Naval Flags

Morse

This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. © Jean-Philippe Boulet

These flags form an internationally recognised set of signals (intended for use by ships at sea). There are the usual flags for alphanumeric characters (26 letters, 10 numbers) but there are others.

There is an answering pennant for acknowledging a received signal, and three 'subsitute' flags which are used to represent flags already used.

The substitute flags are used when you wish to show a flag that has already been used. The type of flag indicates which flag in the list you should repeat. For example if you wanted to send the message

A B C D E B

you would place the flags for A, B, C, D and E normally, and for the last flag you would use the blue/white second subsitute flag. This instructs the observer to 'repeat' the second flag in the list, namely the B.



Naval Signals - Flags


Naval Signals - Numerics


Naval Signals - Special