Commissioning pennant

The history of flying a commissioning pennant dates back to the days of chivalry with their trail pendants being flown from the mastheads of ships they[who?]

During the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–1654), Dutch Admiral Maarten Tromp lashed a broom to his flagship's masthead as a sign that he had swept the English off the seas.

[1] In the days of chivalry, knights and their squires carried pennons and pennoncells on their lances, just as men-of-war fly pennants from their masts.

[1] The pennant is an evolution of old "pennoncell", that in the Royal Navy used to consist of three colours for the whole of its length, and towards the end left separate in two or three tails.

The tradition continued until the end of the Napoleonic Wars when the Royal Navy adopted the style of pennants used by the service today.

Modern commissioning pennants are significantly shorter than in previous centuries - typically 1m in length and only 10 cm at the hoist, tapering to a squared-off point.

In 1990, the old version was phased out with a new design; replacing the Cross of Saint George with a stylized Canadian red maple leaf.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operates a fleet of research and survey ships which are in commission for United States Government service, although they are not warships.

[9] In the Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy, a red trapezoidal pennant is flown with the Blue Sky with a White Sun in the hoist.

Nevertheless, present usage in the Royal Navy has degenerated to using paying-off pennants only as part of a ship's decommissioning ceremony.