Sailorman's Talk Intricate Nautical System of Flags

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 10, 27 January 1937, Page 12

Sailorman's Talk Intricate Nautical System of Flags

T ANDLUBBERS are always interested in the nautical way of conversing by means of bunting, and attracted by the strtngs of dlfferently pied and patterned flags and pennants used to dress ship at regattas and on holldays and public occaaions, a fluttering parti-coloured band climbing to the masthead and sloping aft out over the taffrail (writes Anthony Clyne in the Cape Times). Though an enormous extension of radlo as a means of conveying messages at sea and between sea and shore has taken place, there is no lndlcation of the older system becoming obsolete. There are many thousands of craft throughout the world not equipped with wireless and long stretches of coast without radio stations. Even if radio were universal, the other system must be maint&iped for use when lt fafls owing to some perll of the sea or mechanlcal defect. -'FHE mariners of ancient Greece had their modes end codes of slgnalling. Polybius, two centuries before Ohrist, described two methods. Through an the ages on all the seas some means or other was used, but slgnalling remained very crude and restrlcted in range until the 17th century. Then James n„ when Duke of York and Lord High Admiral, introduced a regular "code into the Navy. Progress was slow imtll the "brave Kempenfelt" of Campbell's ballad, the admiral who went down with the Royal George, suggested a radlcal reform and his system was revised and adopted by the great Lord Howe. Kempenfelt hlt upon a principle capable of Immense expanslon in proposlng that lnstead of changing the posltlpn of a llag to Indicate different thinga, different flags should be used ln palrs, a T the beginning oi the 19th eentury Admiral Slr Home Popham Introduced a greatly-improved code of flag signals, used in the Navy for many years. Then Captain Marryat, the novelist, adapted it to the purposes of the mercantlle marlne end for his valuable work was made a Fellow of the Royal Society. Marryat's code became known all round the world, and the French Government conferred the Legion of Honour upon hjm. The code, however, had no offlcial lnternational standlng. Others were promulgated and came Into more or less extensive use. It became very plain that a universal code which sailors of all nations could use and understand would be a great boon, and that the time -was ripe to evolve one. TN 1855 the British Boerd of Trade appointed a committee. The codes Jn use were reviewed for guldance, some arrangemeute of Captatn Marryat being incorporated, and a code was compiled and issued in 1857 which was adopted by all maritime nations. v There were eighteen flags, the con•sonants from B.to W being denoted by one swallowtail or burgee, three triangular pennants, and thirteen square flags, with a calling and answering penhant. Blue, red, yellow, and white were used singly and in various patterns. When thirty years had passed, years of great expansion in shipping and the

change from sall to steam, amplMcation had become desirable, and a revised code prepared by the Board of Trade involved the addition of nine flags for the remaining consonants and vowels. The need for further revislon became very manifest during the war, when ships of allied and neutral countriea frequently had occasion to communicate. . The code in use was proved by costly experfence of defective interpretation to have numerous shortcomlngs when employed by vessels of different natlonalitles. Zt ,was not sufficiently precise, and the verslons made by other natioiis of the origlnal English text, which has been develOped by the British Board of Trade, contained serious inaccuracies. An improvlsed code was quickly prepared to meet the emergency, but the need fpr comprebensive revislon after the war was evident. The subject was raised at various lnternational oonferences, and eventually the Immense and dlfflcult task of drafting a revised code was entrusted to the British Government, asslated by representatlves of the other prlnclpal maritime nations. QN January 1, 1884, the new lnternational Oode of Signals came Into operatlon, and edltions were Issued' ln seven languages: English, French, Italian. German. Japanese, Spanlsh, and Norweglan. The code has 40 flags, includlng three pennants for "repeatlng" which lmmensely Increase the range of possibic varlatlpns. The "flrst repeater" means that when it occurs the uppennoet flag is repeated and should be ' read ln ' its place, and slmllarly down the halyard with the "second repeater" and "thircl repeater." Letters and nnmerais ca», thus be dupllcated on the same holst, Of course the value of slgnalling conslsts not ln spelllng out words, but in the use of letters singly and in combinatlon to express common Ideas. By means of the lnternational Code messages are understood by mariners of all nations. being interpreted accordlng to slgnalbooks prlnted ln thelr own languages. TTERE ls a universal language, provlded with dlctlonarles for translatlon Into different tongues, ln which seamen can communicate with the greatest ease, asklng and , answering all but very unusual questlons by holstlng a few flags, while not knowlng a word oi one another's language. For example, the flag representing V means "I require assistance," that for F stands for "l am dlsabled; communicate with me," that for K slgnlfles "You should stop your ship instantly"— holsted under the code pennant on any ship of any nation ln any part of the world, and the message will be understood by any ship or shore atation. . . Two-letter oombinations convey less urgent messages, like TZ for "My radio is not working." Three letters stand for other phrases, like NTC for "Fish very scarce." Four letters signify names of places or ships, and so on, and terms often' required, like BDQR for "South ForeJand," GJDJ for "H.M.S, Thunderer," or CDWT for "pa®."