The History of Nautical Flags
The use of flags for signaling in military situations has been around for thousands of years. The Roman navy used red flags or cloaks as signals. Though widely used, flag signaling systems during ancient times were often crude and lacked standardization. European navies began to use standardized, published codes by the early 18th century.
Other People Are Reading
-
Early French Flag Signals
-
In 1738, one of the earliest standardized code systems was proposed by Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais, a French naval officer. Bourdonnais's system contained ten colored flags to symbolize the numbers zero to nine. With three sets of these flags, a thousand signals could be made. The French navy never adopted Bourdonnais's code.
First Published Flag System
-
In 1763, Sebastian Francisco de Bigot, the founder of the French Marine Academy at Brest, proposed a system based on de la Bourdonnais's numbered flags. In his book, "Tactique Navale ou Traite des Evolutions et des Signaux," Bigot espoused a system of 336 different predefined commands or signals. The protocol included the use of a preparatory flag, to signal that a command or message was about to be transmitted. Bigot's system also included a provision for the repetition of signals to acknowledge their receipt.
-
First English Signal Protocol
-
The first widely-used, standardized English signal system was introduced by Admiral Lord Richard Howe in 1790. Howe's protocol included flags representing the numbers zero through nine, as well as six other flags for control codes. His lexicon contained 260 signals, which were later expanded to 340 signals in 1799.
Popham's Code
-
In 1800, Admiral Sir Home Popham wrote "Telegraphic Signals of Marine Vocabulary," in which he expanded upon Howe's signals. Popham's vocabulary contained 3,000 signals. Popham's system included an alphabet so that words not included in the lexicon could be spelled out. Popham's system later became known as the Trafalgar code, due to Lord Nelson's use of that system in the famous battle.
Marryat's Code
-
In 1817, Frederick Marryat, a Royal Navy captain, published and copyrighted "Code of Signals for the Merchant Service." Marryat used a set of flags that was different from that of the naval vessels. However, due to the versatility of his code, Marryat's system began to be used by military ships as well. Marryat's code would become the basis for the modern International Code of Signals (ICS).
Creation of an International Code
-
In the 19th century, many different signaling systems were introduced. Maritime communications were bogged down by the number of codes being used. It soon became obvious that an international standard system needed to be developed. In 1855, the earliest version of the current code, known as the Commercial Maritime Code, was drafted in a committee of the British Board of Trade, and was published in 1857. Marryat's system was adopted with some revisions. The code included 18 signal flags that in combination could signal more than 70,000 messages.
Modern Code System
-
Today's code, known as the International Code of Signals (ICS), is made up of signals using 40 flags. The flags represent the 26 alphabet letters, 10 numbers (0 to 9), three "repeaters" and an answering flag, which is used to show that a message or grouping of flags has been received. The repeaters are used to repeat a flag previously used in a sequence. The alphabet flags are related to the international radio code as well, each letter carrying the code word. Each alphabet flag has an individual meaning of its own. For example, the flag for letter B (Bravo) is a red swallowtail flag, which by itself means "Dangerous Cargo." These letters can be combined to make two-flag signals. The number flags do not carry their own separate meanings.
-
