US NAVY BATTLE STREAMERS

"Victory at Sea"

BATTLE STREAMERS
FOR
THE UNITED STATES NAVY FLAG

Notes

The United States Navy Flag carries a set of streamers to commemorate the battles, campaigns, service and unit citations of the US Navy from 1775 to the present day. Currently (January 2002), there are 31 streamers authorized: 28 for battles, campaigns and service, and three for citations awarded to ships and units of the Navy.

Battle streamers for the Civil War and subsequent wars and conflicts are in the colors of the ribbon of the campaign medal for award to individuals. (For earlier wars and conflicts, there are no corresponding campaign medals.) Unit citation streamers are in the colors of the service ribbon for wear by individuals of cited units. As applicable, bronze and silver stars are placed on streamers to denote battle, campaign or service credits. Each bronze star denotes one such credit, with a silver star being used in lieu of five bronze stars. (The large number of credits earned by the Navy during World War II in the Pacific necessitates the use of two streamers to accommodate eight silver and three bronze service stars.) On the unit citation streamers, red numerals denote the total number awarded to ships and units of the Navy. (The number "100" shown below is notional; the actual numbers change as awards are made.) Navy streamer dimensions are 2 3/4 inches at the hoist by 3 feet on the fly.

Credit: The drawings on this page are based on information from Sea Flags, the outstanding web site maintained by FOTW Mailing List member Joseph McMillan.

Unit Citations