms. Today, Grumman is part of the Northrup Grumman organization. 

I had another experience with a different kind of constellation on a NASA program. In the 1960/70s my task on the first telescopes beyond our earth's atmosphere was included in a program named Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO). After checking the Observatory sitting on top of a rocket at Cape Canaveral, I was sent to the NASA control center at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Here my task after launch was to monitor data from onboard cameras to verify the pattern of stars shown on paper star charts, including constellations, as a check on field of view and orientation. The view was amazing! We have a lot to learn! The program was followed by Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes each of which expand our knowledge of the constellations beyond. 

Both Hubble (top) and Webb (bottom) are reflecting telescopes. Light from distant objects enters the telescope, reflecting off of the large primary mirror sending it to the smaller secondary mirror. The secondary mirror reflects that light back through a hole in the primary mirror where it comes to a focus and enters each of the telescope's many instruments located behind the primary mirror. Telescope diagrams are not to scale relative to one and another. 
Caption and image credit: NASA-GSFC, STScI

The fifth ship named Constellation is currently scheduled to be delivered in 2026 and is expected to achieve operational capability by 2030. The US Navy intends to acquire a number of Constellation-class frigates which will have the capability to carry out multiple missions, including anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and electronic warfare. They will be able to operate independently or as part of a strike group and are designed to perform operations in littoral and blue water environments. 

Think of this as a return to the future. From Frigate to Frigate, however, 1797 is not 2026 and technology has come a long way. Today, if you are in the Baltimore, Maryland area, check out the historic ship, the sloop-of-war Constellation in the harbor, where she has been preserved as a museum. 

https://historicships.org/explore/uss-constellation

By Steve Koenig

Docent, Naval War College Museum