Navy - Submarine Flags (U.S.)

Boat Flags

Last modified: 2009-02-28 by rick wyatt
Keywords: navy | united states | ship flag | submarine |
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• Overview
  
• Flags To Mark Victories
  
  Boats
• USS Baloa SS-285
• USS Blenny SS-324
• USS Flying Fish SS-229
• USS Gurnard SS-254
• USS Torsk SS-423
  
  
• USS Louisville SSN-724

See also:

• Submarine Service Flags
• Ship's Flags
• Navy Flag
• Military Flags
• United States of America

As part of the U.S. Navy's Centennial of the Submarine Service they are reproducing the Battle Flags of some W.W.II era boats for a commemorative ceremony to be held on 1 April in Washington DC. As the result, I acquired some interesting images of them. Some are photographs of the original W.W.II era flags, others are post war manufactured nylon reproductions, presumably copies of the original and still others take the form of embroidered patched, also presumable copied from the original flags. Note how the different boats tallied their service records and accomplishments.
James J. Ferrigan III, 22 January 2000

The Navy Museum in Washington has several of these flags hanging in the submarine exhibit, including one new one for the USS Louisville. The victory emblem on that one is a Tomahawk missile emblazoned across the Iraqi flag, representing Louisville's firing of the first submarine-launched Tomahawk during Operation Desert Storm.

The little Japanese flags sewed to the cloth stand for naval victories. The difference between the national flag and the war ensign is to distinguish between merchant vessels and warships sunk by the submarine.

Joe McMillan and Antonio Martins, 24 January 2000