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Admiralty Flag (Hamburg, Germany)

Admiralitätsflagge, Flag for State Shipping Buildings and Jack for State Vessels

3:5
by Marcus Schmöger
Flag adopted 6th June 1952, first adopted 14 May 1751

See also:

Historical Flags (Hamburg, Germany)
Hamburg (Germany)
Germany

Description

The Admiralitätsflagge (admiralty flag). Several versions of this are already among the historical flags. It shows on a red field a blue anchor with a yellow horizontal bar behind the castle. Since 1642 the admiralty (the office responsible for all harbour and shipping matters) had its own arms: the blue anchor with the white castle. It is not clear to me from my sources since when has the flag been used. In the newer regulations (1949 and 1951) the use of this flag is decreed: the admiralty flag is used as state flag on state buildings serving shipping, and as a jack on Hamburg state vessels. Sources: Smith 1975, Schurdel 1995, Laitenberger and Bassier 2000 and Gaedechens 1855.

Marcus Schmöger, 29 May 2001

The use of the admiralty flag is described in Hertenstein 1985 (Jörg Hertenstein, Die Flaggen des Bundeslandes Hamburg, in Hamburgische Geschichts- und Heimatblätter no. 11, pp. 153-158, 1985). There are three main places in Hamburg, where this flag is (or has been) hoisted:

Überseebrücke;
branch office of the port authority;
office for stream and harbour construction.

Boats and ships of Hamburg authorities use this flag as jack, frequently in the form of a metal plate rather than in the form of a cloth flag. The jack is used by the police, fire brigade, harbour doctor, customs, pilots, and also towboats chartered by the Hamburg authorities. Furthermore some service launches display the admiralty flag at the starboard gaff, if the harbour captain is on board.

Marcus Schmöger, 25 November 2003