Editing USS Constitution (section)

===Armament===
{{See also|Naval artillery in the Age of Sail}}
[[File:USS Constitution fires its cannons as it is tugged through Boston Harbor. (51200023793) (cropped).jpg|thumb|''Constitution'' fires its cannons as it is tugged through Boston Harbor in 2021.]]

''Constitution'' was rated as a 44-gun frigate, but it often carried more than 50 guns at a time.<ref>Jennings (1966), p. 7.</ref> Ships of this era had no permanent battery of guns such as those of modern Navy ships. The guns and cannons were designed to be completely portable and often were exchanged between ships as situations warranted. Each commanding officer outfitted armaments to his liking, taking into consideration factors such as the overall weight of stores, complement of personnel aboard, and planned routes to be sailed. Consequently, the armaments on ships changed often during their careers, and records of the changes were not generally kept.<ref name="Jennings1719">Jennings (1966), pp. 17–19.</ref>

In a letter dated 14 November, 1804 she is listed as having 30 24-pounders, 14 12-pounders, and 8 32-pounder carronades, a total of 52 guns.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://ibiblio.org/anrs/docs/E/E3/nd_barbarywars_v05p01.pdf |title=Naval Documents related to the United States Wars with the Barbary Powers Volume V Part 1 of 3 September 7 1804 through April 1805 |pages=141 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |via=Ibiblio |access-date=19 April 2025}}</ref>

During the War of 1812, ''Constitution''{{'}}s battery of guns typically consisted of 30 long 24-pounder (11&nbsp;kg) cannons, with 15 on each side of the [[gun deck]]. Twenty-two more guns were deployed on the [[Spar (sailing)|spar]] [[Deck (ship)|deck]], 11 per side, each a short 32-pounder (15&nbsp;kg) [[carronade]]. Four [[chase gun]]s were also positioned, two each at the stern and bow.<ref Name="Gundeck">{{cite web| last=Reilly | first=John C Jr. |title=The Constitution Gun Deck |publisher=Naval History & Heritage Command |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/c/the-constitution-gun-deck.html |access-date=17 September 2011 |pages=1–13}}</ref>

All of the guns aboard ''Constitution'' have been replicas since its 1927–1931 restoration. Most were cast in 1930, but two carronades on the spar deck were cast in 1983.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ussconstitutionmuseum.org/collections/FAQs/FAQ_guns.htm |title=FAQ&nbsp;– Guns on board USS ''Constitution'' |website=USS Constitution Museum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728120754/http://www.ussconstitutionmuseum.org/collections-history/faq/ |archive-date=28 July 2012 }}</ref> A modern {{convert|40|mm|abbr=on}} saluting gun was hidden inside the forward long gun on each side during its 1973–1976 restoration in order to restore the capability of firing ceremonial [[Gun salute#Naval cannon fire|salutes]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Cannon Misfires at Boston Pier|work=Chicago Tribune|date=2 February 1995}}</ref>