BOSTON — The USS Constitution and its crew are paying tribute to health care workers and first responders for their service during the coronavirus pandemic.

Old Ironsides, as the warship is known, is scheduled to take about 200 health care workers and first responders on a three-hour tour in Boston Harbor this coming Friday, the Navy said in a statement.

During the trip, the USS Constitution will conduct a 21-gun salute at Castle Island, and a 17-gun salute at U.S. Coast Guard Sector Boston, the former site of the Edmund Hartt’s Shipyard, where the vessel was built and launched in 1797.

The USS Constitution is the world’s oldest commissioned warship still afloat, and played a crucial role in the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812, actively defending sea lanes from 1797 until 1855.

USS Constitution was undefeated in battle and destroyed or captured 33 opponents.

It earned its nickname during the War of 1812 when British cannonballs were seen bouncing off its wooden hull.

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