Editing Commissioning pennant (section)

==Commissioning pennant==
[[File:Japanese Naval Masthead Pennant.svg|thumb|800px|center|Masthead pennant of the [[Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force]]]]

The commissioning pennant reflects the fact that the ship is a ship of war, and is flown until the ship is decommissioned. It is generally taken to signify the [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] status of the warship. In some navies, the commissioning pennant is used in addition to represent the personal authority of the captain, although it is flown continuously aboard the ship whether the captain is aboard or not.

===Royal Navy===
[[File:HMS Tireless in the Clyde Estuary leaving HMNB Clyde MOD 45147732.jpg|thumb|[[HMS Tireless (S88)|HMS ''Tireless'']]: her commissioning pennant can be seen flying above and behind her white ensign]]

[[File:Royal Navy commissioning pennant (with outline).svg|thumb|400px|center|The Royal Navy's commissioning pennant]]

In the [[Royal Navy]] the commissioning pennant is flown continuously in every ship and establishment in commission unless displaced by a senior officer's [[Maritime flags#Rank flags|Rank flag]]. The masthead pennant is a [[St George's Cross|cross of St George]] in the hoist and a white fly.<ref name="RN flags">{{cite web |url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/training-and-people/the-rn-today/ship-s-badges-and-flags/index.htm |title=Ship's badges and flags |work=Royal Navy |publisher=Ministry of Defence |access-date=11 March 2011}}</ref> Formerly, when the Royal Navy was divided into red, white and blue squadrons, there were four different pennants in use, the colour of the fly of three of the pennants corresponding with the colour of the squadron ensign, and a fourth for ships on independent commission (i.e. not attached to a squadron, therefore directly under the command of the Admiralty in London), with the fly containing (from top to bottom) red white and blue in a [[triband (flag)|triband]] form (such ships would wear the red ensign). Modern commissioning pennants are significantly shorter than in previous centuries - typically 1m in length and only 10&nbsp;cm at the hoist, tapering to a squared-off point.<ref name="RN flags"/>

A boat carrying a captain of one of His Majesty's ships will on ceremonial occasions fly a commissioning pennant from the bows of the boat as a symbol of his authority.

====Royal Canadian Navy====
[[File:Canadian Commissioning Pennant.png|thumb|400px|center|The Royal Canadian Navy's commissioning pennant]]

Since its creation in 1910, until 1990, the [[Royal Canadian Navy]] and afterwards, Maritime Command (after unification into the Canadian Armed Forces) used the same commissioning pennant as the Royal Navy. In 1990, the old version was phased out with a new design; replacing the Cross of Saint George with a stylized Canadian red maple leaf.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/navy/services/history/naval-flags-uniforms/diplay-naval-flags.html|title = Display of naval flags on Her Majesty's Canadian ships over time|date = 27 October 2017}}</ref>

===Hellenic Navy===
[[File:Hellenic Navy Masthead pennant.svg|thumb|400px|center|The Hellenic Navy's commissioning pennant]]

In the [[Hellenic Navy]], the commissioning pennant ({{langx|el|Επισείων Πολεμικού Πλοίου}}, {{lit|Warship Pennant}}) is ''blue coloured, has shape of isosceles triangle elongated, bearing a white cross near the base of the triangle''. The flag has typically base to length (height of triangle) 1 to 20. The cross has arms width 1/5 base length and each arm length 3/5 of base length. The pennant flown on the top of [[mainmast]].

===Indian Navy===
[[File:Commissioning pennant of India.svg|thumb|400px|center|The Indian Navy's commissioning pennant]]
In the [[Indian Navy]], a white triangular pennant is flown with at hoist a gold-blue octagon bearing the crest of the Indian Navy in the center.

===Indonesian Navy===
[[File:Indonesian Navy Pennant.png|thumb|400px|center|The Indonesian Navy's commissioning pennant]]
In the [[Indonesian Navy]], the commissioning pennant is called the War Pennant ({{langx|id|Ular-Ular Perang}}) and has the same red and white colors of the [[Flag of Indonesia|Indonesian flag]], except it is longer and shaped like a [[swallowtail flag]]. The pennant is flown in all [[List of active Indonesian Navy ships|Indonesian Navy ships]] and indicating that the ship is on active duty.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Tradisi TNI Angkatan Laut |trans-title=Tradition of the Indonesian Navy |url=https://www.tnial.mil.id/assets/majalah/PDF-20200129-162724.pdf |access-date=10 July 2024 |website=[[Indonesian Navy|TNI Angkatan Laut]] |publisher=Dinas Perawatan Personel TNI-AL}}</ref>

===United States===
====United States Navy and United States Coast Guard====

The commissioning pennant of the United States Navy is "blue at the hoist, bearing seven white stars; the rest of the pennant consists of single longitudinal stripes of red and white."<ref name="USNHC"/> The commissioning pennant of the United States Coast Guard is a near opposite, being white at the hoist, bearing thirteen blue stars, and with the rest of the pennant consisting of multiple vertical red and white stripes.

Ships of the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard fly their respective commissioning pennants from the moment of commissioning until the decommissioning ceremony, the only exceptions being when either a [[flag officer]] or a civilian official is embarked and the flag officer's or civilian official's personal flag is flown in its place.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/heritage/customs-and-traditions/commissioning-pennant.html |title=Commissioning Pennant |website=www.history.navy.mil |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203120710/http://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/heritage/customs-and-traditions/commissioning-pennant.html |archive-date=2015-02-03}} </ref>

The ensign, jack and commissioning pennant are hoisted directly after the reading out of the commissioning order and struck as the final act before the captain declares the ship decommissioned.

The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard use the respective pennants as the symbol of the vessel's commanding officer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us%5Envcp.html |title=Commissioning pennant |year=2001 |last=McMillan |first=Joe |publisher=Flags of the World |access-date=11 March 2011}}</ref>
{{multiple image
| align = center
| image1 = USNavyCommissionPennant.svg
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| image2 = US Coast Guard Commissioning Pennant.gif
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| footer = Commissioning pennants for the [[United States Navy]] (left) and [[United States Coast Guard]] (right).
}}When the vessel's commanding officer is ashore, the ship will also display the international code flag known as the Third Substitute pennant.

====NOAA fleet====

The [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) operates a fleet of [[Research ship|research]] and [[survey ship]]s which are in commission for [[United States Government]] service, although they are not warships. Ships in the [[NOAA ships and aircraft|NOAA fleet]] fly a "commission pennant" in a similar manner to U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard ships.<ref>[https://www.noaa.gov/organization/administration/nao-201-6-official-flags-of-noaa#:~:text=Commission%20Pennant%2D%20A%20long%20tapering,a%20personal%20flag%20or%20pennant. NAO 201-6 A: Official Flags of NOAA March 15, 2015]</ref> The NOAA fleet has three commission pennants, one for its largest ships (which it deems "Class I" vessels), and two for smaller ships NOAA defines as "Class II," "Class III," or "Class IV" vessels.<ref name=seaflags>[https://www.seaflags.us/noaa/noaa.html Sea Flags: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Accessed 26 October 2022]</ref> The pennant for Class I vessels is {{convert|15|ft}} long and has 13 red triangles on a white background at the hoist, with the remainder of the pennant blue, while the pennants for Class II, III, and IV vessels are {{convert|9|and|4|ft}} long and have seven red triangles but otherwise are identical in design to the Class I pennant.<ref name=seaflags/><ref>[https://www.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/document/2020/Mar/NAO_201-6A_Attachment_1_Authorized_Flags.pdf NAO 201-6A Attachment 1: Authorized Flags of the Department of Commerce, NOAA, and the NOAA Commissioned Corps March 15, 2015]</ref> The pennants are identical to those flown by commissioned ships of the [[United States Coast and Geodetic Survey]],<ref name=seaflags/> one of the ancestor organizations of NOAA, and the red triangles represent the discipline of [[triangulation]] used in [[hydrographic survey]]s.<ref name=seaflags/> The flag of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, used from 1899 to 1970, and that of NOAA, in use since 1970, include a similar red triangle.<ref name=seaflags/>
{{multiple image
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| image1 = NOAA commission pennant Class I vessels.PNG
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| image2 = NOAA commission pennant Class II, III, and IV vessels.PNG
| width2 = 300
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| caption2 = 
| footer = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] commission pennants for Class I vessels (left) and for Class II, III, and IV vessels (right). The Class I pennant is {{convert|15|ft}} long, while the Class II, III, and IV pennant can be either {{convert|9|or|4|ft}} long.}}

=== Taiwanese Navy ===
[[File:ROCN Commission Pennant.svg|thumb|400px|center|The Taiwanese Navy's commissioning pennant]]
In the [[Republic of China Navy|Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy]], a red trapezoidal pennant is flown with the [[Blue Sky with a White Sun]] in the hoist. The flag has typically base to length 1 to 10, and hoist to fly 5 to 1.