Ship flags. Flags of the sea

“Raised on a ship of the Navy, the National flag of the country is a symbol of state sovereignty, and the Naval flag is the battle flag of the ship,” we read in the Ship's Charter. How did this remarkable and, perhaps, the most important naval tradition, long established by the charter, have been born in the Russian fleet - to raise and carry the State and Naval flags, as well as a number of other flags?

On any ship of the Navy there is always a set of a wide variety of flags. Each of them rises to the mast under specific, precisely regulated circumstances and at clearly defined places, having a strictly defined value. All these flags have not only their own form and colors, but, of course, their own history.

Ship's flags appeared a long time ago - their inception began in the very early stages of shipbuilding and navigation.

The frescoes and bas-reliefs of ancient Egypt preserved for posterity the image of ship flags that existed in the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries. BC. Over the years, the decoration of ships with flags has become a tradition.

The ship banners of those ancient times were panels of various sizes, shapes, patterns and colors. In the hoary antiquity they served as distinctive external signs, symbols of the economic power of the ship owner. The richer he was, the more luxuriously he decorated his ship with flags, the more expensive was the fabric from which they were sewn. In the middle of the XIV century, for example, it was considered special chic to raise a giant-sized flag on a ship. For example, the Duke of Orleans (from 1498 to 1515 he was king of France Louis XII), who commanded the fleet in 1494, had a personal standard 25 meters long, made of yellow and red taffeta. On both sides of this flag the Mother of God was depicted against a background of a silver cloud. His painting was produced by court painter Burdinson. In 1520, on the flagship of the English King Henry VIII, pennants and flags (and sails) were embroidered with gold. On the ships of that time there were a great many flags. Sometimes their number reached a dozen and a half. They were installed on the masts, on the stern, bow and even side flagpoles. Apparently, it was considered prestigious to hang the ship from all sides with expensive bright flags. Only it was hardly convenient for the crew — for example, onboard flagpoles were very difficult to control the sails, and numerous large flags created additional, undesirable, and even dangerous, sailing. Apparently, therefore, over time, only three places were assigned for them on the ship: bow, stern and masts. Here they began to raise the flags, according to which, during the battles, the crews distinguished their ships from strangers, as well as the seat of admirals, squadron commanders or flagships, who had their own personal flags.

With the development of warfare at sea, flagship, admiral, and captain flags appeared, and later flags that signify avant-garde, corpsy battalion, and rearguard (units of battle formation in which ships fought). Special flags noted the presence on board a significant official.

The crew has long had signal flags, each of which had a letter or special meaning. By dialing in two, three or four signal flags raised on a notepad, it was possible to transmit in encrypted form almost any order, command or message, regardless of the language spoken by the correspondents.

Today, as a rule, most signal flags have the shape of a rectangle, but there are also triangular flags, as well as long narrow flags with two acute-angled "braids".

Nowadays, most of the ship's flags are sewn of special lightweight woolen fabric - the so-called flag-dust.

With the formation of sovereign national states, national flags also appeared, and ships leaving the borders of their own power should have had a flag by which the ship’s “nationality” was determined. When regular military fleets appeared, the flag began to distinguish not only the nationality, but also the purpose of the ship - military or commercial.

As in other countries, in Russia ship flags appeared long before the formation of a centralized state. The ancient Greek chroniclers noted that even in the maritime campaigns of the Eastern Slavs against Constantinople, the boats of the Rus, as a rule, had two flags: one rectangular and the other with an angle cut out on the outside, that is, with braids. Such flags later became an indispensable attribute of the “gulls” and planes, on which the Zaporozhye and Don Cossacks made brave sea trips through the Black Sea to Sinop, Bosphorus, Trabzon and other Turkish cities.

Nevertheless, the true beginning of the history of the Russian ship's flag should be associated with the construction of the first Russian warship “Eagle”.

The “Eagle” was launched in 1668. When the construction of the ship came to an end, the Dutch engineer O. Butler, under whose leadership the work on the stocks went, turned to the Boyar Duma with the request: “... to ask a command from His Royal Majesty: what, as is the custom of other states, to raise the flag on the ship”.The palace order to this replied that in the practice of such circumstances did not happen, and the Armory “Builds banners, banners and ensigns for military units and the governor, but what about the ship’s banner? The king ordered to ask him, Butler, what is the custom in his country. ”  Butler replied that in their country they take Kindyak matter - scarlet, white and blue, sew stripes and such a flag serves them to designate their Dutch nationality. Then, in the council with the Boyar Duma, the king ordered on the new ship “Eagle” to raise a white-blue-red flag with a double-headed eagle sewn on it. Prince Alexander Putyatin in his article “On the Russian National Flag,” writes that this was the first Russian national flag. However, some researchers are inclined to consider the appearance of the first Russian ship flag not only the first national maritime flag, but also the first ship standard. How did the concept of “standard” come into being?

Around the first quarter of the XVI century. in the heavy noble cavalry of the Western European armies a square, sometimes triangular flag appeared with a smaller size than the standard flag. This flag was called the standard .   The shaft of the standard had a special device of belts for the rider to securely hold it and attach it to the stirrup. The standard in the cavalry company (squadron) was carried by a specially appointed cornet officer. Each standard had a specific color and pattern and served to indicate the place of collection and location of one or another cavalry unit. Around the same time, the standard appeared in the fleets as the flag of the head of state (emperor, king), raised on the mainmast of the ship in case of being on board of these persons. First, to emphasize the greatness and power of the monarchs, standards were made of expensive brocade fabrics, embroidered with gold and silver, decorated with precious stones. In the middle of the XVI century. on the standards appear the emblems of states, symbolizing state power.

Presumably in 1699, Peter I legitimized the new royal standard - a yellow rectangular cloth with a black double-headed eagle in the middle and with white maps of the Caspian, Azov and White seas in the keys and in one of the paws. When our troops took the Nyenskans Fortress and the path to the Baltic Sea was opened, a map of the Baltic Sea appeared on the royal standard.

Where did the double-headed eagle come to Russia, then appearing on the standard? Prince Putyatin in the work already cited by us explains the emergence and history of the State Emblem in the form of a two-headed eagle.

“Russia of ancient times did not know the science of heraldry, - the author writes, - brilliantly developed in the West in the Middle Ages. But symbolic, tribal and personal signs have been known in Russia for a long time. Since the time of Ivan Kalita, the state seal is an image of a rider with a spear, often accompanied by the inscription: “The Prince the Great with a spear in the hand”. After the Kulikovo battle under the rider, they began to depict the serpent as a symbol of “the defeat of the prince of basurmansk force”

In 1472, in the history of Russia, a significant event took place — the marriage of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III with Sophia Paleolog, the niece of the last emperor of Byzantium, Constantine XI. This contributed to the proclamation of the Russian state as the successor of the Byzantine Empire. On the rights of succession to Russia, the Byzantine coat of arms came - a double-headed eagle. It is known that from 1497 the seal of Ivan III was modified - an image of a two-headed eagle appeared on it. Thus, the eagle from Byzantium was not borrowed, but was a logical continuation of the inheritance of the Grand Duke of Moscow by the title of governor of Byzantium.

At about the same time, in commemoration of the overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in 1480, the first monumental image of the two-headed eagle was hoisted on the spire of the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin. On the other towers (Nikolskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya) the coat of arms was established later.

The best forces were attracted to perfecting the coat of arms. For example, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich invited from Austria such a major master of decorative and applied art as the Slav Lavrenty Kurelich (Khurelich), called “Holy Roman state herald”,  who built the Russian state emblem: a black eagle with raised wings on a yellow field with a white rider in the middle shield. On the wings were also scattered cartouches with the symbolic symbols of the regions. The national emblem of Russia, and later of the Russian Empire, was finally formed in the 17th century. In subsequent years, until 1917, it remained almost unchanged, only some of its details changed.

In the Russian Empire at the beginning of the XX century. There were three state emblems: large, medium and small.

The basis of all the coats of arms consisted of images of the state black double-headed eagle, crowned with three crowns, holding in its paws signs of state power - the scepter and orb. On the chest of the eagle is the Moscow coat of arms with the image of St. George the Victorious striking the dragon. The coat of arms is entwined with the chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First Called. On the wings of the eagle and around it are the coats of arms of the kingdoms, grand principalities and lands that were part of the Russian state.

On the big coat of arms there are also images of saints Michael and Gabriel, the imperial canopy, studded with eagles and planted with an ermine, with the inscription "God with us".  Above it is a state banner with an eight-pointed cross on a pole.

The state emblem was missing on the middle emblem: and part of the local emblems. On the small coat of arms, in addition, there were no images of saints, as well as the imperial canopy and the patrimonial coat of arms of the emperor. Sometimes the small emblem or simply the emblem was called the state eagle, which has on its wings the emblems of kingdoms and the grand duchy of Finland. The purpose of each of the coats of arms was regulated by a special provision. Thus, the large State Emblem was depicted on the large State Press, which was applied to state laws and regulations governing statutes, statutes of orders, manifestos, diplomas and certificates for princely and county dignity, patents for the title of consul, etc.

The average State Emblem was depicted on the average State press, which was attached to letters of authority on the rights and privileges of cities, diplomas of baronial and noble dignity, letters of ratification, etc.

A small coat of arms on a small seal was applied to patents for rank, letters of award of land, letters of monasteries. The small coat of arms was also depicted on banknotes issued by the state.

On the ship's standard portrayed a large coat of arms. So he survived until the October Revolution.

After the February Revolution of 1917, the Provisional Government did not develop a new coat of arms. It only slightly changed the old coat of arms. The double-headed eagle lost all its crowns, signs of imperial power, the coats of arms of the grand principalities were removed from its wings and chest, the ends of the wings were lowered down, and under the eagle the building of the Tauride Palace, where the State Duma sat.

Subsequent events unfolded in such a way that our Fatherland was deprived of its historical relics. Having a long history, the Russian coat of arms was replaced by the coat of arms of the RSFSR, which was based on the image of the globe and the emblem of labor - crossed sickle and hammer. With some changes this emblem exists now. The opinion is expressed on the need to approve a new emblem, the basis of which is again the double-headed eagle.

Such is the story of the standard and the State Emblem; as they say, everything comes back to normal. But what about the naval flag?

The history of the Russian Naval Flag is little known. Back in 1863, the chronicler of the Russian Navy, S.I. Elagin: “The few informations that have been made public about our flags, without yet presenting a precise concept of their original form and meaning, or of the time of introduction, however, managed to carry out several incorrect data.”  It is not surprising that, until now, on many issues, researchers of the history of the Russian flag have not come to a common opinion. For example, today there are different opinions about what were the flags raised on the "Eagle". However, based on some sources, we can assume that its colors, as already mentioned, were white, blue and red. This is confirmed by documents related to the construction of the ship, among which is preserved and this: “The painting that still needs to be the ship's structure, oprich what is now purchased overseas.”  In this “List” it is indicated exactly how much kindyak is required for flags and pennant. As for the colors of these flags, they, most likely, reflected the colors that had long been on the Moscow coat of arms. On the red field there was depicted St. George in a blue mantle on a white horse. In this regard, white, blue and red already become the state combination under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

The author of the famous “Sketches of Russian Maritime History” F.F. Veselago believes that until 1700 our naval flag was made of three bands - white, blue and red. “From the colors of the fabrics used on the flags of the Eagle ship, and from the fact that when they were armed with the main controllers were the Dutch, it can be more likely to assume that the then flag in imitation of the Dutch consisted of three horizontal bands: white, blue and red, located, to distinguish it from the Dutch flag, in a different order. The same three-lane, white-blue-red was obviously the pennant. ”  There is evidence of this - documents indicating that the king ordered to sew three-strip white-blue-red flags for his son Peter.

Further, Veselago expresses the opinion that the flag was exclusively Naval and only since 1705 became the special flag of Russian merchant ships. But another well-known fleet historian, PI, does not agree with his arguments. Belavenets. In his work “The Colors of the Russian State National Flag,” he refers to the famous engraving “The Taking of the Fortress of Azov. 1696 ”, where artist A. Shhonebek depicted flags in the form of a cross dividing their field into four parts.

Thus, if the majority of historians agree in the set of colors of the first Russian Naval Flag (white, blue, red), then there is no consensus about his drawing. We still think that the version of F.F. Veselago is closest to the truth.

Under such a tricolor flag from three lanes in 1688, Peter sailed on his boat, the “grandfather of the Russian fleet,” a similar flag fluttered on the amusing ships of Plescheev Lake in 1692 and on the ships of the Azov fleet in 1696. apparently became a prototype flag with a double-headed eagle in the middle, named in 1693 "The flag of the king of Moscow".

It is known that for the first time he was raised as a standard on August 6, 1693 by Peter 1 himself on the 12-gun yacht “Saint Peter” while sailing in the White Sea with a detachment of military vessels built in Arkhangelsk. This is mentioned by P.I. Belavenets in his work “Do we need a fleet and its significance in the history of Russia”. In 1699-1700 the design of Peter the Great Standard was changed: departing from the traditional Russian colors, Peter I decided to choose a yellow rectangular panel with a black double-headed eagle in the middle. The development of state shipbuilding in Russia and the creation of a large regular fleet necessitated a single flag for all warships. In 1699, Peter I, having tried a number of flag options for warships operating for a short time, introduced a new, so-called St. Andrew’s Naval flag of the transitional pattern: the rays of a blue diagonal cross rested on the corners of a rectangular three-strip white-blue-red cloth.

The St. Andrew's Cross, apparently, passed to the Naval flag as one of the most characteristic elements of the first order of Russia, established by Peter I at the very end of the 17th century, the Order of St. Andrew the First Called. According to Christian tradition, sv. Andrew was crucified on a diagonal cross. The choice of St. Andrew’s cross as the emblem for the flag and pennant Peter I explained by the fact that “From this apostle Russia took holy baptism”.

In 1700, Peter separated the sailing fleet from the rowing (galley) fleet and divided it into three general squadrons - the corpsy battalion (main forces), the vanguard and the rear guard. At the same time, stern flags were introduced for the ships of these three squadrons: white, blue and red with a blue St. Andrew’s cross, respectively, on a white field in the upper left corner of the flag (at the cable luff).

With the introduction of the rank of admiral in 1706, the aft flag of the squadron, raised on the mainmouth (on the mainmouth of the mainmouth), meant that the admiral was on board. If he was raised on the fore-steengue (on the fore-mast's steenge), then the vice-admiral was present on the ship, and if he was on the cruise-steedge (on the steenge of his mizzen-mast) - the rear admiral (Shautbenaht). Such flags received the names of the flags of the first, second and third admirals. In 1710 a new forage flag pattern was established. In the center of the new flag on the white field, the St Andrew's cross was still located, but its ends did not reach the edges of the cloth, and it seemed that it was hanging in the air, not touching the flag itself. Under this flag, the first battleship of the Baltic Fleet “Poltava” began its voyage. In 1712 a blue cross on a white field of the St. Andrew’s flag was brought to the edge of the cloth. Such a drawing of the flag of St. Andrew existed unchanged until the October Revolution.

After the October Revolution, all the symbolism of the former Russian imperial fleet was canceled.

On November 18, 1917, the sailors, meeting at the first All-Russian Congress of the Navy, adopted a resolution: “To raise the flag of the International instead of the St. Andrew’s flag on all vessels of the All-Russian Navy as a sign that the entire Russian navy, as one person, stood up to defend democracy by the Soviets of workers, soldiers and peasants’s deputies.”It was a red panel without emblems and inscriptions.

On April 14, 1918, the National Flag of the RSFSR was established by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee - a red rectangular banner with the inscription: “Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic”. And on April 20, order No. 320 for the fleet and the Navy Department on the Soviet ships introduced a red flag with the abbreviation RSFSR, written in large white letters in the middle of the cloth. The second post-revolutionary Naval flag was approved by the people's commissars for maritime affairs and foreign affairs of the RSFSR on May 24, 1918 and legalized by the Constitution of the RSFSR adopted on July 10, 1918. The red (aloe) panel with a width-length ratio in the upper left the corner of the inscription "RSFSR", made a stylized Slavic script golden brown.

On September 29, 1920, the Soviet government approved the new design of the Naval Flag. This time he had two plaits, and in the middle of the red cloth was a large blue admiralty anchor, on the spindle of which there was a red five-pointed star on a white lining. Inside the stars, blue sickle and hammer crossed, and the inscription “RSFSR” was on the armature rod.

On August 24, 1923, another Naval flag was introduced. On it in the middle of the red field was a white circle with eight white rays, diverging in all directions from the center to the edges of the cloth. In a white circle there was a red five-pointed star with white crossed sickle and a hammer. And on November 23, 1926 a special flag was established, which was awarded to ships or formations for special differences. He was called Honorary Revolutionary Naval Flagand differed from the usual presence of the Order of the Red Banner on a white field in the upper left corner. The honorary revolutionary naval flag was made of silk and handed over to the ship ”in a solemn atmosphere at the same time as the Order of the Red Banner and a special diploma of the CEC and SNK of the USSR. The first such award in connection with the decade of the revolution was the decision of the CEC of the USSR of November 2, 1927 to receive the cruiser Aurora ”.

The ships and formations awarded with this flag became known as the Red Banner. In February 1928, the Baltic Fleet was awarded the Honorary Revolutionary Naval Flag.

On May 27, 1935, by the resolution of the CEC and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the designs and colors of the new flags of the Navy ships and officials were approved. Almost all of them survived until January 1992. The same decree altered the design of the Honorary Revolutionary Naval Flag of the USSR, which became known as the Red Banner Naval Flag of the USSR.

The naval flag of the new sample was a white rectangular panel, in the left half of which a red five-pointed star is depicted, and in the right half - crossed red sickle and hammer. Along the bottom edge of the cloth - blue border. The Red Banner Naval Flag was different from the usual one in that the star depicted on it was overlaid by an image of the Order of the Red Banner.

On June 19, 1942, by order of the People's Commissar of the USSR Navy, the Guards Naval Flag of the USSR was established — it was handed to the ship at the same time as conferring the title of Guards for special distinctions. The Guards flag over the blue border additionally depicts the Guards Ribbon, consisting of three black and two orange stripes.

On January 17, 1992, the Russian government found it expedient to change the naval symbolism. On July 26 of the same year, on the Day of the Navy, the warships of the former Soviet Navy were raised for the last time with the Naval flag, covered with the glory of the fiery years of the Great Patriotic War. Under the sounds of the Soviet anthem, the flags were then lowered and handed over to the ship commanders for eternal storage. Instead of them, now accompanied by the anthem of the Russian Federation, historical St. Andrew’s flags and guys, introduced by Peter I, were raised.

Every day at a certain time, regardless of the time of sunrise, all warships and auxiliary ships of the Navy, which are parked (at anchor, barrel, or moorings), are raised on the stern flagpole, and with the setting of the sun the Naval flag is lowered. Along with the flag, while cruising on ships of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd ranks, the guis descends and ascends.

While at sea, on the move, the ships carry the flag on the gaff and do not lower it day or night. And what if the ship goes to sea at night, after sunset, when the flag is lowered? Then the flag is raised on the gaff at the moment of transition from the position “at anchor” to the position “on the move”. Upon entering the base after sunset, the flag descends as soon as the ship anchors (barrel or mooring lines). “In the period from the ascent to the descent of the flag, -  written in the Ship's Charter, - all the servicemen at the entrance (descent) to the ship (from the ship) salute the Navy flag ”.

The ship charter also clearly defines the order of raising, descent and delivery of the Naval flag on warships and auxiliary ships of the fleet.

Every day at eight in the morning local time, and on Sundays and public holidays an hour later on all the ships of the Navy raise the Naval flag. Both the ascent and the descent of the flag are accompanied by a certain ritual, regulated by the Ship's charter. For the first time the procedure of this ritual was set forth in 1720 in the Peter the Great Sea Charter:

“... In the morning, first of all I must shoot from the cannon and guns, then play on all the ships march, beat the march, raise the flag, and play the standard zoru and raise the flag ... At whatever time the flag is raised and lowered, it is always necessary, both when raising and lowering it, to beat the drum and play a march on drums. ” Similarly, the ritual was performed. evening “Dawns”, when the flags went down.

Over the centuries-old history of the Russian fleet, this ritual has undergone many changes. For example, as described by the marine writer Leonid Sobolev the final part: the flag raising ceremony in the novel “Overhaul”: “... silent and fast, asking for permission to turn the watchman to the commander, allowing the commander's fingers to touch the cap of the visor - and the silence of the Russian Imperial Navy ended:“ To raise the flag and the guys! ”At the same time, silence broke.
  Bell ringing flasks. Harsh fanfare horns, picked up on purpose almost to the tone. Knocking oars flying up above the boats vertically. The whistle of all non-commissioned officers. Fluttering ribbons caps, torn at the same time with thousands of heads. Double dry crackling rifles, taken to guard: oh, two! The flag slowly rises to the klotik, playing with folds ... Then the established melody of the horns and the air in the non-commissioned officers lungs run out. The flag reaches “the place” in silence. ... The horns screamed short and high, and the fleet enchanted with silence and immobility immediately revived. The caps flew up on their heads, the guards took “to the foot”, turned, raised their rifles and disappeared into the hatches. ”

And nowadays, the procedure of raising the flag is much like the description of Sobolev.

15 minutes before the flag was raised on the orders of the watch officer, the bugler plays a signal “Agenda”.  At 7 hours 55 minutes, he sends signalmen to the flag and huys of the flag, and then reports to the commander: “After five minutes, raising the flag.”Gornist plays “Big collection”.  The crew lined up on the upper deck. Only in cases when the ship is on alert or is preparing for a cruise, the crew is not built according to the “Big collection”. However, even then everyone on the upper deck, on command, becomes their back to the board of the ship. The commander of the ship rises to the top and greets the personnel. When a minute remains before the flag is raised, the watch officer commands: “On the flag and the guis, attention!”  Then the command sounds: “Raise the flag and the guis!”  The miners are playing a signal “Raise the flag”,  and all on the upper deck and nearby piers turn their heads toward the flag, which is slowly lifted by signalmen in expanded form. Officers, warrant officers and chief ship foremen apply a hand to the headgear. The rowers of the boats, located near the ship (if the situation allows), “dry the oars”, their foremen also put their hands on the headdress. This is how the daily flag hoisting takes place.

There is a solemn flag raising on ships. In this case, the crew lined up on the deck of the “Big collection” in a ceremonial dress or ceremonial dress uniform. Simultaneously with the flag and Huys, the flag flags and the colorization flags are raised, and the orchestra performs the “March March” at this time. At the moment when the Naval flag rises “to the place”, the National Anthem is played. The days and special occasions when a solemn flag-raising takes place on the Navy ships are determined by the Ship's charter. One of these days is the day of the ship’s entry into service. The fleet commander or the person appointed by him (as a rule, the admiral), arriving on the ship, in a solemn ceremony announces the order for the ship to enter service. Then the captain is given the Naval flag and the order. He carries the flag on his hands in front of the entire crew, and then fastens it to the halyard for lifting on the aft flagpole or on the gaff, and at the command of the eldest of the officers on board, he personally raises “to the spot”. At the same time raise the huys, steng flags and flags of colorization. In this case, the orchestra plays the National Anthem, and the crew welcomes the raised flag with a loud drawl “Hurray!”.

Guarding the ship’s banner in battle became sacred for every sailor. “All warships are Russian, -  read the Petrovsky Sea Regulations, - not must not lower the flag before anyone. ”  In our today's Naval Ship Charter, it says so: “The ships of the Navy under no circumstances let down their flag before the enemy, preferring to surrender to the surrender to the enemy.”

When anchored, the flag is guarded by a specially appointed sentry, and during the battle, when the flags are raised on gaffs and the mastheads, they are guarded by all crew members who take part in battle. If the flag is shot down during a battle, it will immediately be replaced by another, so that the enemy cannot assume that the flag on the ship has been lowered. This maritime custom was also reflected in the Navy Ship Charter. “Protection of the State and Naval flags in battle is the honorable duty of the entire crew of the ship,” it is said  in this document - if the State or Naval flag is shot down in combat, it must be immediately replaced by another. If circumstances do not allow us to raise a spare flag at a fixed place, it will be raised on the emergency flagpole, reinforced anywhere in the ship. ”

The history of the Russian fleet is rich in examples of courage and heroism of Russian sailors. In 1806, in the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Dalmatia, the Russian brig “Alexander” was attacked by five French ships that attempted to seize it. Before the start of the battle, the commander of the brig, Lieutenant I. Skalovsky, addressed the crew: “Remember: we Russians are here not to count enemies, but to beat them. We will fight to the last man, but we will not give up. I am sure the crew of “Alexander” will hold high the honor of the fleet! ”An unequal battle lasted several hours. Three times the French tried unsuccessfully to take the “Alexander” to the boarding. In a fierce battle, the two enemy ships were destroyed by artillery fire, the third lowered the flag and surrendered, the other two fled ignominiously.

On May 14, 1829, the 18-gun brig Mercury, cruising off the coast of the Bosporus, overtook two Turkish battleships, who had a total of 184 guns on board. The Turks suggested “Mercury” to lower the flag, but the crew of the brig unanimously approved the decision of the commander of captain-lieutenant A.I. Kazarsky to join the battle, and under the threat of capture - to blow up the ship. With skilful maneuvering, the Khazar all the time set his brig so as to make the aimed fire difficult for the enemy. Nevertheless, “Mercury” received more than three hundred injuries. However, the “Mercury” itself managed to damage the spars and rigging of enemy battleships with accurate fire and force them to drift. For this combat feat “Mercury” was awarded the St. George stern flag.

The heroic feat of the cruiser “Varyag” and the gunboat “Koreyets” forever entered the history of our fleet. The beginning of the war with Japan caught these Russian ships on the roadstead of the Korean port of Chemulpo. They tried to break through to Port Arthur, but when they left the bay they were met by a Japanese squadron of six cruisers, eight squadron destroyers and several other ships. On the offer to surrender Russian ships refused and took the fight. From enemy artillery fire, three enemy cruisers were seriously damaged, one destroyer was sunk. But the Varyag also received several underwater holes through which the water came. The ship tilted to the left side, a strong heel did not allow to fire with serviceable guns. The crew of the cruiser suffered heavy losses, the captain of the 1st rank VF was wounded. Rudnev. The blockade of the Japanese ships failed to break through, and our ships were forced to return to the Chemulpo raid. Here, on the orders of the commander of the Varyag, the Koreyian was blown up. Kingston was opened on the cruiser, and he sank without releasing the flag.

In St. Petersburg, on the Petrograd side, a bronze monument is erected - two sailors open the Kingston, flooding their ship. This happened on February 26, 1904, when the “destroyer” destroyer was attacked by superior Japanese forces. The commander of the destroyer, Lieutenant A.S. Sergeyev, having entered an unequal battle, damaged two of the four enemy destroyers who attacked him. But the “guardian” himself lost his turn, almost all of his crew and commander died.

The Japanese offered to surrender - the new shots were the answer to the enemy. To prevent the flag from being knocked down, it was nailed to the gaff. The “guardian” fired to the last shell, and when the Japanese sent the boat to bring the towing end to the Russian torpedo boat, only a few wounded sailors survived. Quartermaster machine I. Bukharev and sailor V. Novikov opened the Kingston and went into the abyss with his native ship.

During the Great Patriotic War, Soviet sailors also faithfully fulfilled the requirements of the Ship Charter - under no circumstances should they lower the flag to the enemy, preferring death to surrender to the enemy.

August 10, 1941 in an unequal battle with the fascist destroyers on the patrol ship “Fog” flagpole was shot down. Wounded sailor Konstantin Semenov rushed to the flag and raised it high above his head, but was again wounded by a fragment of an enemy shell and fell to the deck. A radio operator Konstantin Blinov came to the aid of Semenov. Under the fire of the enemy, they raised the Naval flag. Without lowering the flag, “Fog” disappeared under the water.

A similar feat on the squadron destroyer “Savvychny” was accomplished in battle by sailor Ivan Zagurenko. This happened in May 1942 when the ship returned to Novorossiysk from besieged Sevastopol. The destroyer attacked the fascist torpedo bombers and bombers. Fragments of the bomb, which exploded near the board, broke the flagline, and the banner of the ship's flag slowly slid down. Zagurenko climbed the mast to the gaff, picked up the Naval flag and raised it over his head. The sailor kept him until the end of the battle, and not a single bullet, not a single fragment had touched the brave man.

On August 25, 1942, armed with just a few small cannons, the icebreaker “Alexander Sibiryakov” was overtaken in the Kara Sea by the fascist heavy cruiser “Admiral Scheer”. Without hesitating an easy victory, the Nazis raised the signal: “Drop the flag, surrender!” The answer came immediately: the National Flag hoisted on the fore-steengue, and immediately hit two 76-mm and two 45-mm steamer guns. It was so unexpected for the fascists that at first they were confused. The German raider was silent for several minutes, and then the guns of his main caliber rumbled at once. The commander of “Sibiryakov”, Senior Lieutenant Anatoly Kacharava skillfully maneuvered, fired back, avoiding direct hits. But the forces were too unequal. The projectile behind the projectile with a deafening roar burst in the superstructures, they pierced through the side of the superstructure, were torn on the deck. Until the last minutes, “Sibiryakov” fired back. In an unequal battle the ship was killed, but did not lower the flag in front of the enemy.

Many such examples, when the sailors died along with the flag of the ship raised on the masts, gave us past wars.

In addition to the naval flag, which we described, there are two more flags that play an important role in the life of the ship and its crew.

If according to its technical condition and the level of preparedness of the crew, the ship is able to successfully accomplish its combat missions, the pennant rises on the main-steengue (with one mast on the fore-steengue). This means that the ship is in the campaign and, until its completion, it will not lower the pennant day or night.

The appearance of long and narrow flags - ship's pennants, - more likely resembling a colored ribbon winding among the mast and rigging, goes into the distant past of the fleet. Once such narrow strips of fabric attached to the tops of the masts, and even on the cables, served as the simplest device for determining the direction and strength of the wind.

A completely different purpose, not connected with the practical needs of navigation, received pennants already in the times of the sailing fleet. The purpose of the pennant was that it served to distinguish a warship from a merchant ship, especially in those countries where the naval and trade flags were the same. Pennants rose on the main-bram-steng of all warships, except the flagships. It was a narrow cloth up to ten meters long, 10-15 centimeters wide.

Pennants of the first Russian warships were tricolor, white-blue-red, with two braids. In 1700, Peter I established a new pennant: a blue Andrew's cross was placed on a white-footed lumber on a white field, then two white-blue-red braids went on. Later, in accordance with the colors of the flags in the divisions, white pennants were installed for the first division, blue ones for the second division and red ones for the third division. From 1865, Russian ships began to wear a single white pennant, except for ships awarded the St. George flag, which carried the corresponding pennant.

Warships of the USSR Navy wore a pennant, which is a narrow red cloth with braids, having in the “head” an image of the Navy. In addition to the usual narrow ("ordinary") ship pennants, the fleet also adopted broad (so-called breyd-pennants) assigned to the commanders of warship detachments that have a rank lower than the rear admiral. According to the drawing, a braid pennant is no different from a regular pennant. The color of the braids-pennant's braids depends on the position of the chief to whom he has been assigned, namely: the commander of the brigade of the ships is red, the commander of the division is blue.

Pennants also have merchant ships - these are triangular flags of various colors, sometimes with a pattern, letters or numbers indicating the ship’s belonging to a shipping company, a sports club, a trading company, etc. Such pennants climb the mainmast as they enter and exit the port. When parked at the port, the raising and lowering of such a pennant is carried out simultaneously with the raising and lowering of the National Flag.

On warships, the pennant is lowered only when the commander of the formation or other superior commanders, who have their own official flags, are visiting the ship. The pennant descends at the moment when the raised official flag reaches “the place”. He again rises with the departure of this person from the ship and with the descent of his official flag.

The presence of a pennant on a ship indicates its manning and combat readiness. There is even such an expression in the fleet: a squadron (or fleet) comprising so many pennants. The word “pennant” in this case means a naval ship that is ready for combat.

We have already mentioned that on modern large warships, when they are anchored, on a barrel or at the pier, a special flag-flag is raised on the bow flagpole.

In ancient times, at the bowsprit of warships, they constantly or temporarily raised the same flags as at the stern, only a few smaller sizes. On the ships of the Russian fleet, a special nasal (or bowsprit) flag, called the Huys, was introduced in 1700. The drawing of the first Russian Huys was quite complicated - three crosses with a single center lay on a red field: straight — white, oblique — also white and on it blue Andreevsky. From 1701 to 1720 he rose only in the coastal fortresses and only after the introduction of the Charter in 1720 began to rise on the bowsprit of warships. Until 1820, ships carried it not only in the parking lot, but also during navigation. Huys was always smaller than a stern flag.

Originally, the guis on the Russian ships was called geus, which in Dutch means the flag ,   and from 1720, the name of the "Guys" was legalized by the Peter the Great. The word is also Dutch (geuzen)  and comes from the French gueux-the poor. At the beginning of the Netherlands bourgeois revolution, the Spanish aristocracy called the Dutch nobles, who in 1565 opposed the Spanish king Philip II and his government, and then the partisan insurgents who fought against the Spaniards on land and sea, in the beginning of the Netherlands bourgeois revolution. The uprising of the Goths marked the beginning of the creation of the Netherlands Navy. Then, on the bowsprit of warships, they began to raise a special flag, repeating the colors of the coat of arms of the Prince of Orange, who led the Gotz uprising. The name “gez” or “geus” was soon attached to this flag.

Huyus, introduced by Peter I, remained in the Soviet Navy until August 28, 1924. The drawing of the new Huys was different from the old one in the middle of the white circle with a red five-pointed star with a white cross sickle and a hammer in its center. July 7, 1932 was approved by the new Guy. He represented a rectangular red cloth, in the middle of which in a white edging there is a red five-pointed star with a sickle and a hammer in its center.

Huys rises daily in the bow of the warships of the 1st and 2nd rank on a special huyshtok simultaneously with the raising of the stern flag. It also rises on the masts of coastal batteries or on the salute points of seaside fortresses in response salute to foreign warships. Huys, raised on the masts of seaside fortresses, is a serf flag. Whether the ship standard will be entered, time will tell.

  The order of signaling flags.

International Code of Signals.
  The International Code of Signals (MSS) is intended primarily for communication with foreign ships and vessels in an environment caused by the need to ensure the safety of navigation and the protection of human life at sea, especially in cases when there are language difficulties in communication. The code allows signal production by all means of communication, including a radiotelephone and radio telegraph. It is built on the principle that each signal has a complete semantic meaning. In some cases, digital extensions are used to expand the value of the main signal. As a rule, only one flag signal should be raised at a time. Each signal or group of signals must remain raised until a response appears on the receiving ship.

Call the ship.
  The call signs of the called vessel should be raised simultaneously with the signal on a separate file.
If the call signs are not raised, it means that the signal is addressed to all ships located within the visibility range of the signals. If it is impossible to establish the call sign of the vessel to which you need to send a signal, then you should first raise the VF signal - “You must raise your call sign” or CS - “What name or call sign of your vessel?”. At the same time, the transmitting vessel raises its call signs.
  Response to signals.
  All ships to which signals are addressed or which are indicated in the signals, as soon as they see them, should raise the “Response pennant” to half, and immediately after parsing the signal - to the place; The “response pennant” should be lowered to half as soon as the transmitting station lowers the signal, and raised again to the place after the next signal is parsed.
  The end of the exchange of signals.
  After the last flag signal has been lowered, the transmitting vessel must separately raise
  "Response pennant", indicating that this signal is the last. The receiving vessel must respond to this in the same way as all other flag signals.
  Actions if the signal is not clear.
  If the receiving ship cannot distinguish the signal transmitted for it, then it should keep the Response Pennant raised to half. If the signal is distinguishable, but its meaning is not clear, then the receiving vessel can raise the signal: ZQ - "Your signal seems to be encoded incorrectly. You should check and repeat the entire signal" or ZL - "Your signal is received, but not understood."

Use replacement pennants.
  The use of replacement pennants allows repeating the same alphabetic flag or numeric pennant one or several times in the same group, if the ship has a single set of flags. The first replacement pennant always repeats the topmost signal flag of the first signal combination; the second replacing one always repeats the second one, and the third replacing one - the third above the signal flag. A replacement pennant can never be used more than once in the same group. A “response pennant” when applied as a decimal point should not be taken into account when determining which surrogate to use.
  Spell.
  The names of the ships or geographical objects in the text of the flag signal should be given by the letters of the Latin alphabet. With non-military ships, the military can exchange messages on the International Code of Signals. In this case, the ship raises the red and white pennant of the International Code of Signals.

The signals of the vault, with the exception of showing the action of the ship, are transmitted flag
  alarm in the following order:
  - The flagship sends signals through the connection without the call sign of the addressee and the sender;
  these signals rehearse all the ships of the compound with flags;
  - A flagship sends signals to one ship or several ships only with the addressee’s call sign (s); these signals are rehearsed with flags by ships that are at the shortest distance between the sender and the addressee;
  - Ships of connection signals to one ship (including the flagship) or
  several ships are transmitted with the call sign of the addressee and the sender; these signals
  flags rehearse ships that are at the shortest distance between the sender and the addressee;
  - Connection ships, signals that are a report to the flagship and at the same time notification of the connection ships, are transmitted only with their call signs; these signals are rehearsed with flags by all the ships of the compound.

Signal rehearsal
  Rehearsing the signal flags is performed in the following sequence:
  - the sending ship raises the signal to the place;
  - ships rehearsing the signal raise it to half;
  - the destination ship raises the signal to the place; after that the ships rehearsing the signal
  lift him too to the place.
  The signal descends all the ships, following the actions of the flagship.
  The order of transmission of signals showing the actions of the ship.
  Signals showing the ship’s actions are transmitted without the sender’s call sign and not
  rehearsing.

Raise and descend flags colorization.
  With the ceremonial raising of the Russian Navy flag, stitched flags and colorization flags are raised. Steng flags rise on the stengs of all the masts; at the same time, the flags of officials raised on them should be located below the stingy flags. Flags of ships are painted between the masts of the mast and from the last to the stems of the ship. From the stem to the mast of the foremast, triangular flags are raised, between the mast mats — rectangular, from the mast, main-or mizzen mast to the stern pole — triangular and rectangular with kosits.

When coloring are not used:
  - State flag
  - flags of auxiliary vessels and ships of the border troops;
  - Huys;
  - flags and brand pennants of officials, pennant;
  - foreign national, military, trade flags and flags of officials;
  - flags of the signal set, having the same pattern with foreign national
flags; these flags currently include flags: B, K, H, R, X, C, E
  Executive, 3, 4, 7, 9.
  The set of flags for lifting during colorization should be made so that the raised flags or their individual signals do not form any phrases or words with their literal values. The colorization flags are raised on the files specially prepared for this purpose.

Original notes and comments on

Flag   - Distinguishing sign of the ship in the form of a regular geometric shape with a special coloring, which can determine the nationality, rank and purpose of the ship (ship), the task performed by the ship or perform special signaling functions.

Story

Many flags were created only for use at sea. The very first special signs of ship ownership were emblems drawn on the sails of a ship. Later there were coat of arms. Only from the XII-XIII centuries, sea flags were gradually introduced into use.

English flag with the cross of St. George.

During the period of the High Middle Ages there were almost no differences between merchant and military ships. In order to show what country they belong to, ships raised the flags of the ports of their registry. The first national maritime flags were: the English flag of white color with the cross of St. George, the blue Scottish flag with the cross of the holy Apostle Andrew the First Called, and the Danish national flag. In the Mediterranean, one of the first such flags was the Genoese flag depicting the cross of St. George and the Venetian flag with the lion of St. Mark.

St. Andrew's flag

On December 11, 1699, Emperor Peter the Great established the St. Andrew’s flag as the main banner of the Russian navy. The white cloth with the blue lines crossed across the diagonal was considered until 1917 and is now considered the main symbol of the honor and courage of domestic sailors.

The very name of the flag refers to the Christian origins. According to legend, the first disciple of Jesus Christ Andrew the First-Called, who is considered the patron of Russia, was crucified on a diagonal cross. Peter the Great, who personally worked on flag designs, drew two versions of the naval banner. On one there were three parallel stripes with an inscription of flowers, on the second - the St. Andrew's cross against the background of three horizontal stripes of white, blue and red. According to legend, while thinking about the flag, the emperor fell asleep. He woke up from the sun shining through the window and saw rays on a blank sheet of paper, refracted through mica in the form of two blue intersecting lines. Seeing this as an indication from above, Peter immediately sketched the final drawing of the flag. The tsar’s record on the sketch has been preserved: “The Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called Russia enlightened the Russian land with the light of Christ’s teaching”. The current final sample of the St. Andrew’s flag was introduced after 1710, before the emperor painted eight more variants, which were successively introduced in the navy.

Other nautical flags

Naval flag of Republican France.

In 1790, France on the white field of Guyce, added the kryzh, painted in republican colors. Similar flags in 1815 established Sweden and Sardinia, and in 1844 the colors of the flags of Sweden and Norway appeared on the Swedish flag. Another popular model of the military flag in the 18th and 19th centuries was the Dutch flag with horizontal stripes. From 1701 in Prussia a simple white flag with a coat of arms and a black cross was used. The Spanish maritime flag, adopted in 1785, was painted in coats of arms, the national emblem was placed in the middle of the cloth.

General situation

Military flags that differ from the national flag have a fleet of less than 40 countries of the world. In some cases, the military flag is similar to the state flag, but in other proportions. Sometimes in countries there are special sea flags for auxiliary ships: the Russian ones are flying under the dark blue flag with St. Andrew’s cross, and the Royal Navy uses the British blue stern flag, to which a yellow anchor is added.

617. The national flag of the Russian Federation is a symbol of the state sovereignty of the Russian Federation.

618. During the battle, and in view of the enemy, the ships raise the State Flag of the Russian Federation on the mainland, and on the stest of other masts, the Naval Flag assigned to the ship.

619. The national flag of the Russian Federation on the ship of the Navy rises only when the ship is anchored (barrel, mooring lines) on the grotto (on a submarine - on one of the retractable devices):

a) on public holidays of the Russian Federation;

b) when visiting by the President of the Russian Federation, the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Chairman of the Council of the Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation;

c) when giving state awards to ships (formation ships), on other holidays and memorable days in accordance with orders of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation commanding the fleet (flotilla);

If during national holidays of foreign states the ship is in their territorial sea or in internal waters, it raises the State flag of the Russian Federation in the manner prescribed by the Guidelines on Compliance with the Legal Regime of Maritime Spaces and Relationship with Foreign Ships and Authorities.

620. The naval flag hoisted on the ship of the Navy is the Battle Flag of the ship. It symbolizes the nationality and immunity of the ship floating under it, as well as the ship’s readiness to protect the state interests of the Russian Federation on the maritime and ocean boundaries.

The naval flag is a symbol of military honor, valor and glory, serves as a reminder to each crew member of the ship of the heroic traditions and the sacred duty of protecting the Fatherland.

621. The ships of the Navy, under any circumstances, do not lower their flag to the enemy, preferring death to surrender to the enemies of the Fatherland.

622. The protection of the State Flag of the Russian Federation and the Naval Flag in combat is the honorable duty of the entire crew of the ship.

The entire personnel of the ship is obliged to selflessly and courageously defend the State flag of the Russian Federation and the Naval flag in battle and prevent them from being captured by the enemy.

Direct observation of the state of the flag and its protection in battle are entrusted to persons specially appointed for this purpose by the alarm schedule.

623. If the National flag of the Russian Federation or the Naval flag is shot down in combat, it must be immediately replaced by another.

In order to ensure the replacement of a flag that was shot down in battle, spare flags should be prepared, which, as a rule, should be kept on the SCC. If circumstances do not allow to raise a spare flag at a fixed place, it is raised on the flagpole, in any place of the ship where it is possible.

624. Warships and special-purpose ships are assigned the Naval Flag.

Ships, awarded the name of the Guard, is assigned to the Guards Naval Flag.

Ships awarded with the Order of the Russian Federation are awarded the Order Naval Flag with the image of the Order awarded to the ship. Ships that have been awarded the name of the Guards and awarded the Order of the Russian Federation are awarded the Guards Order Naval Flag.

625. When converting a junction of ships into Guards, all ships of this junction carry the Guards Naval Flag.

When awarding the formation (association) of ships to the Order of the Russian Federation, the Order of the Naval flag is not assigned to the ships of this combination (association). Ships retired from the Guards formations are not worn by the Guards Naval Flag.

626. Naval and raid support ships of the Navy, designed to support the combat and daily activities of ships, units of coastal troops, aviation, naval bases and landfills, are assigned the flag of the ships of the Auxiliary Fleet of the Navy Navy, flag of search and rescue ships of the Navy.

The flags of the Navy Auxiliary Fleet (vessels), Navy hydrographic vessels (boats), the Navy search and rescue vessels (boats) are raised and lowered in accordance with the rules for raising and lowering the Navy flag set out in this chapter.

Naval and offshore support ships for warships, all boats (boats) of ships, fleet headquarters, flotillas, formations, formations and units of the Navy, training detachments, as well as naval schools, staffed by crews of military personnel, wear the Naval flag.

627. A naval flag is awarded to a ship on the basis of an order from the fleet commander (flotilla).

The naval flag on the ship is stopped to be raised on the basis of the order to exclude the ship from the Navy.

On ships (vessels) under repair or conservation, on which crews do not live, Naval flag, flag of vessels (boats) of the Auxiliary Fleet of the Navy, flag of hydrographic vessels (boats) of the Navy, flag of search and rescue vessels (boats) of the Navy rises.

Names and naval flags of ships that distinguished themselves in defending the state interests of the Russian Federation may be transferred to new ships accepted into the Navy.

The naval flag may not be lifted on sport courts, sport bases, or on buildings.

628. Huis, raised on a ship, means that the ship belongs to rank 1 or 2. Huys rises on the gwis-stock while the ship is anchored (barrel, mooring lines). Huis rises and descends simultaneously with the ascent and descent of the Naval Flag.

Huis also rises on the masts of coastal salute points in the production of salutes.

629. The pennant is worn on the grotto-stenga (on the fore-stenga — with one mast) of ships that have been given the naval flag and are in company. He rises and descends on the orders of the commander of the fleet (flotilla).

The pennant is worn constantly both day and night, in all weather, on the go and at anchor (barrels, mooring lines). It descends in the event that a flag or a pennant of an official is raised on the stags of one of the masts of the ship.

630. Flags of the highest officials of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, the Chief of the Main Staff of the Navy, as well as the flag of the fleet commander, go up to the main-tower (one-mast). The flags of the flotilla commander, squadron commander, and the formations of ships are raised on the fore-steengue.

Breyd-pennant commander of the connection of ships (ships) rises to the main-tavern (on the fore-tenge - with one mast).

Breid pennant senior in the raid rises under the flag of the official or under the pennant.

631. Flags of officials are raised and lowered by order of the commanders (chiefs) to whom they are assigned, on ships where these persons have an official seat.

With the raising of the official's flag on the ship, the flag of this commander (superior), raised on another ship, descends. With the rise of the flag of the senior commander on the ship, the flag of the junior superior raised on it goes down.

The commanders of the formations of the ships raise the flags or the pennants assigned to them only on the ships of their formation and on the ships attached to them.

632. Flags and braid-pennants of officials remain raised day and night, as well as during the short absence of these persons.

In peacetime at night, at flagship and on the move, the flagship, besides the official flag, carries flagship fire on the mainmast.

633. In official cases, when officials follow the boats (dinghies), the official flags assigned to them (breyd pennants) are raised on the bow flagpole or mast on their orders.

634. In solemn occasions, ships are painted with flags between the masts of the masts and from them to the stems.

Ships that, for technical reasons, cannot be colored in this order, are allowed to color only from the foremast shade to the stem.

635. Flags of colorization rise on ships simultaneously with the rise of the Naval flag and descend with it, if under the weather conditions by order of the senior commander (chief) in the raid they were not lowered earlier.

When shooting from an anchor (barrels, mooring lines), colorization flags descend 30 minutes before shooting from an anchor (barrels, mooring lines).

When anchoring (a barrel, mooring lines), the colorization flags are raised along with the lifting of the gauze (carrying the flag).

On the move, the colorization flags do not rise.

In inclement weather when the ship is moored at anchor (barrel, mooring lines) only solemn flags are raised in solemn occasions.

636. The personnel of the ships participate in parades on the coast with a naval flag attached to the flagpole. In these cases, the procedure for the removal (relative) of the Naval Flag is carried out in relation to the requirements of the Combat Charter of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation without the appointment of a znamenny platoon. At the same time, servicemen greet the Naval flag as the Battle Flag.

Raising and lowering the Navy flag

637. The naval flag on the ships rises:

on the move - on the gaff (on the aft flagpole);

when anchored (flank, mooring lines) - at the aft flagpole.

638. The rise of the Naval Flag on ships anchored (barrel, mooring lines), both in summer and in winter, takes place on working days at 8 o'clock and on weekends and public holidays at 9 o'clock.

The flag is lowered at sunset. In the polar seas, the time of descent is established by order of the Fleet Commander.

639. The ships that are at sea on the move, as well as in the zone of local military conflict, carry the Naval flag day and night, without lowering it.

In case of going out to sea after sunset and up to 8 (9) hours, the ships raise the Naval flag at the moment of transition from the “anchored (barrel, mooring)” position to the “on the go” position.

When the ship returns from the sea or enters the port (harbor) at night and from dawn to 8 (9) o'clock, the flag on the ship goes down at the time of transition from "on the move" to "anchored (barrel, mooring)".

In these cases, when raising and lowering the flag, the command "At attention" is not served. When changing places by ship on the roadstead and in the harbor at night and from dawn to 8 (9) o'clock, the flag does not rise.

640. When several ships are in the roadstead a flag is raised and descends on a signal from the commander of the formation or the senior commander (chief) in the roadstead.

641. The ascent (descent) of the Naval flag may be appointed solemn and ordinary. The solemn flag raising is performed:

a) on the days declared as public holidays of the Russian Federation, on other public holidays - by order of the fleet commander (flotilla);

b) on the Navy Day, when presenting the Naval Flag to the ship and its first ascent on the ship, on the days of the annual holiday of the ship (unit); on other memorable days, on the orders of the fleet commander (flotilla);

With the exclusion of the ship from the Navy, a solemn flag descent is made. In this case, the flag is personally lowered by the captain in the presence of the commander of the formation.

642. During the solemn raising of the Naval flag, the flag banners and flags of colorization are raised.

The national flag of the Russian Federation is raised as a flag flag in the cases specified in Article 619 of this Charter.

The naval flag is raised as a flag flag in the cases specified in paragraphs b and c of Article 619 of this Charter.

Stenkovye flags rise on the stengs of all the masts, while the flags of officials raised on them must be located below the steng flags.

643. The order of solemn raising (lowering) the flag is as follows: 15 minutes before the flag is raised (lowered), the “Agenda” signal is played on the ships. 5 minutes before the flag was raised (lowered) on the ship of the formation commander (senior raid), the command of the officer of the watch “Executive half” rises to half the signal consisting of two flags “Executive”.

On the ships of other commanders of the formations, this signal is rehearsed, while on the rest of the ships the “Response pennant” rises to half.

On the signal “Big Duty”, the ship’s crew is lined up in the declared form of clothing in accordance with the construction scheme and the signalmen are sent to the halyards of the raised flags, and the watch officer (person on duty), using the means of communication, reports to the ship’s commander and the commander of the formation: (down) flag. When the commander of the ship (compound) leaves the upper deck, the command "Smirno" is given. Having accepted the report of the senior assistant, the commander of the ship (formation) greets the personnel and congratulates him. After that, the command is "Freestyle".

1 minute before the flag is raised (lowered) on the ship of the commander of the formation (senior in the raid), the “Executive” signal rises to the spot. All ships, following the actions of the elder in the raid, raise the indicated signal or “Response pennant” to the spot. The watch officer (officer on duty at the ship) gives the command: “To the flag, guys, stitched flags and colorization flags. At attention! "

At this command, the personnel take the position "quietly", while officers, warrant officers and foremen of the contract service do not put a hand on the headdress. If the flag is lowered, the horn players play the Zarya signal. For raising (lowering) the flag after the report to the commander of the ship (the commander of the compound, senior commander) “Time is up” exactly at 8 (9) hours (at sunset) or at the time set by the order, the “Executive” or “Response pennant” signal and the watch officer commanded: "Raise the flag, flag, flag flags, and colorization flags." Flags in expanded form slowly rise (descend).

The orchestra plays "Counter March". The personnel turns their head toward the flag, and officers, warrant officers and foremen of the contract service, in addition, put a hand to the headdress.

With raising the flag to the place (with the end of the descent) the orchestra performs the National Anthem of the Russian Federation.

After the performance of the National Anthem of the Russian Federation, with the permission of the ship’s commander (the commander of the formation, senior commander), the command “Freed” is given. The crew of the ship is dismissed at the command of the watch officer “Break up.” The orchestra performs the march.

644. The order of ordinary raising (lowering) the flag in the base is as follows:

Fifteen minutes before the flag is raised (lowered), the “Agenda” signal is played on ships.

5 minutes prior to raising (lowering) the flag on the ship of the commander of the formation or the senior officer in the roadstead, the Executive Officer of the watch officer (duty officer of the ship) “half” rises to half.

On the ships of the commanders of the formations who are not senior on the raid, the signal “Executive” is rehearsed, while on the remaining ships the “Response pennant” rises to half and the following actions are taken:

With the raising of the signal “Executive” (“Response pennant”) up to half on all ships, hornmen are summoned, signalmen are sent to the flag and huys halyards, the watch officer, using means of communication, reports to the ship’s commander and the commander of the formation: “After 5 minutes the ascent (descent ) flag.

When the flag is raised, the crew of the ship is lined up according to the construction scheme on a signal "Big collection".

When the commander of the ship leaves the upper deck, the command "Smirno" is given. Having accepted the report of the senior assistant (assistant) of the commander, the captain greets the personnel. After that, the command is "Freestyle".

1 minute before the flag is raised (lowered) on the ship of the commander of the compound or the senior in the raid, the “Executive” signal rises to the spot. All ships, following the actions of the ship of the commander of the compound (senior in the raid), raise the “Executive” or “Response pennant” to the site, and the watch officer (duty officer on the ship) commands “To the flag and huys. At attention. "

At this command, the personnel take the position "quietly", while officers, warrant officers and foremen of the contract service do not put a hand on the headdress. If the flag is lowered, the horn players play the Zarya signal.

Exactly at the time set for raising (lowering) the flag, after the report to the captain of the ship “Time is up,” the watch officer commands: “Raise (lower) the flag (and guys)”. The flag (and guis) in its unfolded form slowly rises (descends), and the signal “Executive” or “Response pennant” descends quickly. Wherein:

the horn players play the “flag up (descent)” signal;

personnel turn their heads toward the flag, and officers, midshipmen, foremen of contract service, in addition, put a hand to the headdress.

At the end of the game of hornmen, the watch officer (person on duty on the ship), with the permission of the ship’s commander, commands: “At ease. Miners, down. "

When preparing a ship for combat and hike, while on alert, as well as on the days of producing a large tidy, performing emergency work, and when the flag is lowered, the ship’s crew does not line up.

In these cases, the officer of the watch (duty officer on the ship), 2 minutes before the flag is raised (lowered), commands: “Become aboard”.

At this command, the personnel on the upper deck becomes face inside the ship. The rest of the order of raising the flag is the same as when raising (lowering) the flag with the construction of the crew.

During the ceremonial descent of the flag on submarines and surface ships of the 4th rank, personnel do not line up, and at the command "Become aboard", the personnel on the upper deck becomes the person inside the ship.

645. When the flag is raised (lowered), sailors and foremen who are near the ships on the wall, pier and berth suspend work and occupation and are placed in a position “quietly” facing the ship, and officers and midshipmen, foremen of contract service, in addition the moment of ascent (descent) of the flag is applied to the headgear.

646. On boats, located near the ships at the moment of raising (lowering) the flag on them, if the situation permits, at the command of the boat foreman rowers dry the oars. The foreman of the boat, as well as the officers on it, the midshipmen and foremen of the contract service put a hand to the headdress without getting up from the cans.

Who among us has not seen on holidays Navy ships, painted with a variety of flags? But it was probably difficult not to notice that the main ones are the State and Naval flags.

Raised on a ship of the Navy, the State flag of the country is a symbol of state sovereignty, and the Naval flag is the battle flag of the ship, we read in the Ship Charter. How did this remarkable and, perhaps, the most important naval tradition, long established by the charter, have been born in the Russian fleet - to raise and carry the State and Naval flags, as well as a number of other flags?

On any ship of the Navy there is always a set of a wide variety of flags. Each of them rises to the mast under specific, precisely regulated circumstances and at clearly defined places, having a strictly defined value. All these flags have not only their own form and colors, but, of course, their own history.

Ship's flags appeared a long time ago - their inception began in the very early stages of shipbuilding and navigation. The frescoes and bas-reliefs of ancient Egypt preserved for posterity the image of ship flags that existed in the XIV-XIII centuries. BC er Over the years, the decoration of ships with flags has become a tradition. The ship banners of those ancient times were panels of various sizes, shapes, patterns and colors. In the hoary antiquity they served as distinctive external signs, symbols of the economic power of the ship owner. The richer he was, the more luxuriously he decorated his ship with flags, the more expensive was the fabric from which they were sewn. In the middle of the XIV century, for example, it was considered special chic to raise a giant-sized flag on a ship. For example, the Duke of Orleans (from 1498 to 1515 he was king of France Louis XII), who commanded the fleet in 1494, had a personal standard 25 meters long, made of yellow and red taffeta. On both sides of this flag the Mother of God was depicted against a background of a silver cloud. His painting was produced by court painter Burdinson. In 1520, on the flagship of the English King Henry VIII, pennants and flags (and sails) were embroidered with gold. On the ships of that time there were a great many flags. Sometimes their number reached a dozen and a half. They rose on the masts, on the stern, bow, and even side flagpoles. Apparently, it was considered prestigious to hang the ship from all sides with expensive bright flags. Only it was hardly convenient for the crew — for example, onboard flagpoles were very difficult to control the sails, and numerous large flags created additional, undesirable, and even dangerous, sailing. Apparently, therefore, with time for them, on the ship, they took only three places, bow, stern and masts. Here they began to raise flags, in which during the battles the crews distinguished their ships from strangers, as well as the seat of admirals — squadron commanders or flagships, who had their own personal flags.

With the development of warfare at sea, flagship, admiral, and captain flags appeared, and later flags that signify avant-garde, corpsy battalion, and rearguard (units of battle formation in which ships fought). Special flags noted the presence on board a significant official.

The crew has long had signal flags, each of which had a letter or special meaning. By dialing in two, three or four signal flags raised on a notepad, it was possible to transmit in encrypted form almost any order, command or message, regardless of the language spoken by the correspondents.

Today, as a rule, most signal flags have the shape of a rectangle, but there are also triangular flags, as well as long narrow flags with two acute-angled "braids."

Nowadays, most of the ship's flags are sewn of special lightweight woolen fabric - the so-called flag-dust.

With the formation of sovereign national states, national flags also appeared, and the ships leaving the borders of their own state had to have a flag by which the ship’s “nationality” was determined. When regular military fleets appeared, the flag began to distinguish not only the nationality, but also the purpose of the ship - military or commercial.

As in other countries, in Russia ship flags appeared long before the formation of a centralized state. Ancient Greek chroniclers noted that even in the naval campaigns of the Eastern Slavs against Constantinople, the boats of the Rus, as a rule, had two flags: one rectangular and the other with an angle cut on the outside, that is, with braids. Such flags later became an indispensable accessory for “gulls” and planes, on which Zaporizhzhya and Don Cossacks made brave sea trips through the Black Sea to Sinop, Bosphorus, Trebizond and other Turkish cities.

Nevertheless, the true beginning of the history of the Russian ship's flag should be associated with the construction of the first Russian warship "Eagle".

We already know that the “Eagle” was launched in 1668. When the ship's construction work came to an end, the Dutch engineer O. Butler, under whose guidance the work on the stocks proceeded, addressed the Boyar Duma with the request: "... to ask a command from His Royal Majesty: what, as is the custom of other states, to raise the flag on the ship". The palace order to this replied that in the practice of such circumstances did not happen, and the Armory “He is building banners, banners and ensigns for military units and the governor, and what about the ship’s banner, the King ordered him, Butler, to ask him what is the custom in his country”. Butler replied that in their country they take Kindyak matter - scarlet, white and blue, sew stripes and such a flag serves them to designate their Dutch nationality. Then, in the council with the Boyar Duma, the tsar ordered on the new ship "Eagle" to raise a white-blue-red flag with a double-headed eagle sewn on it. Prince Alexander Putyatin in his article “On the Russian National Flag” writes that this was the first Russian national flag. However, some researchers are inclined to consider the appearance of the first Russian ship flag not only the first national maritime flag, but also the first ship standard. How did the concept of "standard" come into being?

Around the first quarter of the XVI century. in the heavy noble cavalry of the Western European armies a square, sometimes triangular flag appeared with a smaller size than the standard flag. This flag was called the standard (from him. Standarte, ital. Stendardo). The shaft of the standard had a special device of belts for the rider to securely hold it and attach it to the stirrup. The standard in the cavalry company (squadron) was carried by a specially appointed cornet officer. Each standard had a specific color and pattern and served to indicate the place of collection and location of one or another cavalry unit. Around the same time, the standard appeared in the fleets as the flag of the head of state (emperor, king), raised on the mainmast of the ship in case of being on board of these persons. First, to emphasize the greatness and power of the monarchs, standards were made of expensive brocade fabrics, embroidered with gold and silver, decorated with precious stones. In the middle of the XVI century. on the standards appear the emblems of states, symbolizing state power.

Presumably in 1699, Peter I legitimized the new royal standard - a yellow rectangular panel with a black double-headed eagle in the middle and with white maps of the Caspian, Azov and White seas in its beaks and in one of the legs. When our troops took the Nyenskans Fortress, and the path to the Baltic Sea was opened, a map of the Baltic Sea appeared on the royal standard.

Where did the double-headed eagle come to Russia, then appearing on the standard? Prince Putyatin in the work already cited by us explains the emergence and history of the State Emblem in the form of a two-headed eagle.

“Russia of ancient times did not know the science of heraldry,” writes the author, “which developed brilliantly in the West in the Middle Ages. But symbolic, tribal and personal signs have been known in Russia for a long time. From the time of Ivan Kalita, the state seal is the image of a rider with a spear, often accompanied by the inscription: "The Great Prince with a spear in a ruche". After the Kulikovo battle under the rider, they began to depict the serpent as a symbol of "the defeat of the prince of the Basurmanian force."

In 1472, a significant event took place in the history of Russia - the marriage of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III with Sophia Paleolog, the niece of the last emperor of Byzantium Constantine XI. This contributed to the proclamation of the Russian state as the successor of the Byzantine Empire. On the rights of succession to Russia, the Byzantine coat of arms came - a double-headed eagle. It is known that from 1497 the seal of Ivan III was modified - an image of a two-headed eagle appeared on it. Thus, the eagle from Byzantium was not borrowed, but was a logical continuation of the inheritance of the Grand Duke of Moscow by the title of governor of Byzantium.

At about the same time, in commemoration of the overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in 1480, the first monumental image of the two-headed eagle was hoisted on the spire of the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin. On the other towers (Nikolskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya) the coat of arms was established later.

The best forces were attracted to perfecting the coat of arms. For example, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich invited such a large master of decorative and applied arts from Austria as the Slav Lavrentiy Kurelich (Khurelich), who was called the “Holy Roman state herald” who built the Russian state emblem: a black eagle with raised wings on a yellow field with a white horseman on average shield. On the wings were also scattered cartouches with the symbolic symbols of the regions. The national emblem of Russia, and later of the Russian Empire, was finally formed in the 17th century. In subsequent years, until 1917, it remained almost unchanged, only some of its details changed.

In the Russian Empire at the beginning of the XX century. There were three state emblems: large, medium and small.

The basis of all the coats of arms were the images of the state black double-headed eagle, crowned with three crowns, holding in its paws signs of state power - the scepter and orb. On the chest of the eagle is the Moscow coat of arms with the image of St. George the Victorious striking the dragon. The coat of arms is entwined with the chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First Called. On the wings of the eagle and around it are the coats of arms of the kingdoms, grand principalities and lands that were part of the Russian state.

On the big coat of arms there are also images of saints Michael and Gabriel, the imperial canopy, studded with eagles and planted with an ermine, with the inscription "God with us". Above it is a state banner with an eight-pointed cross on a pole.

On the middle emblem there was no state banner and part of the local emblems. On the small coat of arms, in addition, there were no images of saints, as well as the imperial canopy and the patrimonial coat of arms of the emperor. Sometimes the small emblem or simply the emblem was called the state eagle, which has on its wings the emblems of kingdoms and the grand duchy of Finland.

The purpose of each of the coats of arms was regulated by a special provision. Thus, the large State Emblem was depicted on the large State Press, which was applied to state laws and regulations governing statutes, statutes of orders, manifestos, diplomas and certificates, etc.

A small coat of arms on a small seal was applied to patents for rank, letters of award of land, letters of princely and county dignity, patents for the title of consul, etc.

The average State Emblem was depicted on the average State press, which was attached to certificates of rights and privileges of cities, diplomas for baronial and noble dignity, ratifications of monasteries ... The small coat of arms was also depicted on bank notes issued by the state.

On the ship's standard portrayed a large coat of arms. So he survived until the October Revolution.

After the February Revolution of 1917, the Provisional Government did not develop a new coat of arms. It only slightly changed the old coat of arms. The double-headed eagle lost all its crowns, signs of imperial power, the coats of arms of the grand principalities were removed from its wings and chest, the ends of the wings were lowered down, and under the eagle the building of the Tauride Palace, where the State Duma sat.

Subsequent events unfolded in such a way that our Fatherland was deprived of its historical relics. Having a long history, the Russian coat of arms was replaced by the coat of arms of the RSFSR, which was based on the image of the globe and the emblem of labor - crossed sickle and hammer. Now, in accordance with the decree of the President, the double-headed eagle is again the emblem of Russia. However, the law on the coat of arms of the Duma has not yet been adopted.

Such is the story of the standard and the State Emblem; as they say, everything comes back to normal. But what about the naval flag?

The history of the Russian Naval Flag is little known. As early as 1863, the chronicler of the Russian Navy, S. I. Elagin, in his short article “Our Flags” spoke of this: “The few informations that have been made public about our flags, without yet presenting a precise concept of their original form and meaning, or of the time of introduction, however, managed to carry out several incorrect data”. It is not surprising that, until now, on many issues, researchers of the history of the Russian flag have not reached a unanimous opinion. For example, today there are different opinions about what the flags were raised on the "Eagle". However, based on some sources, we can assume that its colors, as already mentioned, were white, blue and red. This is confirmed by documents related to the construction of the ship, among which is preserved and this: "The painting that still needs to ship structure, oprich what is now purchased overseas". In this “List” it is indicated exactly how much kindyak is required on flags and on a pennant. As for the colors of these flags, they, most likely, reflected the colors that had long been on the Moscow coat of arms. On the red field there was depicted St. George in a blue mantle on a white horse. In this regard, white, blue and red already become the state combination under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

The author of the famous "Essays on Russian Maritime History" F. F. Veselago believes that, until 1700, our Naval Flag was made up of three lanes - white, blue and red. “From the colors of the fabrics used on the flags of the Eagle ship, and from the fact that when they were armed with the main controllers were the Dutch, it is more likely that the then flag in imitation of the Dutch consisted of three horizontal bands: white, blue and red, - arranged, to distinguish it from the Dutch flag, in a different order. The same three-lane, white-blue-red, was obviously pennant ". There is evidence of this - documents indicating that the king ordered to sew three-strip white-blue-red flags for his son Peter.

Further, Veselago expresses the opinion that the flag was exclusively Naval and only since 1705 became the special flag of Russian merchant ships. But another well-known fleet historian, PI I. Belavenets, disagrees with his arguments. In his work “The Colors of the Russian State National Flag,” he refers to the famous engraving “The Taking of the Fortress of Azov. 1696 ”, where artist A. Shhonebek depicted flags in the form of a cross dividing their field into four parts.

Thus, if the majority of historians agree on the set of colors of the first Russian Naval Flag (white, blue, red), then there is no consensus about his drawing. Nevertheless, it seems to us that the version of F. F. Veselago is closest to the truth.

Under such a tricolor flag of three lanes in 1688, Peter sailed on his boat, the “grandfather of the Russian fleet,” a similar flag fluttered on the amusing ships of Plescheyev Lake in 1692 and on the ships of the Azov fleet in 1696. apparently became a prototype flag with a double-headed eagle in the middle, named in 1693 "Flag of the Tsar of Moscow".

It is known that for the first time he was raised as a standard on August 6, 1693 by Peter I himself on the 12-gun yacht “Saint Peter” while sailing in the White Sea with a detachment of military ships built in Arkhangelsk. This is mentioned by P. I. Belavenets in his work “Do we need a fleet and its significance in the history of Russia”.

In 1699-1700 the drawing of Peter's standard was changed: departing from the traditional Russian colors, Peter I decided to choose a yellow rectangular panel with a black double-headed eagle in the middle. The development of state shipbuilding in Russia and the creation of a large regular fleet necessitated a single flag for all warships. In 1699, Peter I, having tried a number of flag options for warships operating for a short time, introduced a new, so-called St. Andrew’s Naval flag of the transitional pattern: the rays of a blue diagonal cross rested on the corners of a rectangular three-strip white-blue-red cloth.

The St. Andrew's Cross, apparently, passed to the Naval flag as one of the most characteristic elements of the first order of Russia, established by Peter I at the very end of the 17th century, the Order of St. Andrew the First Called. According to Christian tradition, sv. Andrew was crucified on a diagonal cross. The choice of St. Andrew's cross as the emblem for the flag and pennant Peter I explained by the fact that "from this apostle Russia received holy baptism."

In 1700, Peter separated the sailing fleet from the rowing (galley) fleet and divided it into three general squadrons - the corpsy battalion (main forces), the vanguard and the rear guard. At the same time, stern flags were introduced for the ships of these three squadrons: white, blue and red with a blue St. Andrew’s cross, respectively, on a white field in the upper left corner of the flag (at the cable luff).

With the introduction of the rank of admiral in 1706, the aft flag of the squadron, raised on the mainmouth (on the mainmouth of the mainmouth), meant that the admiral was on board. If he was raised on the fore-steengue (on the fore-mast's steenge), then the vice-admiral was present on the ship, and if he was on the cruise-steedge (on the steenge of his mizzen-mast) - the rear admiral (Shautbenaht). Such flags received the names of the flags of the first, second and third admirals. In 1710 a new forage flag pattern was established. In the center of the new flag on the white field, the St Andrew's cross was still located, but its ends did not reach the edges of the cloth, and it seemed that it was hanging in the air, not touching the flag itself. Under this flag, the first battleship of the Baltic Fleet “Poltava” began its voyage. In 1712 a blue cross on a white field of the St. Andrew’s flag was brought to the edge of the cloth. Such a drawing of the flag of St. Andrew existed unchanged until the October Revolution.

After the October Revolution, all the symbolism of the former Russian imperial fleet was canceled.

On November 18, 1917, the sailors, meeting at the first All-Russian Congress of the Navy, adopted a resolution: “To raise the flag of the International instead of the St. Andrew’s flag on all ships of the All-Russian Navy as a sign that the whole Russian navy, as one person, stood up to defend democracy by the Soviets of workers, soldiers and peasants’s deputies”. It was a red panel without emblems and inscriptions.

On April 14, 1918, the National Flag of the RSFSR was established by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee - a red rectangular panel with the inscription: “Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic”. And on April 20, order No. 320 for the fleet and the Navy Department on the Soviet ships introduced a red flag with the abbreviation RSFSR inscribed in large white letters in the middle of the cloth. The second post-revolutionary Naval Flag was approved by the People's Commissars for Maritime Affairs and Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR on May 24, 1918 and legalized by the Constitution of the RSFSR adopted on July 10, 1918. The red (aloe) panel with a ratio of width and length of 1: 2 had a golden edged the border of the upper left corner of the inscription "RSFSR", made of stylized Slavic script of golden color.

On September 29, 1920, the Soviet government approved the new design of the Naval Flag. This time he had two plaits, and in the middle of the red cloth was a large blue admiralty anchor, on the spindle of which there was a red five-pointed star on a white lining. Inside the stars, blue sickle and hammer intersected, and on the armature rod there was an inscription “RSFSR”.

On August 24, 1923, another Naval flag was introduced. On it in the middle of the red field was a white circle with eight white rays, diverging in all directions from the center to the edges of the cloth. In a white circle there was a red five-pointed star with white crossed sickle and a hammer. And on November 23, 1926 a special flag was established, which was awarded to ships or formations for special differences. He was called Honorary Revolutionary Naval Flag  and differed from the usual presence of the Order of the Red Banner on a white field in the upper left corner. The honorary revolutionary naval flag was made of silk and handed over to the ship in a solemn atmosphere simultaneously with the Order of the Red Banner and a special diploma of the CEC and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. The first such award in connection with the decade of the revolution was the decision of the CEC of the USSR of November 2, 1927 to receive the cruiser Aurora.

The ships and formations awarded with this flag became known as the Red Banner. In February 1928, the Baltic Fleet was awarded the Honorary Revolutionary Naval Flag.

On May 27, 1935, by the resolution of the CEC and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the designs and colors of the new flags of the Navy ships and officials were approved. Almost all of them survived until January 1992. The same decree altered the design of the Honorary Revolutionary Naval Flag of the USSR, which became known as the Red Banner Naval Flag of the USSR.

The naval flag of the new sample was a white rectangular panel, in the left half of which a red five-pointed star is depicted, and in the right half - crossed red sickle and hammer. Along the bottom edge of the cloth - blue border. The Red Banner Naval Flag differs from the usual one in that the star depicted on it is overlapped by an image of the Order of the Red Banner.

On June 19, 1942, by order of the People's Commissar of the USSR Navy, the Guards Naval Flag of the USSR was established — it was handed to the ship at the same time as conferring the title of Guards for special distinctions. The Guards flag over the blue border additionally depicts the Guards Ribbon, consisting of three black and two orange stripes.

Every day at a certain time, regardless of the time of sunrise, all warships and auxiliary ships of the Navy, which are parked (at anchor, barrel, or moorings), are raised on the stern flagpole, and with the setting of the sun the Naval flag is lowered. Along with the flag, while cruising on ships of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd ranks, the guis descends and ascends.

While at sea, on the move, the ships carry the flag on the gaff and do not lower it day or night. And what if the ship goes to sea at night, after sunset, when the flag is lowered? Then the flag is raised on the gaff at the moment of transition from the position “at anchor” to the position “on the move”. Upon entering the base after sunset, the flag descends as soon as the ship anchors (barrel or mooring lines). "In the period from the rise to the descent of the flag, - recorded in the Ship Charter, - all military personnel at the entrance (descent) to the ship (from the ship) salute the Navy flag ".

The ship charter also clearly defines the order of raising, descent and delivery of the Naval flag on warships and auxiliary ships of the fleet.

Every day at eight in the morning local time, and on Sundays and public holidays an hour later on all the ships of the Navy raise the Naval flag. Both the ascent and the descent of the flag are accompanied by a certain ritual, regulated by the Ship's charter. For the first time the procedure of this ritual was set forth in 1720 in the Peter the Great Sea Charter:

"... In the morning, first of all I must shoot from the cannon and guns, then play on all the ships march, beat the march, raise the flag, and play the standard zoru and raise the flag ... At whatever time the flag is raised and lowered, It is always necessary both to raise and lower it, to beat the drum and play the march ". Similarly, the evening ritual "Dawns" was carried out when the flags were coming down.

Over the centuries-old history of the Russian fleet, this ritual has undergone many changes. For example, as described by the marine writer Leonid Sobolev, the final part of the flag raising ceremony in the novel Overhaul: “... silent and fast, asking for permission to turn the watchman to the commander, allowing the commander's fingers to touch the cap of the visor — and the silence of the Russian Imperial Navy ended:“ Flag and Guyce to raise! ”At the same time, silence broke.

Bell ringing flasks. Harsh fanfare horns, picked up on purpose almost to the tone. Knocking oars flying up above the boats vertically. The whistle of all non-commissioned officers. Fluttering ribbons caps, torn at the same time with thousands of heads. Double dry crackling rifles, taken to guard: at, two! The flag slowly rises to the klotik, playing with folds ... Then the established melody of the horns and the air in the non-commissioned officers lungs run out. The flag reaches "the place" in silence.

... The horns screamed short and high, and the fleet enchanted with silence and immobility immediately revived. The caps flew up on their heads, the guards took "to the foot", turned, raised their rifles and disappeared into the hatches. "

And nowadays, the procedure of raising the flag is much like the description of Sobolev.

15 minutes before the flag was raised on the orders of the watch officer, the bugler plays a signal "Agenda". At 7 hours 55 minutes, he sends signalers to the flag and huys flag and then reports to the commander: “In five minutes the flag is raised”.

Gornist plays "Big fee". The crew lined up on the upper deck. Only in cases when the ship is on alert or is preparing for a cruise, the crew is not built according to the “Big collection”. However, even then everyone on the upper deck, on command, becomes their back to the board of the ship. The commander of the ship rises to the top and greets the personnel. When a minute remains before the flag is raised, the watch officer commands: "On the flag and guys, quietly!". Then the command sounds: "Raise the flag and gueis!". The hornists play the “Raise the Flag” signal, and everyone on the upper deck and nearby piers turn their heads in the direction of the flag, which is slowly lifted by the signalmen in expanded form. Officers, warrant officers and chief ship foremen apply a hand to the headgear. The rowers of the boats, located near the ship (if the situation allows), “dry the oars”, their foremen also put their hands on the headdress. This is how the daily flag hoisting takes place.

There is a solemn flag raising on ships. In this case, the crew lined up on the deck of the "Big collection" in the ceremonial dress or ceremonial dress uniform. Simultaneously with the flag and guys, the flags and flags of colorization are raised, while the orchestra performs the “Marching march” at this time. At the moment when the Naval flag rises “to the spot”, the National Anthem is played. The days and special occasions when a solemn flag-raising takes place on ships of the Navy are determined by the ship’s charter. One of these days is the day of the ship’s entry into service. The fleet commander or the person appointed by him (as a rule, the admiral), arriving on the ship, in a solemn ceremony announces the order for the ship to enter service. Then the captain is given the Naval flag and the order. He carries the flag on his hands in front of the whole crew, and then fastens it to the halyard for lifting on the aft flagpole or on the gaff, and, at the command of the senior officer on board, he personally raises "to the spot". At the same time raise the huys, steng flags and flags of colorization. In this case, the orchestra plays the National Anthem, and the crew welcomes the raised flag with a loud drawl “Hurray!”.

Guarding the ship’s banner in battle became sacred for every sailor. "All Russian warships- read the Petrovsky Sea Regulations, - must not lower the flag before anyone ”. In our today's Naval Ship Charter, this is stated as follows: “The ships of the Navy under no circumstances drop their flag before the enemy, preferring death to surrender to enemies.”

When anchored, the flag is guarded by a specially appointed sentry, and during the battle, when the flags are raised on gaffs and the mastheads, they are guarded by all crew members who take part in battle. If the flag is shot down during a battle, it will immediately be replaced by another, so that the enemy cannot assume that the flag on the ship has been lowered. This maritime custom was also reflected in the Navy Ship Charter. “The protection of the State or Naval flags in battle is the honorable duty of the entire crew of the ship,” it says, “if the State or Naval flag is shot down in battle, it should be immediately replaced by another ... If circumstances do not allow a spare flag at a fixed place; it is raised on an emergency flagpole, reinforced anywhere in the ship ”.

The history of the Russian fleet is rich in examples of courage and heroism of Russian sailors. In 1806, in the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Dalmatia, the Russian brig "Alexander" was attacked by five French ships that attempted to seize it. Before the start of the battle, the commander of the brig, Lieutenant I. Skalovsky, turned to the crew: “Remember: we Russians are not here to count enemies, but to beat them. We will fight to the last man, but we will not give up. I am sure that the crew of "Alexander" will hold high the honor of the fleet! " An unequal battle lasted several hours. Three times the French tried unsuccessfully to take the "Alexander" to the boarding. In a fierce battle, the two enemy ships were destroyed by artillery fire, the third lowered the flag and surrendered, the other two fled ignominiously.

On May 14, 1829, the 18-gun brig Mercury, cruising off the coast of the Bosporus, overtook two Turkish battleships, who had a total of 184 guns on board. The Turks offered to “Mercury” to lower the flag, but the crew of the brig unanimously approved the decision of the commander of the captain-lieutenant A.I. Kazarsky to join the battle, and under the threat of capture, to blow up the ship. Skillful maneuvering Kazarsky all the time put his brig so as to obstruct the enemy targeted fire. Nevertheless, "Mercury" received more than three hundred injuries. However, the “Mercury” itself managed to damage the mast and rigging of enemy battleships with accurate fire and force them to go into drift. For this combat feat, "Mercury" was awarded the St. George stern flag.

The heroic feat of the Varyag cruiser and the Koreets cannon boat forever entered the history of our fleet. The beginning of the war with Japan caught these Russian ships on the roadstead of the Korean port of Chemulpo. They tried to break through to Port Arthur, but when they left the bay they were met by a Japanese squadron of six cruisers, eight squadron destroyers and several other ships. On the offer to surrender Russian ships refused and took the fight. From enemy artillery fire, three enemy cruisers were seriously damaged, one destroyer was sunk. But the Varyag also received several underwater holes through which water flowed. The ship tilted to the left side, a strong list did not allow firing of serviceable guns. The cruiser crew suffered heavy losses, the captain of the 1st rank VF Rudnev was wounded. It was not possible to break through the blockade of the Japanese ships, and our ships were forced to return to the Chemulpo raid. Here, on the orders of the commander of the Varyag, the Korey was blown up. On the cruiser the Kingstones were open, and he sank, not lowering the flag.

In St. Petersburg, on the Petrograd side, a bronze monument is erected - two sailors open the Kingston, flooding their ship. This happened on February 26, 1904, when the destroyer "Steregushchy" was attacked by superior Japanese forces. The commander of the destroyer, Lieutenant A. S. Sergeev, entered into an unequal battle, damaged two of the four enemy destroyers who attacked him. But the “guarding himself” lost his turn, almost the entire crew and the commander died.

The Japanese offered to surrender - the new shots were the answer to the enemy. To prevent the flag from being knocked down, it was nailed to the gaff. The guardian fired up to the last shell, and when the Japanese sent the boat to bring the towing end to the Russian destroyer, only a few wounded sailors survived. Quartermaster machine I. Bukharev and sailor V. Novikov opened the Kingston and went into the abyss with his native ship.

During the Great Patriotic War, Soviet sailors also faithfully fulfilled the requirements of the Ship's charter - under no circumstances should they lower the flag to the enemy, preferring death to surrender to the enemy.

August 10, 1941 in an unequal battle with the Nazi destroyers on the patrol ship "Fog" flagpole was shot down. Wounded sailor Konstantin Semenov rushed to the flag and raised it high above his head, but was again wounded by a fragment of an enemy shell and fell to the deck. A radio operator Konstantin Blinov came to the aid of Semenov. Under the fire of the enemy, they raised the Naval flag. Having not lowered a flag, "Fog" disappeared under water.

A sailor Ivan Zagurenko accomplished a similar feat on the squadron destroyer "Savvyelny" in battle. This happened in May 1942 when the ship returned to Novorossiysk from besieged Sevastopol. The destroyer attacked the fascist torpedo bombers and bombers. Fragments of the bomb, which exploded near the board, broke the flagline, and the banner of the ship's flag slowly slid down. Zagurenko climbed the mast to the gaff, picked up the Naval flag and raised it over his head. The sailor kept him until the end of the battle, and not a single bullet, not a single fragment had touched the brave man.

On August 25, 1942, the Alexander Sibiryakov icebreaking ship armed with only a few small cannons was overtaken in the Kara Sea by the Nazi heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer. Without hesitating an easy victory, the Nazis raised the signal: “Drop the flag, give up!”. The answer came immediately: the National Flag was hoisted on the fore-steengue, and immediately two 76-mm guns and two 45-mm steamer guns were struck. It was so unexpected for the fascists that at first they were confused. The German raider was silent for several minutes, and then the guns of his main caliber rumbled at once. The commander of "Sibiryakov" senior lieutenant Anatoly Kacharava skillfully maneuvered, fired back, avoiding direct hits. But the forces were too unequal. The projectile behind the projectile with a deafening roar burst in the superstructures, they pierced through the side of the superstructure, were torn on the deck. Until the last minutes "Sibiryakov" fired back. In an unequal battle the ship was killed, but did not lower the flag in front of the enemy.

Many such examples, when the sailors died along with the flag of the ship raised on the masts, gave us past wars. In addition to the naval flag, which we described, there are two more flags that play an important role in the life of the ship and its crew.

If according to its technical condition and the level of preparedness of the crew, the ship is able to successfully accomplish its combat missions, the pennant rises on the main-steengue (with one mast on the fore-steengue). This means that the ship is in the campaign and, until its completion, it will not lower the pennant day or night.

The appearance of long and narrow flags - ship's pennants, more likely resembling a colored ribbon winding among the mast and rigging, goes into the distant past of the fleet. Once such narrow strips of fabric attached to the tops of the masts, and even on the cables, served as the simplest device for determining the direction and strength of the wind.

A completely different purpose, not connected with the practical needs of navigation, received pennants already in the times of the sailing fleet. The purpose of the pennant was that it served to distinguish a warship from a merchant ship, especially in those countries where the naval and trade flags were the same. Pennants rose on the main-bramstengah of all warships, except flagships. It was a narrow cloth up to ten meters long, 10-15 centimeters wide.

The pennants of the first Russian warships were tricolor, white-blue-red, with two braids. In 1700, Peter I established a new pennant: a blue Andrew's cross was placed on a white-footed lumber on a white field, then two white-blue-red braids went on. Later, in accordance with the colors of the flags in the divisions, white pennants were installed for the first division, blue ones for the second division and red ones for the third division. In 1853, the Black Sea Fleet consisted of four divisions: 1st — all ships wore a blue pennant; 2nd, 4th and 5th - all ships wore a white pennant. There was one unit in the Baltic Fleet - the 3rd Division, whose ships wore a red pennant. The ships that were not part of the divisions wore a common one, i.e. a tricolor pennant. Since 1865, Russian ships began to wear a single white pennant, except for ships awarded the St. George flag, which carried the corresponding pennant. Warships of the USSR Navy wore a pennant, which is a narrow red cloth with braids, having in the "head" an image of the Navy. In addition to the usual narrow ("ordinary") ship pennants, the fleet also adopted broad (so-called breyd-pennants) assigned to the commanders of warship detachments that have a rank lower than the rear admiral. According to the drawing, a braid pennant is no different from a regular pennant. The color of the braids-pennant's braids depends on the position of the chief to whom he has been assigned, namely: the commander of the brigade of the ships is red, the commander of the division is blue.

Pennants also have merchant ships - these are triangular flags of various colors, sometimes with patterns, letters or numbers indicating the ship’s belonging to a shipping company, a sports club, a trading company, etc. Such pennants rise on the mainmast at the entrance to the port and exit from it. When parked at the port, the raising and lowering of such a pennant is carried out simultaneously with the raising and lowering of the National Flag.

On warships, the pennant is lowered only when the commander of the formation or other superior commanders, who have their own official flags, are visiting the ship. The pennant descends at the moment when the raised official flag reaches "the place". He again rises with the departure of this person from the ship and with the descent of his official flag.

The presence of a pennant on a ship indicates its manning and combat readiness. There is even such an expression in the fleet: a squadron (or fleet) comprising so many pennants. The word "pennant" in this case means a naval ship that is ready for combat.

We have already mentioned that on modern large warships, when they are anchored, on a barrel or at the pier, a special flag is hoisted on the bow flagpole - huys.

In ancient times, at the bowsprit of warships, they constantly or temporarily raised the same flags as at the stern, only a few smaller sizes. On the ships of the Russian fleet, a special nasal (or bowsprit) flag, called the Huys, was introduced in 1700. The drawing of the first Russian Huys was quite complicated - three crosses with a single center lay on a red field: straight — white, oblique — also white and on it blue Andreevsky. From 1701 to 1720 he rose only in the coastal fortresses and only after the introduction of the Charter in 1720 began to rise on the bowsprit of warships. Until 1820, ships carried it not only in the parking lot, but also during navigation. Huys was always smaller than a stern flag.

Initially, Guyis on Russian ships was called Geus, which in Dutch means the flag (geus), and since 1720 the name of the Guis was legalized by the Peter the Great. The word is also Dutch (geuzen) and comes from the French gueux - beggars. At the beginning of the Netherlands bourgeois revolution, the Spanish aristocracy called the Dutch nobles, who in 1565 opposed the Spanish king Philip II and his government, and then the partisan insurgents who fought against the Spaniards on land and sea, in the beginning of the Netherlands bourgeois revolution. The uprising of the Goths marked the beginning of the creation of the Netherlands Navy. Then, on the bowsprit of warships, they began to raise a special flag, repeating the colors of the coat of arms of the Prince of Orange, who led the Gotz uprising. The name “gez” or “geus” was soon attached to this flag.

Huyus, introduced by Peter I, remained in the Soviet Navy until August 28, 1924. The drawing of the new Huys was different from the old one in the middle of the white circle with a red five-pointed star with a white cross sickle and a hammer in its center. July 7, 1932 was approved by the new Guy. He represented a rectangular red cloth, in the middle of which in a white edging there is a red five-pointed star with a sickle and a hammer in its center.

Huys rises daily in the bow of the warships of the 1st and 2nd rank on a special huyshtok simultaneously with the raising of the stern flag. It also rises on the masts of coastal batteries or on the salute points of seaside fortresses in response salute to foreign warships. Huys, raised on the masts of seaside fortresses, is a serf flag.

On January 17, 1992, the Russian government found it expedient to change the naval symbolism. On July 26 of the same year, on the Day of the Navy, the warships of the former Soviet Navy were raised for the last time with the Naval flag, covered with the glory of the fiery years of the Great Patriotic War. Under the sounds of the Soviet anthem, the flags were then lowered and handed over to the ship commanders for eternal storage. Instead of them, now accompanied by the anthem of the Russian Federation, the historical St. Andrew’s flags and guises, introduced by Peter I., were raised.