What Are Royal Navy Ship Badges?
All ships in Her Majesty's Royal Navy of Great Britain carry an official badge provided by the Admiralty of the Royal Navy as a distinguishing feature.
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History
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In the days of wooden ships, badges were not provided for ships in the Royal Navy, as carved figureheads on bows of ships were used as distinguishing features.
Early Badges
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The crews of ships would often create badges and flags for a ship. But no control was placed on these badges, resulting in the use of crude drawings and mottos.
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Creation
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The curator of the armory at the Tower of London, Charles Ffoulkes was appointed adviser on Heraldry on the Ships Names and Mottoes Committee, which was established in 1918 in an attempt to create a standard badge under Admiralty control.
Criteria
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As names of ships in the Royal Navy are passed down after the decommissioning of an earlier ship, badges are used to differentiate between ships of the same name. The badge illustrates the ship's name and the historical associations of the ship in a simple, easy to create design.
Types
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All Royal Navy ships' badges have a naval crown at the top and a gold rope frame. Battleships and battle-cruisers have a circular framed badge. Cruisers have a pentagonal frame, destroyers a shield and an offset square for sloops, aircraft carriers and submarines.
First Badge
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The first official badge approved by the Ships Names and Mottoes Committee was displayed on H.M.S. Warwick in 1919.
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