fbpx
Wikipedia

Ensign (flag)

October 16, 2023

This article is about the flag. For other uses, see Ensign.

The ensign is a maritime flag that is used for the national identification of a ship.[1] The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. In ports, depending on the ship's origin, it is sometimes identical with a jack on the bow of the ship. Jacks are more common on warships than on merchant ships.

National civil ensign of New Zealand flown from the stern of Hikitia

Etymology Edit

The Middle English ensign is derived from the Latin word insignia.

Vexillology Edit

In vexillology an ensign is differentiated between a naval ensign (war ensign) and civil ensign (merchant), which both are the original expressions of the national flag.[2]

However, in the United Kingdom, Germany and Netherlands a separation between State and Armed ships on the one hand, and unarmed and private vessels was made earlier than in other Nations, see British ensign.

Vexillologists distinguish three varieties of a national flag when used as an ensign:

  • A state ensign or government ensign (usage symbol  ) is worn by government vessels of official government agencies or civilian equipped auxiliary ships.
  • A naval ensign (usage symbol  ) is used by a country's navy as a war flag for military ships, which are enlisted as such.[3] War ensigns do not mean, that the country is at war. It is about the military use. They fall under the law of war and United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Large versions of naval ensigns called battle ensigns are used when a warship goes into battle. The ensign differs from the jack, which is flown from a jackstaff at the bow of a vessel additionally, if they are at the port.
  • A civil ensign (usage symbol  ) is worn by merchant and pleasure vessels. The merchant maritime flag or civil ensign is therefore the specific flag for the Merchant navy of a country, unless the (private) owners are authorized to use another. The commercial flag was created to give these private individuals the opportunity to declare their nationality. Some countries have a specific yacht ensign for recreational boats without declared cargo, which differs from the regular ensign and have a specific law. Merchant flags can only be flown by ships that are not ships of war, ships of state, auxiliary ships or yachts. The special feature here is that a ship does not represent an extraterritorial area, but belongs to a private person or similar and does not represent the state itself. This means that the use of the national or even state flag is normally forbidden.

Today, some countries like the United States and France still use just one flag and also as a jack, while lacking special cantons and transparent identification. All ships of the seagoing services of the United States Government with the exception of the United States Coast Guard fly the national flag as their ensign, although the ships of some agencies also fly an agency flag as a 'distinctive mark'.

However, further countries like Ukraine, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Japan use different ensigns. Such are strictly regulated and indicate if the vessel is a warship, a merchant ship, a ship under contract to carry mail, or a yacht, for example.

Several Commonwealth countries' national flags had their origin in the ensigns of their original colonising power, the United Kingdom. Most notable of these national flags are those of Australia, New Zealand, and several smaller island nations. It is also very likely that the Grand Union Flag from which the flag of the United States developed was strongly influenced by the British Red Ensign or the flag of the (British controlled) East India Company.

Usage Edit

In nautical use, any boat uses a specific flag of a specific Nation to indicate its organizational membership. The ensign is flown on a ship for that reason.[2] The flag signifies the home port of the ship owner and that his tax is paid there for his income made with the ship. Flagging out always means that the relevant laws of the country apply on the ship like employment contracts, safety, stamp duty or value-added taxes.[citation needed]

In most countries, especially in Europe and the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, it is common for the ensign to display additional information as well. For example, whether it is a civil, state or military flag.[citation needed]

Ensigns are usually at the stern flagstaff when in port, and may be shifted to a gaff (if available) or mast amidships when the ship is under way, becoming known as a steaming ensign.[citation needed]

A boat flag is also often used as guest country flag and is flown on the boat when navigating in foreign waters or entering another country's port.[citation needed]

Air ensigns Edit

With the creation of independent air forces and the growth in civil aviation in the first half of the 20th century, a range of distinguishing flags and ensigns were adopted. These may be divided into air force ensigns (often light blue in colour,[4] such as the Royal Air Force Ensign) and civil air ensigns.

Heraldic ensigns Edit

In heraldry, an ensign is the ornament or sign, such as the crown, coronet, or mitre, borne above the charge or arms.[5]

Gallery Edit

See also Edit

References Edit

  1. ^ . Oxforddictionaries.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Alfred Znamierowski. "Types of flags". The World Encyclopedia of Flags. p. 31.
  3. ^ Znamierowski. "Naval ensigns and flags". The World Encyclopedia of Flags. p. 88.
  4. ^ Znamierowski. "Air force flags". The World Encyclopedia of Flags. p. 85.
  5. ^ Snell, Melissa. . Archived from the original on 2014-07-11. Retrieved 2014-06-15.

Sources Edit

  • Znamierowski, Alfred (2002). The world encyclopedia of flags : The definitive guide to international flags, banners, standards and ensigns. London, England: Hermes House. ISBN 1-84309-042-2.
  • Kavussanos, Manolis G. (2014). The Option to Change the Flag of a Vessel. SSRN.

External links Edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ensigns.

October 16, 2023
ensign, flag, this, article, about, flag, other, uses, ensign, ensign, maritime, flag, that, used, national, identification, ship, ensign, largest, flag, generally, flown, stern, rear, ship, while, port, ports, depending, ship, origin, sometimes, identical, wi. This article is about the flag For other uses see Ensign The ensign is a maritime flag that is used for the national identification of a ship 1 The ensign is the largest flag generally flown at the stern rear of the ship while in port In ports depending on the ship s origin it is sometimes identical with a jack on the bow of the ship Jacks are more common on warships than on merchant ships National civil ensign of New Zealand flown from the stern of Hikitia Contents 1 Etymology 2 Vexillology 3 Usage 4 Air ensigns 5 Heraldic ensigns 6 Gallery 7 See also 8 References 8 1 Sources 9 External linksEtymology EditThe Middle English ensign is derived from the Latin word insignia Vexillology EditIn vexillology an ensign is differentiated between a naval ensign war ensign and civil ensign merchant which both are the original expressions of the national flag 2 However in the United Kingdom Germany and Netherlands a separation between State and Armed ships on the one hand and unarmed and private vessels was made earlier than in other Nations see British ensign Vexillologists distinguish three varieties of a national flag when used as an ensign A state ensign or government ensign usage symbol nbsp is worn by government vessels of official government agencies or civilian equipped auxiliary ships A naval ensign usage symbol nbsp is used by a country s navy as a war flag for military ships which are enlisted as such 3 War ensigns do not mean that the country is at war It is about the military use They fall under the law of war and United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Large versions of naval ensigns called battle ensigns are used when a warship goes into battle The ensign differs from the jack which is flown from a jackstaff at the bow of a vessel additionally if they are at the port A civil ensign usage symbol nbsp is worn by merchant and pleasure vessels The merchant maritime flag or civil ensign is therefore the specific flag for the Merchant navy of a country unless the private owners are authorized to use another The commercial flag was created to give these private individuals the opportunity to declare their nationality Some countries have a specific yacht ensign for recreational boats without declared cargo which differs from the regular ensign and have a specific law Merchant flags can only be flown by ships that are not ships of war ships of state auxiliary ships or yachts The special feature here is that a ship does not represent an extraterritorial area but belongs to a private person or similar and does not represent the state itself This means that the use of the national or even state flag is normally forbidden Today some countries like the United States and France still use just one flag and also as a jack while lacking special cantons and transparent identification All ships of the seagoing services of the United States Government with the exception of the United States Coast Guard fly the national flag as their ensign although the ships of some agencies also fly an agency flag as a distinctive mark However further countries like Ukraine Italy Russia South Africa Australia New Zealand and Japan use different ensigns Such are strictly regulated and indicate if the vessel is a warship a merchant ship a ship under contract to carry mail or a yacht for example Several Commonwealth countries national flags had their origin in the ensigns of their original colonising power the United Kingdom Most notable of these national flags are those of Australia New Zealand and several smaller island nations It is also very likely that the Grand Union Flag from which the flag of the United States developed was strongly influenced by the British Red Ensign or the flag of the British controlled East India Company Usage EditIn nautical use any boat uses a specific flag of a specific Nation to indicate its organizational membership The ensign is flown on a ship for that reason 2 The flag signifies the home port of the ship owner and that his tax is paid there for his income made with the ship Flagging out always means that the relevant laws of the country apply on the ship like employment contracts safety stamp duty or value added taxes citation needed In most countries especially in Europe and the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations it is common for the ensign to display additional information as well For example whether it is a civil state or military flag citation needed Ensigns are usually at the stern flagstaff when in port and may be shifted to a gaff if available or mast amidships when the ship is under way becoming known as a steaming ensign citation needed A boat flag is also often used as guest country flag and is flown on the boat when navigating in foreign waters or entering another country s port citation needed Air ensigns EditWith the creation of independent air forces and the growth in civil aviation in the first half of the 20th century a range of distinguishing flags and ensigns were adopted These may be divided into air force ensigns often light blue in colour 4 such as the Royal Air Force Ensign and civil air ensigns Heraldic ensigns EditIn heraldry an ensign is the ornament or sign such as the crown coronet or mitre borne above the charge or arms 5 Gallery Edit nbsp The White Ensign as currently used by Royal Navy vessels nbsp The Blue Ensign as currently used for British government vessels nbsp The Red Ensign as currently used for British civilian vessels nbsp Government Ensign of Gibraltar nbsp Civil Ensign of Gibraltar nbsp Royal Air Force Ensign used by the Royal Air Force nbsp Royal Australian Air Force Ensign nbsp Royal New Zealand Air Force Ensign nbsp Royal Canadian Air Force Ensign nbsp Royal Australian Navy Ensign nbsp Royal New Zealand Navy Ensign nbsp Royal Canadian Navy Ensign nbsp The Civil Air Ensign as currently used by UK civil aviation establishments nbsp Australian Civil Aviation Ensign nbsp New Zealand Civil Air Ensign nbsp Australian national Flag and State Ensign nbsp Australian Red Ensign nbsp New Zealand national flag Maori Te haki o Aotearoa and State Ensign nbsp New Zealand Red Ensign nbsp Indian Navy Ensign nbsp Indian Civil Ensign nbsp Civil and Naval ensign of Albania nbsp Belgian Navy Ensign nbsp Ensign of the Royal Danish Navy nbsp Egyptian Navy Ensign nbsp Finnish yacht club ensign The circled X represents the club emblem nbsp Civil and Naval Ensign of France nbsp Bundesmarine Ensign nbsp Naval ensign of Italy nbsp Naval ensign of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force nbsp Luxembourg Civil Ensign nbsp Myanmar Navy Ensign nbsp Royal Netherlands Navy Reserve ensign nbsp Nigerian Navy ensign nbsp North Korean Navy Ensign nbsp Ensign of the Royal Norwegian Navy nbsp Polish Navy Ensign nbsp Ensign of the Russian Navy nbsp Naval Ensign of the Royal Saudi Navy nbsp nbsp Spanish yacht ensign nbsp Naval ensign of Sri Lanka nbsp Naval ensign of Royal Thai Navy nbsp Ukrainian Navy Ensign nbsp United States Coast Guard ensign nbsp Naval ensign of VietnamSee also EditDistinctive mark Maritime flag JackReferences Edit Ensign Oxforddictionaries com Archived from the original on July 27 2012 a b Alfred Znamierowski Types of flags The World Encyclopedia of Flags p 31 Znamierowski Naval ensigns and flags The World Encyclopedia of Flags p 88 Znamierowski Air force flags The World Encyclopedia of Flags p 85 Snell Melissa Pimbley s Dictionary of Heraldry Archived from the original on 2014 07 11 Retrieved 2014 06 15 Sources Edit Znamierowski Alfred 2002 The world encyclopedia of flags The definitive guide to international flags banners standards and ensigns London England Hermes House ISBN 1 84309 042 2 Kavussanos Manolis G 2014 The Option to Change the Flag of a Vessel SSRN External links Edit nbsp Heraldry portal nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ensigns Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ensign flag amp oldid 1178467787 National ensigns, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.