ARGENTINE REPUBLIC

NAVAL ENSIGNS & FLAGS  •  CIRCA 1900

Argentina's naval ensign, jack and commissioning pennant were much the same at the beginning of the twentieth century as those in use nowadays, but the appointment and rank flags were quite different. Their design was somewhat reminiscent of the appointment and rank flags of the Royal Italian Navy between 1866 and 1898: striped vertically in the national colors (blue and white), with the national emblem (the Sun of May) on the central stripe and stars or anchors to indicate the appointment or rank. The only exception was the flag of the Minister of Marine, which was blue with the Sun of May inside a white frame. The senior flag officer of the Navy bore the unique title, Major-General of the Navy, equivalent to a full admiral. There were two grades of captain, the senior one being titled Captain-Adjutant. When in command of a squadron or flotilla, captains-adjutant and captains flew a swallowtailed pennant. The senior officer's pennant was triangular. The appointment and rank flags shown below were replaced some time prior to the First World War by simpler designs similar to those in use today. Note on the Illustrations: Most sources show 1:2 proportions for the naval ensign and all flags with a somewhat darker shade of blue than used nowadays and I have so depicted them here. Flag Proportions: The jack and appointment/rank flags were proportioned 1:1.4, while the command pennants were proportioned approximately 8:4.5.

BACK to ARGENTINA Main Page