This article shows a list of flags of the German Navy, which includes flags, standards and pennants that used in the years between 1935 and 1945 by the German

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

and merchant navy.

National and merchant flag

Merchant flag with the Iron Cross

''Reichskriegsflagge''

The ''

Reichskriegsflagge The term Reichskriegsflagge (, ) refers to several war flags and war ensigns used by the German armed forces in history. A total of eight different designs were used in 1848–1849 and between 1867–1871 and 1945. Today the term refers usually ...

'', which was introduced on 7 November 1935, was widely used in the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

''. Thus, it also served the ''Kriegsmarine'' as the naval ensign, which was hoisted on Flag days regardless of the location of the ship. These were 1 January (New year), 18 January (founding day of the German Empire in 1871), 30 January ("day of national survey"), 20 April (

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

's birthday), 1 May ("Labor Day") and 31 May (anniversary of the World War I

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice ...

). In addition, ships in home waters had to hoist the ''Reichskriegsflagge'' on 1 March (commemorating the 1935 reintegration of the Territory of the Saar Basin into Germany), 29 August (the day of the founding of the

Prussian Navy The Prussian Navy (German: ''Preußische Marine''), officially the Royal Prussian Navy (German: ''Königlich Preußische Marine''), was the naval force of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1701 to 1867. The Prussian Navy was created in 1701 from the ...

in 1859), the first Sunday after

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September, a ...

and the day of the

Harvest festival A harvest festival is an annual celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different places. ...

. Regardless of these days, all warships that received a head of state were obliged to show the ''Reichskriegsflagge''.

Reich service flag

The Reich service flag was used by all state authorities, such as the

Reichsbahn The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regiona ...

, Reichsautobahn and

Reichsbank The ''Reichsbank'' (; 'Bank of the Reich, Bank of the Realm') was the central bank of the German Reich from 1876 until 1945. History until 1933 The Reichsbank was founded on 1 January 1876, shortly after the establishment of the German Empi ...

. In the navy, the Reich service flag was carried by all state-owned vessels that were not allowed to hoist the Reichskriegsflagge. In the case of the absence of the Reich service flag, the national and merchant flag had to be flown in its place.

Flags of the ''Kriegsmarine''

Most command and rank flags of the German navy had traditional character and were already used in the

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

and before that the

. The flag of a Grand Admiral was very similar to the version used in the Imperial Navy. Completely new, however, was the rank of General Admiral, which

Erich Raeder Erich Johann Albert Raeder (24 April 1876 – 6 November 1960) was a German admiral who played a major role in the naval history of World War II. Raeder attained the highest possible naval rank, that of grand admiral, in 1939, becoming the fir ...

, the Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine, adopted in 1936. In order to avoid Raeder having a higher rank than the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe (

Colonel General Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

Hermann Goering Hermann or Herrmann may refer to: * Hermann (name), list of people with this name * Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language * Éditions Hermann, French publisher * Hermann, Miss ...

) and the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

(Generaloberst

Werner von Fritsch Thomas Ludwig Werner Freiherr von Fritsch (4 August 1880 – 22 September 1939) was a member of the German High Command. He was Commander-in-Chief of the German Army from February 1934 until February 1938, when he was forced to resign after he ...

), the rank of General Admiral was introduced. The actual intended rank of a Grand Admiral as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy was "postponed" and a special flag introduced for a commander-in-chief who is not Grand Admiral. Raeder was promoted to Grand Admiral in 1939, meaning the special flag was still official, but found no use. This continued with the successor of Raeder,

Karl Dönitz Karl Dönitz (sometimes spelled Doenitz; ; 16 September 1891 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who briefly succeeded Adolf Hitler as head of state in May 1945, holding the position until the dissolution of the Flensburg Government fo ...

, who in 1943, was promoted from the rank of Admiral to Grand Admiral, skipping General Admiral.

Higher command rank flags

Other command flags

Vehicle flags and pennants

War Merit pennants

Flag for ''Landwehr Kriegsmarine'' units

Other naval flags

Flags for special occasions

References

Literatures

* * * *

External links

''Flags of the world'' (Flags of the Navy 1933-1945)
{{Ranks, uniforms and insignia of Nazi Germany

Flags A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic desi ...

Kriegsmarine flags

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...