Civil ensign - Citizendia

The civil ensign (also known as merchant flag or merchant ensign) is the national flag flown by civil ships (merchant ships and others) to denote nationality. An ensign is a distinguishing Flag of a ship or a military unit or a distinguishing token emblem or badge such as a symbol of office A national flag is a Flag that symbolises a country The flag is flown by the government but usually can be flown by Citizens of that country as well

Beside the naval ensign the civil ensign is one of the two original types of the national flag. In most countries there was originally no distinction between the flag for armed state ships (navy) and civilian-owned, unarmed ships (merchant marine). Today many countries follow the practice of the USA and France in having only one flag for all or most purposes of the national flag. Flags of the United States The Flag of the United States of America consists of 13 equal horizontal stripes of Red (top and bottom alternating The National flag of France (known in French as drapeau tricolore, drapeau français,and in military parlance les couleurs

In several countries, however, this distinction has developed and was later adopted by other countries as well. Most notable for the elaborate flag system is the United Kingdom, that has (inter alia) the Red Ensign for civilian ships and the White Ensign for the Royal Navy. This article concerns the ensigns flown by vessels and aircraft of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories The Red Ensign or " Red Duster " is a Flag that originated in the early 17th century as an Ensign flown by the Royal Navy. The White Ensign is an Ensign flown on British Royal Navy ships and Shore establishments It consists of a red St George's Cross on The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service)

1 Countries having specific civil ensigns
2 See also
- 2.1 Remarks

Countries having specific civil ensigns

The civil ensigns that are different from the "general" national flag, can be grouped in five main categories.

Red Ensigns after the British pattern

These are red flags with, in most cases, the respective national flag or Union Flag in the canton, patterned after the British Red Ensign. The Red Ensign or " Red Duster " is a Flag that originated in the early 17th century as an Ensign flown by the Royal Navy. The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the national flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The design and description of Flags typically uses specialised flag terminology' with precise and technical meanings and is hence a form of Jargon. The Red Ensign or " Red Duster " is a Flag that originated in the early 17th century as an Ensign flown by the Royal Navy. British overseas territories either fly the plain Red Ensign or a Red Ensign with the respective colonial arms in the fly. The British Overseas Territories are fourteen territories that are under the Sovereignty of the United Kingdom, but which do not form part of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom^[1]

Guernsey (UK)

Isle of Man (UK)

British Virgin Islands (UK)

Falkland Islands (UK)

Gibraltar (UK)

Cayman Islands (UK)

Turks and Caicos Islands (UK)

Australia^[2]

United Arab Emirates^[3]

Sri Lanka

Civil ensign very different from the national flag

Several countries have civil ensign that are very different from the national flag, for instance Malta and Luxembourg. The Red Ensign or " Red Duster " is a Flag that originated in the early 17th century as an Ensign flown by the Royal Navy. The present flag of Guernsey was adopted in 1985 and consists of the red cross of St The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The flag of the Isle of Man shows a Triskelion, the Three Legs of Mann emblem in the centre of a red flag The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Flag of the British Virgin Islands was adopted on 15 November 1960 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The first flag of the Falkland Islands was adopted on September 29, 1948. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located List of flags of GibraltarThe Flag of Gibraltar is an elongated banner of the Coat of arms of Gibraltar, granted by Royal Warrant Queen Isabella of Castile The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Flag of the Cayman Islands was adopted in 14 May 1958 after the colony was officially granted a coat-of-arms. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The' flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands is similar to the flags of other British dependencies and colonies as it has the Union Flag in the canton. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The flag of Australia was chosen in 1901 from entries in a worldwide design competition held following Federation. Prior to ceding the country to British rule in 1874 the government of Fiji adopted a national flag featuring blue and white vertical The flag of New Zealand is a defaced Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the canton and four red stars with white borders to the right The Flag of the Bahamas has an approximately 12 aspect ratio The black equilateral triangle on the left represents the unity and determination of the people of the Bahamas Origin The original flag was designed by painter Quamrul Hassan. flag of Ghana was adopted in 1957 It was replaced with a variant with a white stripe in the middle from 1964 to 1966 "Indian flag" redirects here For flags used by Native American peoples see the tribes' respective articles, for example the Navajo Nation. The flag of Malaysia, also known as the Jalur Gemilang ("Stripes of Glory" comprises a field of 14 alternating red and white stripes along The flag of Mauritius was adopted upon independence March 12, 1968. The national flag of Pakistan was designed by Syed Amir uddin Kedwaii and was based on the original flag of the Muslim League. The national Flag of the Solomon Islands was adopted officially on November 18, 1977. The flag of the United Arab Emirates ( علم الإمارات العربية المتحدة) was adopted on December 2, 1971. List of Sri Lankan flags The Flag of Sri Lanka, also called the Lion Flag, consists of gold lion passant holding a sword in its right fore paw in front List of flags of Malta The Flag of Malta is a basic bi-colour with white in the hoist and red in the fly colours from the blazon of the arms of Malta The flag of Luxembourg consists of three horizontal stripes red white and blue and can be in 12 or 35 ratio

Civil ensigns consisting of the national flag with an additional emblem

Well-known examples are the Italian civil ensign showing the shield with the arms of the sea republics or the Polish civil ensign with the arms of Poland. The national flag of Albania is a red flag with a black Two-headed eagle in the center List of flags of Israel The flag of Israel was adopted on October 28, 1948, five months after the country's establishment The flag of Luxembourg consists of three horizontal stripes red white and blue and can be in 12 or 35 ratio List of flags of Malta The Flag of Malta is a basic bi-colour with white in the hoist and red in the fly colours from the blazon of the arms of Malta The national flag of Singapore was first adopted in 1959, the year Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire. See also List of Italian flags The flag of Italy ( La bandiera d'Italia, often referred to in Italian as Il Tricolore) is a Tricolour The flag of Poland consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width the upper one white and the lower one red Most of these emblems were added to distinguish the ensign from similar flags of other countries.

Colombia

El Salvador

Italy

Morocco^[4]

Poland

Saudi Arabia

Republic of China^[5]

Spain

Simplified national flags

In several (mostly Latin American) countries there are two main versions of the flag, a simpler one (usually a striped flag) and a more elaborated one with the national arms. List of Colombian flags The Flag of Colombia was adopted on November 26, 1861. The Flag of El Salvador was adopted on May 17, 1912. It is based on the flag of the United Provinces of Central America, inspired in the See also List of Italian flags The flag of Italy ( La bandiera d'Italia, often referred to in Italian as Il Tricolore) is a Tricolour The flag of Morocco ( Amazigh: Acnyal Amrrukan, علم المغرب) is made of a red field with a black-bordered green interwoven star The flag of Poland consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width the upper one white and the lower one red The flag of Saudi Arabia is the flag used by the government of Saudi Arabia since March 15, 1973. The National Flag of the Republic of China ( is a well-known symbol of the Republic of China (ROC The simpler one is used as civil ensign (and in most cases also as civil flag), whereas the version with the arms is mainly used by the government and the military. Interestingly this is similar to the practice in Germany, Austria. The flag of Germany is a Tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands displaying the national colours of Germany: Black, The flag of Austria has three equal horizontal bands of red (top white and red In Spain the flag without the arms is only a variant for civil use; the national flag is used also as a civil ensign. ^[6]

Civil ensigns differing from the national flag in the proportions

Several former British colonies use 1:2 as a proportion for their ensigns, whereas 3:5 is used for flags ashore. The National flag of the Principality of Andorra was adopted in 1866 The flag of Austria has three equal horizontal bands of red (top white and red The current flag of Bolivia was originally adopted by Bolivia in 1851. The Flag of Costa Rica was officially adopted on November 27, 1906. The Flag of the Dominican Republic, as described by Article 96 of the Dominican Constitution features a centered White cross that extends The flag of Ecuador, which consists of horizontal bands of yellow (double width blue and red was adopted on September 26, 1860. The Flag of El Salvador was adopted on May 17, 1912. It is based on the flag of the United Provinces of Central America, inspired in the List of flags of Finland The flag of Finland, also called Siniristilippu ("Blue Cross Flag" dates from the beginning of the 20th century The flag of Germany is a Tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands displaying the national colours of Germany: Black, The flag of Guatemala features two colours sky Blue and White. The Flag of Haiti was adopted on February 25, 1986. The flag is divided into two Rectangles going across horizontally The Flag of Hungary is a horizontal Tricolour of Red, White and Green. The Flag of Nicaragua was adopted on August 27, 1971. It is based on the flag of the United States of Central America. The flag of Peru was adopted by the Government of Peru in 1825 The state and war Flag of San Marino is formed by two equal horizontal bands of white (top and light blue with the national coat of arms superimposed The flag of Serbia is a Tricolour with Pan-Slavic colours, with three equal horizontal fields Red on the top Blue in the middle The flag of Venezuela dates from 1811, the beginning of that nation's struggle for independence The countries of former Yugoslavia have it the other way round: the ensigns are 2:3, flags ashore are 1:2. See also Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian France is a special case: the overall proportion is the same, but the bands on the ensign differ in width slightly. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.