Editing Commissioning pennant (section)

{{Short description|Pennant flown from the masthead of a warship}}
[[File:Jeanne-photo26.jpg|thumb|right|The ''[[Jeanne d'Arc (R 97)|Jeanne d'Arc]]'' flies her paying-off pennant while returning to harbour.]]

The '''commissioning pennant''' (or '''masthead pennant''') is a [[Pennon|pennant]] (also spelled "pendant") flown from the [[Mast (sailing)|masthead]] of a [[warship]]. The history of flying a commissioning pennant dates back to the days of [[chivalry]] with their trail pendants being flown from the mastheads of ships they{{who|date=October 2021}} commanded. Today, the commissioning pennants are hoisted on the day of commissioning and not struck until they are decommissioned. Some navies have a custom of flying a "[[Ship commissioning#Ship decommissioning|paying off]]" or "decommissioning pennant," the length of which often reflects the length of service of the warship.