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France: Naval flags

Last modified: 2015-04-06 by ivan sache

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Naval ensign and jack

French naval ensign and jack - Image by Željko Heimer, 22 September 2001

The proportions of vertical stripes on the French flag when used at sea as the civil or naval ensign or jack are 30:33:37, to give a good visual effect when flying; they are therefore called "optical proportions".

Željko Heimer, 23 September 1995

The Tricolore ensign was adopted by a Decree dated 27 Pluviose of the Year II (15 February 1794) and by a Decree dated 7 March 1848. The proportions 30:33:37 were decided by a Regulation dated 17 May 1853. This Regulation gives the precise sizes, in metres and centimetres, of the standard legal ensigns, numbered from 1 (9 m x 13.5 m) to 16 (50 cm x 75 cm).

Armand du Payrat & Pierre Gay, 24 September 1998

Masthead pennant

French masthead pennant - Image by Željko Heimer, 23 September 2001

The masthead pendant in its present form (replacing the interim design adopted on 24 October 1790), was established by Article IV of a Decree of the National Convention dated 27 Pluviose of the Year II (15 February 1794).

The Decree gave the construction details of "one-fifth blue, one-fifth white and three-fifths red", while the table of standard sizes were confirmed by Naval Regulations issued in April 1987.

Christopher Southworth, 1 August 2004

Album des Pavillons [pay00] shows the masthead pennant as a triangular tricolour pennant, proportion 1:20~ or 1:(4+4+12)~)

Flaggenbuch [neu92] gives the following table for the size (in cm) of the pennant:

Length 100 150 200 300 500 700 1000 1200 1600 2000 Width 5 5 8 8 10 10 12 12 15 15

Ivan Sache, 30 September 2001

Former church pennant

French former church pennant - Image by Miles Li, 7 September 2014

The French Navy church pennant is illustrated in Flaggenbuch, 1905 [ruh05], the year this pennant probably fell into disuse, after the French government passed a law seperating the church and the state.

Miles Li, 25 December 2006