A broad pennant is a triangular swallow-tailed naval pennant flown from the masthead of a warship afloat or a naval headquarters ashore to indicate the presence of either: (a) a Royal Navy officer in the rank of

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

, or (b) a U.S. Navy Captain serving in a designated

command billet. The flag is so called as a broad pennant because its dimensions are roughly 2:3. Starting in 1826, a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

commodore would fly one of two broad pennants depending on whether he had a captain for his ship (First Class Commodore), or also had to command it himself (Second Class). This difference was shown by a ball added to the pennant of the Second Class rank holder, as shown above. In 1958, the rank of First Class Commodore was terminated, after which only the red and white broad pennant with a ball was used by the

. The

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

will also refer to this flag as a Commodore's "command pennant." In the

, the blue and white pennant will contain either numbers or letters indicating the command designation or name. For example, the pennant for the Commodore commanding Destroyer Squadron 25 (DESRON 25) will have the numeral "25" on the field of their command pennant. Likewise, the Commodore commanding Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic will have the letters "SFWL" or "CSFWL" on their pennant. In U.S.

Naval Aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based ...

, this pennant is also used by the commander of a

carrier air wing A carrier air wing (abbreviated CVW) is an operational naval aviation organization composed of several aircraft squadrons and detachments of various types of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. Organized, equipped and trained to conduct mo ...

. The broad command pennant is used in all respects the same as an admiral's flag. When embarked aboard a warship as the senior officer, it is broken aboard that commodore's flagship at the same points of hoist as an admiral's flag. It is also carried at the bow of a boat in which they are embarked, emblazoned on their social letterhead, displayed on a staff in his or her office ashore, and, if they should die in command, half-masted aboard their flagship and carried before their casket in the funeral ceremony. Also in the U.S. Navy, a red and white

Burgee A burgee is a distinguishing flag, regardless of its shape, of a recreational boating organization. In most cases, they have the shape of a pennant. Etiquette Yacht clubs and their members may fly their club's burgee while under way and at ...

command pennant, similar to but smaller in the size than the Commodore's command pennant, has been flown by subordinate commanding officers, typically officers in the rank of Commander, of smaller aircraft units such as aviation squadrons or similar precedence units such as SEAL Teams or Naval Mobile Construction Battalions. For commanding officers of commissioned warships, the ship's

commissioning pennant The commissioning pennant (or masthead pennant) is a pennant (also spelled "pendant") flown from the masthead of a warship. The history of flying a commissioning pennant dates back to the days of chivalry with their trail pendants being flown fr ...

is considered to carry the symbolism of that vessel's commanding officer.McMillan, Joe (2001). "Commissioning pennant". Flags of the World. Retrieved 11 March 2011.

References

Naval flags Royal Navy appointments {{flag-stub