Service flag of the naval forces of the Bundeswehr

Service flag of the naval forces of the Bundeswehr ^?

For comparison: the official flag of the federal authorities (federal official flag) of the Federal Republic of Germany ^?

The service flag of the naval forces of the Bundeswehr was determined by order of May 25, 1956 ( Federal Law Gazette p. 447), the federal service flag in the form of a double stand by Federal President Theodor Heuss .

arrangement

"Federal service flag" on the lectern and "Federal service flag of the naval forces": Address by the then Federal President Horst Köhler during a foreign deployment of the Federal Armed Forces in 2004

The "Order of the Federal President on the service flag of the naval forces of the Bundeswehr" (BPäsFlaggenAnO) of May 25, 1956, was published in the Federal Law Gazette, Part III, structure number 1130-5 (text valid from: January 1, 1964). It says:

(1) I choose the federal service flag in the form of a double stand as the service flag of the naval forces of the Bundeswehr.

(2) The side of the flag facing away from the pole is jagged. The vertex of the right-angled incision is in the middle of the red field. The distance between the vertex and the federal shield is slightly less than the distance between the federal shield and the pole.

The order is signed by Federal President Theodor Heuss, Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and the Federal Minister of Defense Theodor Blank .

Regulations

"Service flag of the naval forces" as a Gösch on the bow of the Gorch Fock . In honor of the host country, the flag of Spain is set in the background .

“Service flag of the naval forces” on the stern of the Gorch Fock .

Tanker Rhön with the "official flag of the federal authorities"

The flagging of ships and boats is regulated in the Marine Service Regulation (MDv) 161/1 “Flag, Salute and Visiting Regulations for Ships / Boats of the Bundeswehr (FlaSBO)” in the version dated November 28, 2005. It contains provisions on the waving of flags in accordance with international custom on board war and auxiliary ships of the Navy. The central guideline A2-2630 / 0-0-3 "Military forms and celebrations of the Bundeswehr" (formerly ZDv 10/8) applies to land services of the Navy .

The service flag of the naval forces and the federal service flag are set in a reduced form on the ships and boats authorized to operate them as a jack (bow flag) . Warships that are landed or anchored, set the service flag of the naval forces and the jack from 7:00 a.m. in the summer half-year April to September or 8:00 a.m. in the winter half-year October to March until sunset, at the latest by 8:00 p.m. Warships in motion always carry the service flag of the naval forces, even in the dark.

Civilian auxiliary ships of the Navy fly the normal federal service flag.

role models

With the form of the double stand, the Bundeswehr abandoned the rectangular tradition of the German war or service flags ( Reichskriegsflagge ) of the Reich and Bundesflotte ( Navy of the North German Confederation ) as well as the Kaiserreich ( Imperial Navy ) and later the German Empire ( Reichsmarine and Kriegsmarine ).

Vice-Admiral Friedrich Ruge , the first inspector of the German Navy, posed as the inventor .

“On the occasion of the takeover of the first boats from the Americans in Bremerhaven, I gave a speech; then the federal flag was hoisted: black-red-gold with the federal eagle in the coat of arms in the middle. As a difference from the federal service flag, I had arranged on my own that the flag was jagged like that of the Nordic navies. No one has ever commented on this ... "

- Ruge : Diaries

However, other information indicates that the frigate captain Theodor von Mutius was the designer of the sea flag. At the corresponding time, he was working in Department VII-Marine , Internal Management Department , of the Federal Ministry of Defense.

Presumably three aspects were "godfathers" when choosing the shape for the sea flag:

the model intended for the European Defense Community
the traditional double stand of the Nordic navies
the war flag of the Prussian Navy .

Already from 1946 to 1949 there was by order of the Allied Control Council in the Control Council Act No. 39 that all German (merchant) ships had to carry the international signal flag of the letter "C" with a triangular cutout for identification , the so-called C double stand. The colors blue, white and red represent the national colors of the four allies: United States , United Kingdom , France and the Soviet Union . This stander was not allowed to be greeted at sea, or certificates of honor were not given to him.