While shipbuilding at this site began during the Revolutionary War, the Charlestown Navy Yard opened in 1801 after the land was purchased by the U.S. Government. Although the first U.S. ship of the line, USS Independence, was built at the yard in 1814, the facility primarily served as a repair and storage facility until it began constructing steel ships for the U.S. Navy in the 1890s. During the Second World War, the yard repaired damaged British ships and constructed new vessels for the U.S. and Royal navies, launching two destroyers (USS Cowie and USS Knight) on the same day, 27 September 1941. It was also selected as one of four shipyards to construct Captain class frigates for the Royal Navy under the Lend-Lease Program. Following the war, the yard modernised many wartime vessels for the Cold War. On 1 July 1974, the yard closed as an active naval installation and its 30-acre site was transferred to the U.S. National Park Service as part of the Boston National Historical Park, designed to 'interpret the art and history of naval shipbuilding'.
Photos taken 20 August 2014
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| Approaching Boston National Historical Park and Charlestown Navy Yard by ferry from downtown Boston. |
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| The entrance to Boston National Historic Park, encompassing the former Charlestown Navy Yard, now operated by the National Parks Service of the United States Department of the Interior. |
Below: The free historical pamphlet on the Charlestown Navy Yard produced the National Park Service and provided to visitors.
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| The Commandant's House, built in 1805, is the oldest building in the Charlestown Navy Yard and served as both a private residence for the commandant and a place for hosting official functions. |
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| Formerly the officers' quarters, these buildings are now used by National Park Service staff. |
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| The USS Constitution Museum, a privately-run, non-profit museum dedicated to collecting, preserving, and interpreting the stories of the ship and those who served aboard her. The museum is located in a restored shipyard building in the Charlestown Navy Yard. |
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| The USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned ship in the United States Navy, still manned by 60 active duty U.S. Navy personnel who maintain the vessel and conduct free public tours for visitors who must show state ID or a passport and undergo security screening to go aboard. |
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| Constitution, a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate, was launched at Edmund Hartt's shipyard in 1797 and named by President George Washington. The ship was the third of six frigates constructed under the 1794 Naval Act. The 1,576 ton Constitution is 304 feet long, 43 feet 6 inches wide, and 220 feet tall (mainmast). The ship had a maximum speed of 13 knots (24 km/h, 15 mph). |
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| A view of Constitution's masts and rigging; note the sailors perched on the mast high above as they prepare to rig the sails. The ship enjoyed a long and varied career, defending American shipping against the French and fighting the Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean. During the War of 1812, Constitution captured a number of merchant ships and defeated five Royal Navy warships. It was during her engagement with HMS Guerriere that Constitution earned her nickname 'Old Ironsides' after British cannonballs bounced off her thick oak side timbers. |
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| The Constitution's bell, kept highly polished by the 60 attentive members of her U.S. Navy crew. When launched in 1797, the ship carried a complement of 450, including 55 marines and 30 boys. |
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| The upper deck of the Constitution. After serving as the flagship of the U.S. Navy's Mediterranean and African squadrons, Constitution conducted a circumnavigation of the world in the 1840s, acted as a training ship for the United States Naval Academy, and carried American art and industrial displays to the 1878 Paris Exposition. |
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| The gun deck aboard Constitution. After being removed from active service in 1881, Constitution became a museum ship in 1907 and completed a three-year tour of 90 ports in the United States. |
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| USS Constitution carried thirty 24-pounder long guns, twenty 32-pounder carronades, and two 24-pounder bow chaser guns. |
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| Today berthed at Pier 1 in the Charlestown Navy Yard, USS Constitution is a part of the US Navy's Heritage & History Command and serves to promote public understanding of the USN's role in war and peace through educational outreach, demonstrations, and participation in public events. |
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| The Fletcher-class destroyer USS Cassin Young (DD-793), now permanently docked at the Charlestown Navy Yard as a museum ship. |
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| USS Cassin Young (DD-793), built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding in San Pedro, California and commissioned on 31 December 1943. The destroyer is named after Captain Cassin Young (1894-1942), captain of the heavy cruiser USS San Francisco, who was killed by Japanese shells in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 13 November 1942. |
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| Looking forward along the port side of the Fletcher-class destroyer USS Cassin Young. One of the ship's two quad 40mm anti-aircraft gun mountings can be seen amidships, aft of the forward funnel. |
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| Looking forward along the starboard side. After service in the Pacific Theatre of the Second World War, during which she was hit twice by Japanese kamikazes, and 15 years of post-war service, Cassin Young was decommissioned on 6 February 1960. Following a period in long-term storage at the Philadelphia Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Cassin Young was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 December 1974 and moved to the Charlestown Navy Yard on 15 June 1978, on permanent loan to the National Park Service. In 1981, Cassin Young opened to the public. |
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| A 700 pound (317.5 kilogram) Mk 32 torpedo, the first active acoustic anti-submarine homing torpedo to enter service with the US Navy. Designed in 1950, the Mk 32 was developed to counter increasingly high-speed submarines, and was equipped with an electric engine that propelled the torpedo at a speed of 12 knots (22.2 km/h) as it sought its target based on emitted noise. With an effective range of 9,600 yards (8,778 metres), the Mk 32 was capable of a homing search lasting 24 minutes. The torpedo was fitted with a warhead containing a 107 pound (48.5 kilogram) charge of HBX (High Blast Explosive). As the Mk 32's fins were wider than its body, the torpedo could not be launched from traditional torpedo tube mountings; instead, these torpedoes were discharged by a thrower launch system. USS Cassin Young carried one launcher and three Mk 32 torpedoes on each side of her deck. The Mk 32 torpedo was replaced in service by the Mk 43 torpedo in 1955. |
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| The Supply/Operations Office aboard Cassin Young. It was here that the Supply Officer supervised procurement, distribution, and maintenance of all ship's supplies. Working for the Supply Officer, the Chief Storekeeper stocked and maintained the ship's store and kept track of commissary provisions, spare parts, bunker fuel, and equipment of all kinds. Accurate record-keeping and paperwork were as essential to the ship's efficiency as weapons maintenance. |
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| The wardroom aboard the USS Cassin Young, where the ship's officers relaxed and ate their meals. |
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| The bedroom in the Captain's cabin. Destroyers were commanded by officers at the rank of Commander. |
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| USS Cassin Young's forward-most Mk 12 5-inch/38 calibre gun. The Fletcher-class of destroyers carried five such guns, which were capable of a range of elevation between -15 degrees and +85 degrees, and fired shells weighing 53-55 pounds (24-25 kilograms) at a rate of 15 rounds per minute. |
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| A starboard quarter view of USS Cassin Young, as seen from the ferry departing the Charlestown Navy Yard. |
