A jack is a

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

flown from a short jackstaff at the bow (front) of a vessel, while the

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

is flown on the stern (rear). Jacks on bowsprits or foremasts appeared in the 17th century. A country may have different jacks for different purposes, especially when (as in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

) the naval jack is forbidden to other vessels. The United Kingdom has an official civil jack; the Netherlands has several unofficial ones. In some countries, ships of other government institutions may fly the naval jack, e.g. the ships of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

and the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...

in the case of the US jack. Certain organs of the UK's government have their own departmental jacks. Commercial or pleasure craft may fly the flag of an

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

(state, province, land) or municipality at the bow. Merchant ships may fly a house flag. Yachts may fly a club

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

or officer's flag or the owner's private signal at the bow. Practice may be regulated by law, custom, or personal judgment.

Etymology

"Jack" occupies 6 pages of the complete second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary and the use of the word in English goes back to the 14th century, appearing as a forename in Piers Plowman. Quite early on it was used as a name for a peasant or "a man of the lower orders". It continued the low class connotations in phrases such as "jack tar" for a common seaman, "every man jack," or the use of jack for the knave in cards. The diminutive form is also seen in "Jack of all trades, master of none", where Jack implies a poor tradesman, possibly not up to journeyman standard. The term was taken into inanimate objects and denoted a small (or occasionally inferior) component: jack-pit (a small mine shaft), jackplug (single pronged, low current), jack-shaft (intermediate or idler shaft), jack (in bowling: the small ball) or jack-engine (a donkey or barring engine). Incidentally, a jack is a garment for the upper body (quotes from 1375 onwards), a jacket is derived from this and is a small jack; not the other way around. As a further example of this usage, in 1686 Robert Plot writing about gins (i.e. horse engines) to pump water out of mines says: "they draw it he waterup by Gin, which is made bigger, or less ... the less they call a Jack". As a flag, "jack" followed this usage. A jack flag was a small flag, used to distinguish it from the large ensign or pennants. The OED mentions the theory of its derivation from James I or from a leathern jacket but dismisses both: "neither of these conjectures covers the early use of the word". Originally, the jack would have been flown from the bowsprit topmast head: "You are alsoe for this present service to keepe in yo^r Jack at yo^r Boultspritt end" (sailing instructions 1633 as quoted in OED2). In 1667 Samuel Pepys, naval administrator and diarist, recorded the Dutch taking the and a man "struck her flag and jacke" — clearly two different things. By 1692 the jackstaff had been developed to fly the jack: "Jack staff and Jack".

Usage

A naval jack is usually flown when the ship is not under way, but is moored or at anchor, or when it is dressed overall on special occasions. The Union Jack of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

must be run up when the first line is ashore when coming alongside. The same regulations are applied by the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the

First Navy Jack The First Navy Jack was the Jack of the United States, naval jack of the United States from 1975 to 1976 and again from 2002 to 2019. It was authorized by the United States Navy, U.S. Navy and was flown from the jackstaff of commissioned vessels ...

is also used as embroidered sleeve patches by the US Navy on its uniforms.

Shapes and designs

Naval jacks are usually rectangular, often square, and smaller than the national

or war flag. Some countries fly a smaller version of the national or war flag, or its canton on its own.

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and some other countries use the same flag or ensign for all purposes, civil or military, and also as their naval jack.

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and some other countries with civil and war ensigns of different designs fly the civil ensign as a jack and the war ensign at the ship's stern. A shortened, square version of the national flag is used by some countries. A larger group of jacks show the country's national

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

, either as a

banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

of arms, or as a badge displayed on the field. Most countries have chosen a completely different design for their naval jacks, often with some national or maritime symbol, and usually with the same colours as in their flags.

War ensign as jack

Countries that use their war ensign also as a jack will usually fly a smaller version at the bow.

War flag as jack

File:Flag of the People's Liberation Army.svg, Naval jack of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Square version of national flag as jack

File:Naval Jack of Belgium.svg, Naval jack of Belgium File:Naval Jack of Norway.svg, Naval jack of Norway File:Naval Jack of Romania.svg, Naval jack of Romania (former)

Canton of national ensign as jack

File:Naval Jack of Chile.svg, Naval jack of Chile File:Naval Jack of Greece.svg, Naval jack of Greece File:Star in Blue Box - Flag of Liberia.svg, Naval jack of Liberia File:Naval Jack of the Republic of China.svg, Naval jack of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

File:Flag of Tonga (1862-1866).svg, Naval jack of Tonga File:US Naval Jack.svg, Naval jack of the United States, also flown by other federal government and civilian ships

National coat of arms as jack

National flag as jack

File:Flag of Antigua and Barbuda.svg, Naval jack of

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda is a Sovereign state, sovereign archipelagic country composed of Antigua, Barbuda, and List of islands of Antigua and Barbuda, numerous other small islands. Antigua and Barbuda has a total area of 440 km2 (170 sq mi), ...

File:Flag of Australia (converted).svg, Naval jack of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

File:Flag of the Bahamas.svg, Naval jack of

the Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of ...

File:Flag of Bangladesh.svg, Naval jack of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

File:Flag of Brunei.svg, Naval jack of

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg, Naval jack of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

File:Flag of France.svg, Naval jack of

File:Flag of India.svg, Naval jack of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

File:Flag of Japan.svg, Naval jack of

File:Flag of Malaysia.svg, Naval jack of

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

File:Flag of Myanmar.svg, Naval jack of

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

File:Flag of New Zealand.svg, Naval jack of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

File:Flag of South Africa.svg, Naval jack of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

File:Flag of Singapore.svg, Naval jack of

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

File:Flag of Sri Lanka.svg, Naval jack of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

File:Flag of Turkey.svg, Naval jack of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

File:Flag of Ukraine.svg, Naval jack of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg, Naval jack of the

(i.e. the

Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

) File:Flag of Vietnam.svg, Naval jack of

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

National flag in canton as jack

Jacks of special design

Cross and Saltire Jacks

File:Naval Jack of Bulgaria.svg, Naval jack of

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

File:Naval Jack of Estonia.svg, Naval jack of

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

File:Naval Ensign of Georgia.svg, Naval jack of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

from 2004 to 2009 File:Naval Jack of Latvia.svg, Naval jack of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

File:Naval Jack of Russia.svg, Naval jack of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Union jacks

Norwegian gunboat Sleipner at Kiel June 1895

United or confederated states have in many cases adopted a jack representing their national union. The best known is the

of the

, composed in 1606 by joining the flags of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. When the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland (; , ) was a dependent territory of Kingdom of England, England and then of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1542 to the end of 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then List of British monarchs ...

merged with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in 1801, a red

saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a Heraldry, heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross. The word comes from the Middle French , Medieval Latin ("stirrup"). From its use as field sign, the saltire cam ...

( Saint Patrick's Cross) was added to form the present Union Flag. The design of the UK's Union Jack probably inspired later jacks of other states, such as

and the Union Jack of Sweden and Norway. The Russian jack in its turn inspired the jacks of

, and

. From 1777 to 1975, 1977 to September 2002, and June 2019 to the present, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

has flown a "

union jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

", consisting of the blue canton with white stars from the US national ensign. In 1975 and 1976, and then again from September 11, 2002, to June 4, 2019, the US Navy flew the

, allegedly used in 1775 and 1776, with a rattlesnake and the motto "DONT TREAD ON ME" 'sic''superimposed on thirteen alternating red and white stripes. The

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

followed the same pattern for its first naval jack (1861–1863), using the canton of its first naval ensign, with seven stars forming a circle on a "medium blue" field. Later versions had up to fifteen stars. The second Confederate naval jack was a rectangular cousin of the Confederate army's battle flag and was in use from 1863 until 1865. The Union Jack of Sweden and Norway (1844–1905) was a rectangular cross flag divided per saltire, combining the national colours of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

(hoist and fly) and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

(top and bottom). The naval jack was also used as a flag for the common diplomatic representations abroad. File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg, The

of the United Kingdom File:US Naval Jack.svg, Naval jack of the United States from 1960 to 1975, 1977 to 2002, and 2019 to the present (identical to the canton in the national flag or ensign of that period) File:Naval jack of the Confederate States of America (1861-1863).svg, Naval jack of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1863 File:Union Jack of Sweden and Norway (1844-1905).svg, Naval jack of Sweden and Norway from 1844 to 1905 File:Battle flag of the Confederate States of America (light blue) (2-3).svg, Naval jack of the Confederate States from 1863 to 1865

Notes

References

External links

{{Commons category, Naval jacks
FOTW (Flags of the World) website on jacks

Types of flags Jacks (flags) Maritime flags Maritime culture