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This is a list of historic and current command flags of the Royal Navy.
Command rank flags to denote the commander-in-chief of the English fleet and later Royal Navy were used from as early as 1189. Coloured squadrons of the Royal Navy were established during the Elizabethan era to subdivide the fleet into three squadrons or more. There were three classes of admirals and later a fourth that were differentiated by using coloured flags red, white and blue. [1]
The earliest known usage of a command flag being used to denote the Commander-in-Chief of the English Fleet was during the reign of Richard I in 1189 that depicted a single gold lion on a red background. [2] In 1198 it was changed to include three red lions against a red background which are still part of the royal coat arms of England till today. [2] In January 1340 Edward III proclaimed himself King of France and adopted the arms of France then displaying (multiple fleur-de-lis or azure semi-of-fleur-de-lis) in the upper left and the lower right cantons with the arms of England in the upper right and lower left cantons to create a new Royal Standard. [2] In 1411 Henry IV altered the French element of the standard to include just three fleur-de-lis. [2]
In June 1340 Edward III commanded the English fleet at the Battle of Sluys where the king's standard was flown at top of the main masthead. This positioning of the only command flag used during that battle was later reserved for use by the monarch or his deputy commander the Lord Admiral. [2] In 1495 Henry VII authorized the use of his standard during the expeditions of John Cabot. In 1530 Henry VIII instructed Sir Thomas Audley to create a set of instructions that made clear which command flags were to be flown on board ships and by whom (at this time a single command flag was to be used at the top of the masthead). Audley produced the book of instructions called the Book of Orders for the War by Sea and by Land. [3] [4] Between 1545 and 1547 Lord Lisle under instructions from the King altered Audley's instructions this time to denote three squadron commanders as follows. [5]
The Lord Admiral shall fly the royal standard at the top of the main masthead and the flag of the cross of Saint George at the top of fore (front) masthead displaying two flags every ship in his squadron the captains were to fly a single Saint Georges flag at the top of the main masthead. The Admiral of the Van or (Vice-Admiral) of the front squadron flew two flags of Saint George one at the top of the main masthead center and the other at the top of the front masthead. All captains of ships in his squadron fly a single cross of Saint George at the top of the fore masthead. The Admiral of the Wyng or (Rear-Admiral) of the rear squadron to display two flags of Saint George one at the top of the main masthead center and the other at the top of the mizzenmast or rear mast head. All captains of ships in his squadron fly a single cross of Saint George at the top of the rear masthead.
From 1545, the Council of the Marine debated that it was necessary to identify which ship carried an admiral, and this achieved by flying the St. George Cross flag from the mizzen mast. When English fleets became larger, flags started to become used as signals of a squadron to which a particular ship belonged; this was initially done by flying a flag on either the foremast, or the mizzen mast or the top mast. The royal standards were used to identify which senior naval commander was on board. By 1588, only the royal arms, the national flags, and the squadron ensigns (by this time plain red, blue and white flags, for the first, second and third squadrons respectively) were used. [6]
The Navy Royal inaugurated squadron colours during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603) to subdivide the English fleet into three squadrons. There were three classes of admirals and differentiated by using coloured flags. [7] In 1620 the official flag ranks of admiral, vice admiral, and rear admiral were legally established that arose directly out of the organisation of the fleet into three parts. [8]
The Admiralty anchor flag first appears as a badge in the early 16th century that was mainly used for decorative purposes. The first time a specific flag was designed and flown was for the Lord Admiral of England Sir Lord Howard of Effingham on HMS Ark Royal as Commander-in-Chief of the English Fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. It would not be flown again until 1623 when the Lord Admiral the Duke of Buckingham was given an ensign depicting the admiralty anchor. [2] However it was rarely used for as a command flag for naval operations instead it became the main flag to signify the Admiralty and Marine Affairs Office.
Included: [2]
Included: [2]
Included: [2]
Included: [2]
Included: [2] Lord Admirals squadron
Vice Admirals squadron
Rear Admirals squadron
Included: [2]
Lord Admiral
Included: [2]
In 1596 the expedition for Capture of Cádiz during the Anglo-Spanish War was led by joint commanders styled as "Generalls of the Armies by land and sea", Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex in command of land forces and Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham in command of naval forces, the English fleet consisted of four squadrons. Their immediate subordinates were Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk as Vice Admiral of the Fleet and Sir Walter Raleigh as Rear Admiral of the Fleet. They both commanded a squadron and had a vice admiral (second-in-command) and rear admiral (third-in-command) subordinate to them. The command flags issued for that expedition are described as following. [9]
The Lord Admiral fly's the royal standard at the main masthead and the flag of the cross of Saint George at the fore (front). The Vice Admiral and Rear Admiral in the Lord Admirals squadron fly at the front and rear mastheads a red, white and blue seven stripped horizontal flag with the cross of saint George in the upper left canton. The Earl of Essex fly's only a single flag of the cross of saint George at the main, the Vice and Rear admiral in his squadron fly a saint George flag barred with blue stripes horizontal. The Vice Admiral of the Fleet to fly a green and white striped flag with the cross of saint George in the upper left canton main mast head and flag of saint George front mast head. The Vice and Rear admirals in his squadron flew the same flags in their respective positions (proper masthead). The Rear Admiral of the Fleet to fly a green and white striped flag with the cross of saint George in the upper left canton main mast head and flag of saint George rear mast head. The Vice and Rear admirals in his squadron flew plain white flags in their respective positions (main and front) and (main and Rear) mastheads.
Note: Originally discussions that took place before fleet was sent to Cadiz considered four colours to identify each squadron they were a plain flag tawny orange (orange squadron), a plain crimson flag (red) (crimson squadron), a plain blue flag (blue squadron) and a plain white flag (white squadron). [10]
Included: [2]
Included: [2]
Included: [2]
Included: [2]
Included: [2] Lord Admirals squadron
General of the Army's squadron
Vice Admirals of the Fleet squadron
Rear Admirals of the Fleet squadron
Included: [2]
In 1625 there was a second Cádiz expedition in which the English fleet was divided into three coloured squadrons each commanded by an admiral of the red, white and blue. Perrin (1922) does note indicate what flag rank these officers were suffice to say there was no admiral of the red in existence until 1805 so we must assume they were vice-admirals.
Included: [2]
Admiral of the Fleet and Commander-in-Chief's squadron
Vice Admiral of the Fleets squadron
Rear Admiral of the Fleets squadron
Included: [2]
Vice Admiral of the Fleets squadron
Rear Admiral of the Fleets squadron
Lord Denbigh's squadron
Sir John Pennington's squadron
Of note: A fleet of 100 ships was assembled for the Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, France in 1627, this was the only time an English admiral flew the Scottish saltire as his command flag.
From 1628 following the creation of the Board of Admiralty and the post of Lord Admiral placed in abeyance the Royal Standard was not used thereafter as the command flag at sea for a Commander-in-Chief of the English Navy. The Lord High Admirals office was revived only two more times after this date in 1702 and in 1828 with the office holders functioning in an administrative capacity.
Note: Small fleets that consisted of three squadrons the admirals commanding were instructed to fly the above command flags in their correct positions.
Included: [2]
Order of precedence The squadrons ranked in order red, white, and blue, with admirals ranked according to their squadron with their command flags flown in their respective positions
Following the execution of Charles I of England, the royal standard was replaced by the Commonwealth standard, with the cross and harp this was used as the main command flag for the General's at Sea together with a designated squadron ensign. [2]
Generals at Sea in command of the red squadron
Generals at Sea in command of the white squadron
Generals at Sea in command of the blue squadron
Vice Admiral of the Fleets squadron
Vice Admiral of the Grand squadron
Rear Admiral of the Fleet (Blue) acting as Vice Admiral of the Grand squadron
Note: During this period the rest of the commonwealth fleet was divided into nine formations each assigned red, white and blue colours that included plain flags and the coloured ensigns. At the Restoration
In 1660 the all previous command flags used during the commonwealth period were changed back to what they were from 1627 to 1649. However during this period we see the introduction of the post of Commodore being initially recognized (though not formally) in November 1674. The Board of Admiralty on the advice of the Navy Board approved the use of the first pendant (later known as a pennant) to denote the command flag of senior officer in charge of a small squadron under a captain as a plain red pendant. The use of the flag became known as The Distinction Pendant to denote a Commander-in-Chief who did not hold flag rank. In January 1684 a proposal was put forward to distinguish two senior officers in a small squadron based on their age difference and relevant naval experience it recommended the issuing of two pendants a plain red of distinction with a white cross for the officer of distinction and a smaller plain red for the officer of the ordinary this separating of two types of commodores would evolve into those of the first class and second class. In 1734 the title of commodore was formally approved by an Order in Council. In 1806 the temporary flag rank of Commodore was to be distinguished by a 'Broad Plain Pennant' of either red, white or blue. The ordinary commodore commanding a ship themselves would have the same coloured pennants but with a single large white ball near the staff. [2] Below for illustrative purpose is what they might have looked like.
Note: Perrin (1922) in his descriptions of admirals command flags does not mention the commodore ordinary of the white squadrons pendant in relation to the 1805 changes thus we must assume that as the Red and Blue squadrons officers were changed to large white balls; the white squadron had to have a large red ball.
Included: [2]
Lord High Admiral
Vice and Rear Admirals in red squadron
Admiral of the White
Vice and Rear Admirals in white squadron
Admiral of the Blue
On 24 March 1702 the First Lord of the Admiralty instructed the Senior Naval Lord Admiral Sir George Rooke and Board of Admiralty to have designed new command flags for flag officers. These would remain in place with some minor changes until 1805 when the rank of Admiral of the Red is introduced and included the following: [12] [13]
The squadrons ranked in order red, white, and blue, with admirals ranked according to their squadron with their command flags flown in their respective positions:
The following official instructions issued by the Ministry of Defence, 1 April 2015. [17]
Flag Officers
Commodores
Coloured squadrons were established as early as the 1580s. In 1864, after approximately 368 years, the designation of coloured squadrons and the promotion path of flag officers under this system were abolished.
Included: [20]
Note:First and second class commodore ranks were introduced in 1826 the first class commodore commanded captains and ships the second class commodore flew a different broad pennant when on board a ship and in command himself. [21]
Rank flags from 1864
In British maritime law and custom, an ensign is the identifying flag flown to designate a British ship, either military or civilian. Such flags display the United Kingdom Union Flag in the canton, with either a red, white or blue field, dependent on whether the vessel is civilian, naval, or in a special category. These are known as the red, white, and blue ensigns respectively.
A maritime flag is a flag designated for use on ships, boats, and other watercraft. Naval flags are considered important at sea and the rules and regulations for the flying of flags are strictly enforced. The flag flown is related to the country of registration: so much so that the word "flag" is often used symbolically as a metonym for "country of registration".
The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign because of the simultaneous existence of a crossless version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross on a white field, identical to the flag of England except with the Union Flag in the upper canton.
The commissioning pennant is a pennant flown from the masthead of a warship. The history of flying a commissioning pennant dates back to the days of chivalry with their trail pendants being flown from the mastheads of ships they commanded. Today, the commissioning pennants are hoisted on the day of commissioning and not struck until they are decommissioned. Some navies have a custom of flying a "paying off" or "decommissioning pennant," the length of which often reflects the length of service of the warship.
Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Admiral of the White. From 1688 to 1805 this rank was in order of precedence third; after 1805 it was the fourth. In 1864 it was abolished as a promotional rank. The command flag for an Admiral of the Blue is a plain blue flag.
Admiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-9, outranked only by the rank of admiral of the fleet. Royal Navy officers holding the ranks of rear admiral, vice admiral and admiral of the fleet are sometimes considered generically to be admirals. The rank of admiral is currently the highest rank to which a serving officer in the Royal Navy can be promoted, admiral of the fleet being in abeyance except for honorary promotions of retired officers and members of the Royal Family.
A French ensign is the flag flown at sea to identify a vessel as French. Several such ensigns have existed over the years as well as terrestrial flags based on the ensign motif.
A broad pennant is a triangular swallow-tailed naval pennant flown from the masthead of a warship afloat or a naval headquarters ashore to indicate the presence of either:
Commodore (Cdre) is a rank of the Royal Navy above captain and below rear admiral. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6. The rank is equivalent to brigadier in the British Army and Royal Marines and to air commodore in the Royal Air Force. Commodore has only been a substantive rank in the Royal Navy since 1997. Until then the term denoted a functional position rather than a formal rank, being the title bestowed on the senior officer of a fleet of at least two naval vessels comprising an independent command.
Vice-Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Vice-Admiral of the White. Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear admiral, vice admiral and admiral of the fleet are sometimes considered generically to be admirals. From 1688 to 1805 this rank was in order of precedence sixth; after 1805 it was the seventh. In 1864 it was abolished as a promotional rank. The command flag for a Vice-Admiral of the Blue is pictured opposite.
Rear-Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Rear-Admiral of the White. Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear admiral, vice admiral and admiral of the fleet are sometimes considered generically to be admirals. From 1688 to 1805 this rank was in order of precedence ninth; after 1805 it was the tenth. In 1864 it was abolished as a promotional rank.
Rear-Admiral of the White was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Rear-admiral of the red. Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear admiral, vice admiral and admiral of the fleet are sometimes considered generically to be admirals. From 1688 to 1805 this rank was in order of precedence eighth; after 1805 it was the ninth. In 1864 it was abolished as a promotional rank..
Vice Admiral (VAdm) is a flag officer rank of the Royal Navy and equates to the NATO rank code OF-8. It is immediately superior to the rear admiral rank and is subordinate to the full admiral rank.
Rear admiral (RAdm) is a flag officer rank of the Royal Navy. It is immediately superior to commodore and is subordinate to vice admiral. It is a two-star rank and has a NATO ranking code of OF-7.
Rear-Admiral of the Red was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Vice-Admiral of the Blue. Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear admiral, vice admiral and admiral of the fleet are sometimes considered generically to be admirals. From 1688 to 1805 this rank was in order of precedence seventh; after 1805 it was the eighth. In 1864 it was abolished as a promotional rank..
Vice-Admiral of the Red was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank admiral of the Blue. Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear admiral, vice admiral and admiral of the fleet are sometimes considered generically to be admirals. From 1688 to 1805 this rank was in order of precedence fourth; after 1805 it was the fifth. In 1864 it was abolished as a promotional rank..
Vice-Admiral of the White was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Vice-Admiral of the Red. Royal Navy officers holding the ranks of commodore, rear admiral, vice admiral and admiral of the fleet are sometimes considered generically to be admirals. From 1688 to 1805, this rank was fifth in order of precedence; after 1805, it was the sixth. In 1864, it was abolished as a promotional rank.
Admiral of the Red was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Admiral of the Fleet. The rank did not exist prior to 1805, as the admiral commanding the Red squadron was called Admiral of the Fleet. When the duties of Admiral of the Fleet were separated from Red squadron in 1805, the Admiral of the Red was created, and until 1864 this rank was the second highest rank in order of precedence. In 1864 it was abolished as a promotional rank.
Admiral of the White was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Admiral of the Red. From 1688 to 1805 this rank was in order of precedence second; after 1805 it was the third. In 1864 it was abolished as a promotional rank.
The Coloured Squadrons of the Royal Navy were first introduced in the Tudor Period during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England (1558-1603) The purpose was to separate the English fleet into three squadrons for better command and control, though in 1596 there were four squadrons. In 1620 as the fleet was expanding the system was changed to include three squadrons but also three sub divisions. Assigned to each of these squadrons were flag officers who were separated in terms of their seniority by the use of coloured flags: in effect the squadrons provided a system of designating the nine or ten most senior admirals of the Royal Navy until the system was abolished in 1864. Squadrons and divisions continued to be used as system of managing large formations when the British navy consisted of more than one fleet for most of the twentieth century until 1971.