KINGDOM OF YUGOSLAVIA
NAVAL ENSIGNS, FLAGS & PENNANTS • 1920-41
The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was proclaimed in 1918, and in 1920 it adopted as its national flag a horizontal tricolor of blue, white and red. For the first few years of the state's existence, a flag of four stripes, combining the colors of the new nation's three principal ethnic groups, served as the naval ensign. It was replaced by the plain tricolor in 1920. In 1922 a variant of the national flag, with the crowned state arms offset toward the hoist, was made the naval ensign and jack. Also adopted were an ensign for merchant ships whose masters were officers in the naval reserve, and a naval commissioning pennant. Flags for the Minister of the Navy, rear-admirals and commodores were introduced at this time as well. The rear-admiral's flag was at first flown with the crown in the upper fly, but the regulations were later amended to specify the crown's position in the upper hoist. Additional naval rank flags were added in the early 1930's.
The state's name was changed in 1929 to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and in 1937 a new range of naval rank flags and command pennants was introduced, of much simpler design than the previous flags. These remained in service until 1941, when Yugoslavia was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany, and the state was abolished. Postwar socialist Yugoslavia adopted naval rank flags patterned on those of the USSR. See also National Flags of Yugoslavia.
Flag Proportions: Naval ensigns and jacks of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia were made in 2:3 proportions. Rank flags for admirals were made square.
Credit: My drawings are based on images and information from Zeljko Heimer's outstanding vexillological website, The Flags & Arms of the Modern Era
Image Added October 2011
Naval Ensign & Jack (1918-20)
