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Jack (flag)

January 01, 1970

A jack is a flag flown from a short jackstaff at the bow (front) of a vessel, while the ensign is flown on the stern (rear). Jacks on bowsprits or foremasts appeared in the 17th century. A country may have different jacks for different purposes, especially when (as in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands) the naval jack is forbidden to other vessels. The United Kingdom has an official civil jack; the Netherlands has several unofficial ones. In some countries, ships of other government institutions may fly the naval jack, e.g. the ships of the United States Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the case of the US jack. Certain organs of the UK's government have their own departmental jacks. Commercial or pleasure craft may fly the flag of an administrative division (state, province, land) or municipality at the bow. Merchant ships may fly a house flag. Yachts may fly a club burgee or officer's flag or the owner's private signal at the bow. Practice may be regulated by law, custom, or personal judgment.

Royal Netherlands Navy jack
The US naval jack (2002–2019) being hoisted on USS Kitty Hawk's jackstaff in December 2011
Naval jack of the Irish Naval Service

Etymology edit

"Jack" occupies 6 pages of the complete second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary and the use of the word in English goes back to the 14th century, appearing as a forename in Piers Plowman. Quite early on it was used as a name for a peasant or "a man of the lower orders".[1] It continued the low class connotations in phrases such as "jack tar" for a common seaman, "every man jack," or the use of jack for the knave in cards. The diminutive form is also seen in "Jack of all trades, master of none", where Jack implies a poor tradesman, possibly not up to journeyman standard. The term was taken into inanimate objects and denoted a small (or occasionally inferior) component: jack-pit (a small mine shaft), jackplug (single pronged, low current), jack-shaft (intermediate or idler shaft), jack (in bowling: the small ball) or jack-engine (a donkey or barring engine). Incidentally, a jack is a garment for the upper body (quotes from 1375 onwards), a jacket is derived from this and is a small jack; not the other way around. As a further example of this usage, in 1686 Robert Plot writing about gins (i.e. horse engines) to pump water out of mines says: "they draw it [the water] up by Gin, which is made bigger, or less ... the less they call a Jack".[2]

As a flag, "jack" followed this usage. A jack flag was a small flag, used to distinguish it from the large ensign or pennants. The OED mentions the theory of its derivation from James I or from a leathern jacket but dismisses both: "neither of these conjectures covers the early use of the word". Originally, the jack would have been flown from the bowsprit topmast head: "You are alsoe for this present service to keepe in yor Jack at yor Boultspritt end"[1] (sailing instructions 1633 as quoted in OED2). In 1667 Samuel Pepys, naval administrator and diarist, recorded the Dutch taking the Royal Charles and a man "struck her flag and jacke" — clearly two different things. By 1692 the jackstaff had been developed to fly the jack: "Jack staff and Jack".[3]

Usage edit

 
Russian Navy submarine Sankt Peterburg displaying the Russian naval jack at the bow and the naval ensign at the stern

A naval jack is usually flown when the ship is not under way, but is moored or at anchor, or when it is dressed overall on special occasions. The Union Jack of the Royal Navy must be run up when the first line is ashore when coming alongside. The same regulations are applied by the Royal Canadian Navy.[4]

In the United States, the First Navy Jack is also used as embroidered sleeve patches by the US Navy on its uniforms.[5]

Shapes and designs edit

Naval jacks are usually rectangular, often square, and smaller than the national ensign or war flag. Some countries fly a smaller version of the national or war flag, or its canton on its own. France and some other countries use the same flag or ensign for all purposes, civil or military, and also as their naval jack. Japan and some other countries with civil and war ensigns of different designs fly the civil ensign as a jack and the war ensign at the ship's stern. A shortened, square version of the national flag is used by some countries. A larger group of jacks show the country's national coat of arms, either as a banner of arms, or as a badge displayed on the field. Most countries have chosen a completely different design for their naval jacks, often with some national or maritime symbol, and usually with the same colours as in their flags.

War ensign as jack edit

Countries that use their war ensign also as a jack, will usually fly a smaller version at the bow.

  •  
    Naval jack of Denmark
  •  
    Naval jack of Egypt
  •  
    Naval jack of Germany
  •  
    Coast Guard jack of Iceland
  •  
    Naval jack of Sweden

War flag as jack edit

Square version of national flag as jack edit

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    Naval jack of Belgium
  •  
    Naval jack of Norway
  •  
    Naval jack of Romania
 
Dutch naval jack onboard HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes

Canton of national ensign as jack edit

  •  
    Naval jack of Chile
  •  
    Naval jack of Greece
  •  
    Naval jack of Liberia
  •  
    Naval jack of the Republic of China
  •  
    Naval jack of Tonga
  •  
    Naval jack of the US, also flown by other federal government and civilian ships

National coat of arms as jack edit

  •  
    Naval jack of Colombia
  •  
    Naval jack of Croatia
  •  
    Naval jack of the Dominican Republic
  •  
    Naval jack of Finland
  •  
    Naval jack of Iran
  •  
    Naval jack of Lithuania
  •  
    Naval jack of Montenegro
  •  
    Naval jack of Peru
  •  
    Naval jack of Portugal
  •  
    Naval jack of Spain
  •  
    Naval jack of Ukraine in 1993

National flag as jack edit

National flag in canton as jack edit

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    Naval jack of Algeria
  •  
    Civil jack of the Bahamas
  •  
    Naval jack of Canada from 1968 to 2013[c]

Jacks of special design edit

Cross and Saltire Jacks edit

Union jacks edit

 
Union Jack of Sweden and Norway flown by Swedish armored cruiser Wasa in 1903
 
Norwegian gunboat Sleipner at Kiel, June 1895, flying the Union Jack of Norway and Sweden

United or confederated states have in many cases adopted a jack representing their national union. The best known is the Union Jack of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, composed in 1606 by joining the flags of England and Scotland. When the Kingdom of Ireland merged with Great Britain in 1801, a red saltire (Saint Patrick's Cross) was added to form the present Union Flag. The design of the UK's Union Jack probably inspired later jacks of other states, such as Russia and the Union Jack of Sweden and Norway. The Russian jack in its turn inspired the jacks of Bulgaria, Estonia, and Latvia.[citation needed]

From 1777 to 1975, 1977 to September 2002, and June 2019 to the present, the United States Navy has flown a "union jack", consisting of the blue canton with white stars from the US national ensign. In 1975 and 1976, and then again from September 11, 2002, to June 4, 2019, the US Navy flew the First Navy Jack, allegedly used in 1775 and 1776, with a rattlesnake and the motto "DONT TREAD ON ME" [sic] superimposed on thirteen alternating red and white stripes.

The Confederate States of America followed the same pattern for its first naval jack (1861–1863), using the canton of its first naval ensign, with seven stars forming a circle on a "medium blue" field. Later versions had up to fifteen stars. The second Confederate naval jack was a rectangular cousin of the Confederate army's battle flag and was in use from 1863 until 1865.

The Union Jack of Sweden and Norway (1844–1905) was a rectangular cross flag divided per saltire, combining the national colours of Sweden (hoist and fly) and Norway (top and bottom). The naval jack was also used as a flag for the common diplomatic representations abroad.

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Adopted as such in 2013.[6]
  2. ^ Was used as the naval ensign in 1994.
  3. ^ Now used as the Canadian naval ensign.
  4. ^ Also used on land as the Royal Bahrain Naval Force's organizational flag.
  5. ^ Also identical to the flag of the French protectorate of Cambodia.
  6. ^ Also includes the arms of Venice, Genoa, Amalfi, and Pisa.
  7. ^ Also used on land as the South Korean navy's organizational flag.

References edit

  1. ^ a b "jack". Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. 1989.
  2. ^ Plot, Robert, LLD (1686), The natural history of Stafford-shire, p. 148{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "jack-staff". Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. 1989.
  4. ^ Defence, Government of Canada, National (30 September 2014). "Royal Canadian Navy - National Defence - Canadian Armed Forces". www.navy-marine.forces.gc.ca. from the original on 2016-04-02. Retrieved 2016-01-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).
  5. ^ "Military Times & Sightline Media Group nov. 4, 2013".
  6. ^ "Navy replaces maple leaf flag for new design". from the original on 2016-12-02. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
  7. ^ "War ensign (Malaysia)". from the original on 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2020-10-08.

Further reading edit

  • Album des pavillons nationaux et des marques distinctives. National flags and distinctive markings, Service hydrographique et océanographique de la marine, Brest, 2000

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Naval jacks.
  • FOTW (Flags of the World) website on jacks
  • FOTW Dictionary of Vexillology: J (Jack - Jolly Roger)

January 01, 1970
jack, flag, jack, flag, flown, from, short, jackstaff, front, vessel, while, ensign, flown, stern, rear, jacks, bowsprits, foremasts, appeared, 17th, century, country, have, different, jacks, different, purposes, especially, when, united, kingdom, netherlands,. A jack is a flag flown from a short jackstaff at the bow front of a vessel while the ensign is flown on the stern rear Jacks on bowsprits or foremasts appeared in the 17th century A country may have different jacks for different purposes especially when as in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands the naval jack is forbidden to other vessels The United Kingdom has an official civil jack the Netherlands has several unofficial ones In some countries ships of other government institutions may fly the naval jack e g the ships of the United States Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the case of the US jack Certain organs of the UK s government have their own departmental jacks Commercial or pleasure craft may fly the flag of an administrative division state province land or municipality at the bow Merchant ships may fly a house flag Yachts may fly a club burgee or officer s flag or the owner s private signal at the bow Practice may be regulated by law custom or personal judgment Royal Netherlands Navy jack The US naval jack 2002 2019 being hoisted on USS Kitty Hawk s jackstaff in December 2011 Naval jack of the Irish Naval Service Contents 1 Etymology 2 Usage 3 Shapes and designs 4 War ensign as jack 5 War flag as jack 6 Square version of national flag as jack 7 Canton of national ensign as jack 8 National coat of arms as jack 9 National flag as jack 10 National flag in canton as jack 11 Jacks of special design 12 Cross and Saltire Jacks 13 Union jacks 14 See also 15 Notes 16 References 17 Further reading 18 External linksEtymology edit Jack occupies 6 pages of the complete second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary and the use of the word in English goes back to the 14th century appearing as a forename in Piers Plowman Quite early on it was used as a name for a peasant or a man of the lower orders 1 It continued the low class connotations in phrases such as jack tar for a common seaman every man jack or the use of jack for the knave in cards The diminutive form is also seen in Jack of all trades master of none where Jack implies a poor tradesman possibly not up to journeyman standard The term was taken into inanimate objects and denoted a small or occasionally inferior component jack pit a small mine shaft jackplug single pronged low current jack shaft intermediate or idler shaft jack in bowling the small ball or jack engine a donkey or barring engine Incidentally a jack is a garment for the upper body quotes from 1375 onwards a jacket is derived from this and is a small jack not the other way around As a further example of this usage in 1686 Robert Plot writing about gins i e horse engines to pump water out of mines says they draw it the water up by Gin which is made bigger or less the less they call a Jack 2 As a flag jack followed this usage A jack flag was a small flag used to distinguish it from the large ensign or pennants The OED mentions the theory of its derivation from James I or from a leathern jacket but dismisses both neither of these conjectures covers the early use of the word Originally the jack would have been flown from the bowsprit topmast head You are alsoe for this present service to keepe in yor Jack at yor Boultspritt end 1 sailing instructions 1633 as quoted in OED2 In 1667 Samuel Pepys naval administrator and diarist recorded the Dutch taking the Royal Charles and a man struck her flag and jacke clearly two different things By 1692 the jackstaff had been developed to fly the jack Jack staff and Jack 3 Usage edit nbsp Russian Navy submarine Sankt Peterburg displaying the Russian naval jack at the bow and the naval ensign at the stern A naval jack is usually flown when the ship is not under way but is moored or at anchor or when it is dressed overall on special occasions The Union Jack of the Royal Navy must be run up when the first line is ashore when coming alongside The same regulations are applied by the Royal Canadian Navy 4 In the United States the First Navy Jack is also used as embroidered sleeve patches by the US Navy on its uniforms 5 Shapes and designs editNaval jacks are usually rectangular often square and smaller than the national ensign or war flag Some countries fly a smaller version of the national or war flag or its canton on its own France and some other countries use the same flag or ensign for all purposes civil or military and also as their naval jack Japan and some other countries with civil and war ensigns of different designs fly the civil ensign as a jack and the war ensign at the ship s stern A shortened square version of the national flag is used by some countries A larger group of jacks show the country s national coat of arms either as a banner of arms or as a badge displayed on the field Most countries have chosen a completely different design for their naval jacks often with some national or maritime symbol and usually with the same colours as in their flags War ensign as jack editCountries that use their war ensign also as a jack will usually fly a smaller version at the bow nbsp Naval jack of Denmark nbsp Naval jack of Egypt nbsp Naval jack of Germany nbsp Coast Guard jack of Iceland nbsp Naval jack of SwedenWar flag as jack edit nbsp Naval jack of ChinaSquare version of national flag as jack edit nbsp Naval jack of Belgium nbsp Naval jack of Norway nbsp Naval jack of Romania nbsp Dutch naval jack onboard HNLMS Tjerk HiddesCanton of national ensign as jack edit nbsp Naval jack of Chile nbsp Naval jack of Greece nbsp Naval jack of Liberia nbsp Naval jack of the Republic of China nbsp Naval jack of Tonga nbsp Naval jack of the US also flown by other federal government and civilian shipsNational coat of arms as jack edit nbsp Naval jack of Colombia nbsp Naval jack of Croatia nbsp Naval jack of the Dominican Republic nbsp Naval jack of Finland nbsp Naval jack of Iran nbsp Naval jack of Lithuania nbsp Naval jack of Montenegro nbsp Naval jack of Peru nbsp Naval jack of Portugal nbsp Naval jack of Spain nbsp Naval jack of Ukraine in 1993National flag as jack edit nbsp Naval jack of Antigua and Barbuda nbsp Naval jack of Australia nbsp Naval jack of the Bahamas nbsp Naval jack of Bangladesh nbsp Naval jack of Brunei nbsp Naval jack of Canada a nbsp Naval jack of France nbsp Naval jack of India nbsp Naval jack of Japan nbsp Naval jack of Malaysia 7 nbsp Naval jack of Myanmar nbsp Naval jack of New Zealand nbsp Naval jack of South Africa b nbsp Naval jack of Singapore nbsp Naval jack of Sri Lanka nbsp Naval jack of Turkey nbsp Naval jack of Ukraine nbsp Naval jack of the United Kingdom i e the Union Jack nbsp Naval jack of VietnamNational flag in canton as jack edit nbsp Naval jack of Algeria nbsp Civil jack of the Bahamas nbsp Naval jack of Canada from 1968 to 2013 c Jacks of special design edit nbsp Naval jack of Argentina nbsp Naval jack of Bahrain d nbsp Naval jack of Bolivia nbsp Naval jack of Brazil nbsp Naval jack of Cambodia e nbsp Naval jack of Cuba nbsp Naval jack of Cyprus nbsp Naval jack of Ecuador nbsp Naval jack of Indonesia nbsp Naval jack of Ireland nbsp Naval jack of Italy f nbsp Naval jack of Kazakhstan nbsp Naval jack of Malta nbsp Naval jack of North Korea nbsp Naval jack of South Korea g nbsp Naval jack of Mexico nbsp Naval jack of Morocco nbsp Naval jack Prinsengeus of the Royal Netherlands Navy Kingdom of The Netherlands nbsp Netherlands civil jack unofficial the most popular of several designs nbsp Naval jack of Nicaragua identical to the international maritime signal flag Z nbsp Naval jack of Pakistan nbsp Naval jack of Panama nbsp Naval jack of Paraguay nbsp Naval jack of Philippines nbsp Naval jack of Poland nbsp Naval jack of Saudi Arabia nbsp Naval jack of Slovenia nbsp Naval jack of the Soviet Union from 1932 to 1991 nbsp Naval jack of Thailand nbsp Naval jack of Uruguay nbsp Civil jack of the United Kingdom nbsp Naval jack of the United States in 1776 and 1777 nbsp Naval jack of the United States from 2002 to 2019 nbsp Naval jack of VenezuelaCross and Saltire Jacks edit nbsp Naval jack of Bulgaria nbsp Naval jack of Estonia nbsp Naval jack of Georgia from 2004 to 2009 nbsp Naval jack of Latvia nbsp Naval jack of RussiaUnion jacks edit nbsp Union Jack of Sweden and Norway flown by Swedish armored cruiser Wasa in 1903 nbsp Norwegian gunboat Sleipner at Kiel June 1895 flying the Union Jack of Norway and Sweden United or confederated states have in many cases adopted a jack representing their national union The best known is the Union Jack of the United Kingdom s Royal Navy composed in 1606 by joining the flags of England and Scotland When the Kingdom of Ireland merged with Great Britain in 1801 a red saltire Saint Patrick s Cross was added to form the present Union Flag The design of the UK s Union Jack probably inspired later jacks of other states such as Russia and the Union Jack of Sweden and Norway The Russian jack in its turn inspired the jacks of Bulgaria Estonia and Latvia citation needed From 1777 to 1975 1977 to September 2002 and June 2019 to the present the United States Navy has flown a union jack consisting of the blue canton with white stars from the US national ensign In 1975 and 1976 and then again from September 11 2002 to June 4 2019 the US Navy flew the First Navy Jack allegedly used in 1775 and 1776 with a rattlesnake and the motto DONT TREAD ON ME sic superimposed on thirteen alternating red and white stripes The Confederate States of America followed the same pattern for its first naval jack 1861 1863 using the canton of its first naval ensign with seven stars forming a circle on a medium blue field Later versions had up to fifteen stars The second Confederate naval jack was a rectangular cousin of the Confederate army s battle flag and was in use from 1863 until 1865 The Union Jack of Sweden and Norway 1844 1905 was a rectangular cross flag divided per saltire combining the national colours of Sweden hoist and fly and Norway top and bottom The naval jack was also used as a flag for the common diplomatic representations abroad nbsp The Union Jack of the United Kingdom nbsp Naval jack of the United States from 1960 to 1975 1977 to 2002 and 2019 to the present identical to the canton in the national flag or ensign of that period nbsp Naval jack of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1863 nbsp Naval jack of Sweden and Norway from 1844 to 1905 nbsp Naval jack of the Confederate States from 1863 to 1865See also editBritish ensign Flag terminology Naval ensign Vexillology the study of flagsNotes edit Adopted as such in 2013 6 Was used as the naval ensign in 1994 Now used as the Canadian naval ensign Also used on land as the Royal Bahrain Naval Force s organizational flag Also identical to the flag of the French protectorate of Cambodia Also includes the arms of Venice Genoa Amalfi and Pisa Also used on land as the South Korean navy s organizational flag References edit a b jack Oxford English Dictionary 2nd ed Oxford University Press 1989 Plot Robert LLD 1686 The natural history of Stafford shire p 148 a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link jack staff Oxford English Dictionary 2nd ed Oxford University Press 1989 Defence Government of Canada National 30 September 2014 Royal Canadian Navy National Defence Canadian Armed Forces www navy marine forces gc ca Archived from the original on 2016 04 02 Retrieved 2016 01 20 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Military Times amp Sightline Media Group nov 4 2013 Navy replaces maple leaf flag for new design Archived from the original on 2016 12 02 Retrieved 2016 09 18 War ensign Malaysia Archived from the original on 2020 10 23 Retrieved 2020 10 08 Further reading editAlbum des pavillons nationaux et des marques distinctives National flags and distinctive markings Service hydrographique et oceanographique de la marine Brest 2000External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Naval jacks FOTW Flags of the World website on jacks FOTW Dictionary of Vexillology J Jack Jolly Roger Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jack flag amp oldid 1219287552, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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