KINGDOM OF ROMANIA

NAVAL ENSIGNS & FLAGS  •  1920-1940

A flag with stripes of blue, yellow and red has been the Romanian national flag since the nineteenth century. When the United Principalities of Romania (a union of the former Ottoman-dominated principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia) was proclaimed in 1859, its flag was a horizontal blue-yellow-red tricolor: a combination of the livery colors of the two principalities. The current flag with vertical stripes was adopted after the United Principalities became a kingdom in 1866. The Kingdom of Romania placed the royal coat of arms on the yellow stripe of those versions of the flag that were used by the army and navy. The arms themselves changed several times during the kingdom's lifespan, but this did not affect the basic design of the flags. Romanian naval flags in use between 1920 and 1940 were all based on the national flag. In 1940, the rank flags were replaced by a design with a cross and field in the national colors. Flag Proportions: The naval ensign and naval reserve ensign had 2:3 proportions. The jack and most rank flags were square.