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Kingdom of Romania - Military flags and naval ensigns 1922-1948

România

Last modified: 2008-10-04 by alex danes
Keywords: romania |
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Army flags

These flags were used as military colours and naval ensigns.
Alex Danes, 24 September 2008

1922 Model

[Army flag, 1922] 2:3, by Alex Danes

In 1921 Romania changed its coat of arms. The Army flags manufactured after this date had the new coat of arms in the middle of the yellow stripe. In the corners was the golden monogram of king Ferdinand Ist, surrounded by golden oak branches.

Nowadays, some of these flags are marching in official parades during the National Day of Romania (1 December). On 1 December 1918 official delegates from Transylvania, Banat, Maramures and Partium decided that all these territories will unite the Kingdom of Romania forever. The 1922 model flags thus commemorate this event and symbolise the unity of Romania.
Alex Danes, 24 September 2008

1930 Model

[Army flag, 1930] 2:3, by Alex Danes

In 1930 king Carol IInd started his 10 years reign. The oak branches in the corners got thicken and the monograms were changed with this one:

[Monogram of Carol IInd] from Enciclopedia Romaniei

I've seen some flag reproductions for museums that didn't have the ring around the monogram. The Enciclopedia Romaniei shows a slightly different model of this flag, mistakenly captioned as "flag of Romania".
Alex Danes, 24 September 2008

1940 Model

[Army flag, 1940] 2:3, by Alex Danes

In 1940 king Carol IInd resigned the crown. His son, Michael Ist was crowned king the same year. The flags manufactured in his time had his monogam in the corners:

[Monogram of Michael Ist] adapted from Enciclopedia Romaniei

King Michael Ist had a second monogram that appeared mostly on medals and decorations, but I've also seen it on flag reproductions in museums:

[Monogram of Michael Ist] by Alex Danes

Alex Danes, 25 September 2008

Unused or erroneous war flags and ensigns

1930-1936

[War flag and ensign] 2:3, by Alex Danes

A "war flag of Romania" I've never seen anywhere is the one above, containing the lesser coat of arms of Romania. It is mentioned on some sites as the war flag and ensign of Romania between 1930 and 1936, but then again, it is not the only erroneous Romanian flag around there. I think it was just a distorted perception of the Army flag, combined with a vague description of the coat of arms. What puzzles me is that the same flag appears in a Romanian encyclopedic dictionary from 1931:

The other flags are drawn pretty sketchy, so I incline to believe this "war flag" was a misinterpretation as well.
Alex Danes, 25 September 2008

1936-1947

[War flag and ensign] 2:3, by Željko Heimer

The national tricolour with the coat of arms set in the middle. The caption in Flaggenbuch (1939) does not clearly explain if this flag was also used on land as the State or War Flag, possibly. Christian Siemer's site (www.christian-siemer.de) shows six different versions of the coat of arms from 1859 to 1948. Its usage on the national flag (and other flags too) need further research. The site dates the usage of this coat of arms as 23.06.1921 - 08.01.1948. Its use on the flag is probably lesser than that (at both ends). The motto on the ribbon says "NIHIL SINE DEO" - Nothing without God, I guess in the sense "Nothing [could be accomplished] without [the help from] God".
Željko Heimer, 25 December 2002

See also: http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagine:DrapelRR.jpg for version showing a royal cipher.
Željko Heimer, 26 August 2006

The flag above was either drawn according to a bad/vague description, or an adjustment of the erroneous one with the previous coat of arms of Romania. Personally, I haven't seen any law, photo or news reel containing this flag. Some sites say this was the war flag and ensign of Romania between 1936 and 1947. The link presented by Mr. Heimer contains the image of the Army flag, 1930 model, found in Enciclopedia Romaniei. In that encyclopedia, the flag is erroneously captioned as "flag of Romania". The monograms in the corners and the eagle on the top of the rod clearly indicates it is an Army flag (military colours).
Alex Danes, 25 September 2008