Socialist Yugoslavia: Naval flags (1949-1956)

Part 1

Last modified: 2013-06-22 by ivan sache
Keywords: star (red) | president | naval ensign | masthead pennant | people's defense ensign | honour naval ensign |
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• The Law on the naval flags
• Naval ensign
• Honour naval ensign
• Masthead pennant
• People's Defense Ensign
• Flag of the President of the Republic

See also:

• Socialist Yugoslavia
• Socialist Yugoslavia: Naval flags (1956-1991)

The Law on the naval flags

The naval ensign and a whole set of naval flags were established in 1949 by the Law on the naval flags of FPRY (Zakon o vojno-pomorskim zastavama FNRJ), voted on 6 June 1949 and published in the Yugoslav official gazette Službeni list FNRJ, 50/49, on 11 June 1949.

Those flags closely followed the Soviet model of the time. However, except for the naval ensign, those were soon (1956) replaced with the more traditional Yugoslav model, based on the royal navy flags used before the Second World War.

Željko Heimer, 15 October 2003

Naval ensign

Naval ensign - Image by Željko Heimer, 15 October 2003

The naval ensign is a red flag with the national tricolour flag in the canton fimbriated with a white line. In the middle of the tricolour flag is set a yellow-bordered red five-pointed star within a yellow-golden wreath.

Source: Symbol und Wirtschaft [suw50i]

Željko Heimer, 15 October 2003

Honour naval ensign

Honour naval ensign - Image by Željko Heimer, 15 October 2003

The honour naval ensign was a special ensign granted to a warship, as a tribute of her valour (in combat, I guess). The national tricolour flag in the canton was charged with the coat of arms of Yugoslavia. The artistic style of the coat of arms seems to be the one used at the end of the Second World. The new artistic style of the coat of arms was introduced at about the same time. The only available image of this ensign is from Symbol und Wirtschaft [suw50i], which shows the pre-1946 style coat of arms, maybe a "simplification" made by the editors of the book, since the new coat of arms might have already came into use.

Željko Heimer, 15 October 2003

Masthead pennant

Masthead pennant - Image by Željko Heimer, 15 October 2003

The masthead pennant was a red long triangular pennant with the tricolour tassel at the fly and at the hoist the national tricolour flag with the star within a wreath as in the naval ensign. Symbol und Wirtschaft [suw50i] shows the pennant to be triangular while the 1956 version was rectangular until the half length and then ending triangulary. Whether that is a slight imprecision of the source or the 1949 pennant was indeed different from the latter version is not clear.

Željko Heimer, 15 October 2003

People's Defense ensign

People's Defense ensign - Image by Željko Heimer, 15 October 2003

The ships and boats belonging to the People's Defense used a red flag with a triangular hoist made of the Yugoslav tricolour flag with a five-pointed red star in the white stripe. In practice this ensign was used mostly by the ships of the border guard, and was soon to be renamed appropriately. The ensign was named in the legislation Zastava brodova narodne obrane FNRJ, in 1956 the text talks about Zastava brodova graniznih jedinica without substantial change in the design.

Source: Pomorska enciklopedija VII: Zastava, Jugoslavenski leksikografski zavod, Zagreb, 1964.

Željko Heimer, 15 October 2003

Flag of the President of the Republic

Flag of the President of the Republic - Image by Željko Heimer, 15 October 2003

The flag for the President of the Republic as the supreme commander, named in the texts Zastava vrhovnog komandanta, was the naval ensign with a border of alternate red and yellow triangles ("wolf teeth") and in each corner a yellow square containing a red five-pointed stars. It was replaced in 1956 by a more traditional design.

Source: Pomorska enciklopedija VII: Zastava, Jugoslavenski leksikografski zavod, Zagreb, 1964.

Željko Heimer, 15 October 2003