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The commissioning pennant (or masthead pennant) is a pennant (also spelled "pendant") flown from the masthead of a
warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...
. The history of flying a commissioning pennant dates back to the days of
chivalry Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christianity, Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours we ...
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 Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...
" or "decommissioning pennant," the length of which often reflects the length of service of the warship. In the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, ships in commission in the fleet of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
(NOAA), although not warships, also fly a commissioning pennant.


History

The custom of wearing a pennant at the masthead of a man-of-war stems from Tromp's broom and Blake's whip. During the
First Anglo-Dutch War The First Anglo-Dutch War, or simply the First Dutch War, ( nl, Eerste Engelse (zee-)oorlog, "First English (Sea) War"; 1652–1654) was a conflict fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic, ...
(1652–1654), Dutch Admiral Maarten Tromp lashed a broom to his flagship's masthead as a sign that he had swept the English off the seas. In reply, English Admiral Robert Blake hoisted a whip to the masthead to signify that he would whip the Dutchman into subjection. However, records show that pennants were in use well before this period as the mark of a warship. In the days of
chivalry Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christianity, Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours we ...
,
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
s and their
squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a " ...
s carried
pennon A pennon, also known as a pennant or pendant, is a long narrow flag which is larger at the hoist than at the fly. It can have several shapes, such as triangular, tapering (square tail) or triangular swallowtail (forked tail), etc. In maritime ...
s and pennoncells on their lances, just as men-of-war fly pennants from their masts. Records show that pennants were in use in the 13th century, when merchant ships were commandeered during war and placed in command of military officers, who transferred their trail pendants from their lances to the mastheads of the ships they commanded. The pennant is an evolution of old "pennoncell", that in the Royal Navy used to consist of three colours for the whole of its length, and towards the end left separate in two or three tails. The tradition continued until the end of the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
when the Royal Navy adopted the style of pennants used by the service today. Pennants have been carried by warships from the earliest times, prior to 1653 at the yardarm, but since then at the maintopgallant masthead. Today the pennant is hoisted on the day a warship or establishment commissions and is never struck until the day of decommissioning. It is, however, displaced by
Royal Standard In heraldry and vexillology, a heraldic flag is a flag containing coats of arms, heraldic badges, or other devices used for personal identification. Heraldic flags include banners, standards, pennons and their variants, gonfalons, guidons, an ...
s and the personal or distinguishing flags or pennants of commodores and admirals. In Navy ships the pennant is flown at the masthead, for which reason it is also commonly referred to as a masthead pennant.


Commissioning pennant

The commissioning pennant reflects the fact that the ship is a ship of war, and is flown until the ship is decommissioned. It is generally taken to signify the commissioned status of the warship. In some navies, the commissioning pennant is used in addition to represent the personal authority of the captain, although it is flown continuously aboard the ship whether the captain is aboard or not.


Royal Navy

In the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
the commissioning pennant is flown continuously in every ship and establishment in commission unless displaced by a senior officer's Rank flag. The masthead pennant is a
cross of St George The Cross of Saint George (russian: Георгиевский крест, Georgiyevskiy krest) is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was initially established by Imperial Russia where it was officially known as the Decoration of ...
in the hoist and a white fly. Formerly, when the Royal Navy was divided into red, white and blue squadrons, there were four different pennants in use, the colour of the fly of three of the pennants corresponding with the colour of the squadron ensign, and a fourth for ships on independent commission (i.e. not attached to a squadron, therefore directly under the command of the Admiralty in London), with the fly containing (from top to bottom) red white and blue in a triband form (such ships would wear the red ensign). Modern commissioning pennants are significantly shorter than in previous centuries - typically 1m in length and only 10 cm at the hoist, tapering to a squared-off point. A boat carrying a captain of one of His Majesty's ships will on ceremonial occasions fly a commissioning pennant from the bows of the boat as a symbol of his authority.


Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

Since its creation in 1910, until 1990, the Royal Canadian Navy and afterwards, Maritime Command (after unification into the Canadian Armed Forces) used the same commissioning pennant as the Royal Navy. In 1990, the old version was phased out with a new design; replacing the Cross of Saint George with a stylized Canadian red maple leaf.


Hellenic Navy

In the
Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of vari ...
, the commissioning pennant ( el, Επισείων Πολεμικού Πλοίου, means ''Warship Pennant'') ''blue coloured, has shape of isosceles triangle elongated, bearing a white cross near the base of the triangle''. The flag has typically base to length (height of triangle) 1 to 20. The cross has arms width 1/5 base length and each arm length 3/5 of base length. The pennant flown on the top of
mainmast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the centre-line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, and giving necessary height to a navigation ligh ...
.


Indian Navy

In the
Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...
, a white triangular pennant with at hoist the St. George's red cross with the
Ashoka Chakra Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...
in the center. The length of the horizontal red stripe is 12 times the width at hoist. The width of the stripes is 1/6 of the hoist and the Chakra diameter is 6/15 of the hoist.


United States


United States Navy and United States Coast Guard

The commissioning pennant of the United States Navy is "blue at the hoist, bearing seven white stars; the rest of the pennant consists of single longitudinal stripes of red and white." The commissioning pennant of the United States Coast Guard is a near opposite, being white at the hoist, bearing thirteen blue stars, and with the rest of the pennant consisting of multiple vertical red and white stripes. Ships of the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard fly their respective commissioning pennants from the moment of commissioning until the decommissioning ceremony, the only exceptions being when either a
flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countr ...
or a civilian official is embarked and the flag officer's or civilian official's personal flag is flown in its place. The ensign, jack and commissioning pennant are hoisted directly after the reading out of the commissioning order and struck as the final act before the captain declares the ship decommissioned. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard use the respective pennants as the symbol of the vessel's commanding officer. When the vessel's commanding officer is ashore, the ship will also display the international code flag known as the Third Substitute pennant.


NOAA fleet

The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
(NOAA) operates a fleet of
research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...
and
survey ship A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the purpo ...
s which are in commission for
United States Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
service, although they are not warships. Ships in the NOAA fleet fly a "commission pennant" in a similar manner to U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard ships. The NOAA fleet has three commission pennants, one for its largest ships (which it deems "Class I" vessels), and two for smaller ships NOAA defines as "Class II," "Class III," or "Class IV" vessels.Sea Flags: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Accessed 26 October 2022
/ref> The pennant for Class I vessels is long and has 13 red triangles on a white background at the hoist, with the remainder of the pennant blue, while the pennants for Class II, III, and IV vessels are long and have seven red triangles but otherwise are identical in design to the Class I pennant.NAO 201-6A Attachment 1: Authorized Flags of the Department of Commerce, NOAA, and the NOAA Commissioned Corps March 15, 2015
/ref> The pennants are identical to those flown by commissioned ships of the
United States Coast and Geodetic Survey The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (abbreviated USC&GS), known from 1807 to 1836 as the Survey of the Coast and from 1836 until 1878 as the United States Coast Survey, was the first scientific agency of the United States Government. It ...
, one of the ancestor organizations of NOAA, and the red triangles represent the discipline of
triangulation In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points. Applications In surveying Specifically in surveying, triangulation involves only angle me ...
used in
hydrographic survey Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/offshore oil drilling and related activities. Strong emphasis is placed ...
s. The flag of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, used from 1899 to 1970, and that of NOAA, in use since 1970, include a similar red triangle.


Paying-off pennants

It is the custom in many navies for a ship which is "paying off" to wear an extremely long commissioning pennant, which is normally at least the length of the ship, and the length of which reflects the length of service. This is in contrast to the modern practice of using pennants of not more than one or one-and-a-half metres for convenience. Formerly a ship "paid off" each time she returned home after a commission overseas: the term refers to the fact that sailors were not paid until the ship returned home, to avoid desertion. The bible of Royal Navy traditions and slang, '' Covey-Crump'', emphasises: :"It should be borne in mind that the commission referred to is the length of time the ship's company has been abroad, not the ship herself: when a ship recommissions abroad a fresh commission is started; thus a commission of longer than 2¾ years is exceptional." This custom is maintained in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, where the paying-off pennant is known as the "homeward-bound pennant". Nevertheless, present usage in the Royal Navy has degenerated to using paying-off pennants only as part of a ship's decommissioning ceremony.


See also

*
Flag terminology Flag terminology is the nomenclature, or system of terms, used in vexillology, the study of flags, to describe precisely the parts, patterns, and other attributes of flags and their display. Flag types ...
*
Maritime flag 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 ...
*
French ensigns 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. Current ensign The current French ensign is not, as the casual obse ...
*
Clean sweep (naval) A "clean sweep" for a naval vessel refers to having "swept the enemy from the seas," a completely successful mission. It is traditionally indicated by hanging a broom from a mast or lashing it to the periscope of a submarine. History It is said th ...
, involving the use of a broom


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennant (Commissioning) Naval flags Types of flags