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>Albert > >As I understand it the Commisisonig Pennant was flown >from the main top, and only, as I said, by private >ships. > >A ship with a flag officer would fly his squadron >colour at the appropriate station. > >I think it would appear that the Victory would not >carry a Pennant (Pendant). Which is how I have always >understood it. > >Cy > >>>Albert >>> >>>Are you sure about the commissioning pennant, I >>>thought they were only flown by private ships (i.e. >>>not flagships). >>> >>>Although I couldn't say where I got that idea. >>> >>>Cy >>> >>Timothy Wilson, <i>Flags at Sea</i> (Greenwich & >>Annapolis: National Maritime Museum & Naval Institute >>Press, 1986). >> >>P. 10: “The term ‘pennant’ can be used for any long >>tapering flag: the masthead pennant which is the mark >>of a naval vessel in commission, is long and narrow >>...” >> >>P. 109: “<b>Commissioning pennant:</b> See ‘Masthead >>pennant.’” >> >>P. 110: “<b>Masthead pennant:</b> A long narrow >>pennant flown permanently by warships in commission, >>unless replaced by the command flag of a flag >officer.” >> >>Modern command flags have various markings (balls on >>the British and their imitators, different numbers of >>stars for U.S.N.) to indicate the rank of the flag >>officer. In the sail era, in most navies all admirals >>flew the same flag, their rank indicated by the >>position: >><i>Mizzen mast:</i> Rear-admiral, chef d'escadre, >>schout-by-nacht, and equivalents >><i>Fore mast:</i> Vice-admiral, lieutenant-général, >>teniente general, and equivalents >><i>Main mast:</i> Admiral, vice-amiral (France), >>capitan-general, lieutenant-admiraal (Netherlands), >>and equivalents >> >>If there was a higher rank, such as the British >>admiral of the fleet, he flew a different flag from >>the mainmast. In the British navy, the admiral of the >>fleet flew the “union [flag]at the main.” >> >>Nowadays, ships have only one place at which to fly >>the admiral's flag <b>or</b> commissioning pennant, >>but I am not sure how that applied in the era of >>three-masted warships. I don't know whether the >>commissioning pennant was flown from the mainmast of >>the flagships of rear- and vice-admirals, but not >>flown on the flagship of an admiral or equivalent, or >>was flow with and above the admiral's command flag. I >>have plenty of pictures showing ships flying a long, >>narrow pennant from the mainmast, and some pictures >>that do not seem to show a commissioning pennant. One >>of HCMS <i>Santissima Trinidad</i> shows her flying >>the post-1785 Spanish ensign at the stern and a >>smaller one from the mizzen peak. Thus, it would seem >>to be <i>Trinidad</i> at Trafalgar, where she had a >><i>jefe de escuadra</i> or rear-admiral on board >>although he had no command. She is also flying a >>commissioning pennant from the main peak. I don't >>have a clear picture of <i>Victory.</i> In any case, >>paintings are not photographs, it is impossible to be >>sure that a painter, even a contemporary one with >>naval officers as patrons, was accurate about the >>flags on a particular ship on a particular occasion. >>It is possible that practice varied over time or from >>navy to navy. >> >>So now I’m not sure whether <i>Victory</i> at >>Trafalgar was flying a commissioning pennant or not. >>She would definitely have been flying white ensigns at >>the stern and from the foremast, and the non-flagships >>in the British fleet would have been flying >>commissioning pennants. I know that Villeneuve had >>the tricolor hoisted at all three mastheads, but this >>was an idiosyncracy.

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