I'll bite...so why aren't the sponges stored on the exposed deck, just the worms, and without shafts? Rot? Riot?

An interesting little fact. If you want to see what I believe to be the original Yardarm from the USS Constitution just go to Topeka High School in Topeka KS. They use it as a flag pole!

Want a cool venue for a MilBlogs Conf? Now that would be a cool venue...

So do the carronades count in the rating of the ship as having 44 guns? With their reduced muzzle velocity, they don't count when rating a ship of the line but USS Constitution is a frigate hence my question.

Jim - I dunno - she's got 22 32 pounder carronades on the spar deck, and she's only got 34 24 pounders on the gun deck.

David - I would guess yes, regarding the rot. The sponges are in place at most of the guns on the gun deck, though not all. And most are without shaft.

Oh, and as CAPT H has been, um, *reminding* me in email, the guns on the spar deck are not proper carronades, but are in fact 'gunnades' put there by the Navy as substitutes which they putatively intend to replace at some point with proper carronades.

That said, the 24 pounders are imposters as well - and, oddly enough, all have GR cyphers on them... GR being the cypher of King George, though I didn't yet note *which* George, I'm assuming either the 2nd or 3rd. Not being an expert in naval armament, that will take a bit of research.

According to the sailors on board, no one knows where Old Ironsides original armament went. They believe they have one of them in a museum (but not the Constitution museum) but... he wasn't sure.

George III: reigned 1760 to 1820.

George II would probably be a tad early for USS Constitution. But since the current suite of noise-makers is not original, George IV (1820-1830) might also be suitable.

Cheers

Heh. You make the assumption they care.

As for which George... well, we fought a war so I wouldn't have to memorize which King reigned when...

But it was another 14 years before George was finally superceded ... by John.

Cheers

Huh! The action against HMS Java was more important; Jack Aubrey was present. We almost got him! A U.S Marine wounded him, and he got right sick and would have died from that fever, if not for the efforts of Dr. Maturin and that loony Boston doctor.

Dude I did the Victory at 11 and knew more about her than the RM L/Cpl who was the tour guide even then.