USS Constellation

Three ships of the United States Navy have borne the name USS Constellation, in honor, according to the US Congress, of the "new constellation of stars" on the flag of the United States.

• The first Constellation, 38, a frigate, was the first ship to be commissioned in the United States Navy; the first US Navy vessel to put to sea; and the first US Navy vessel to engage, defeat, and capture an enemy vessel.

• The second Constellation was a sloop of war that served from 1855 to 1933, and as of 2003 is preserved as a National Historic Landmark in Baltimore, Maryland.

• The third Constellation (CV-64) is a Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier.

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The keel of a Lexington-class battle cruiser, to have been named USS Constellation (CC-2), was laid at Newport News, Virginia, in August 1920, but the class was cancelled in 1923 by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922.

General Characteristics (1919 design)

• Displacement: 43,500 tons
• Length: 874 feet
• Beam: 105.5 feet
• Draft: 31 feet
• Primary Armament: eight 16-inch/50 guns in four twin turrets
• Secondary Armament: 16 six-inch/53 guns in single mounts (eight per side), four three-inch guns, eight 21-inch torpedo
• Machinery, 180,000 shp General Electric geared turbines with electric drive, 4 screws
• Speed, 35 Knots
• Complement 1500 officers and men