What do the small flags with various patterns hanging on the aircraft carrier mean?

Semaphores were a major form of communication in ancient times and are now a common language used by navies around the world. Different flags and different flag groups express different meanings. For professionals, it's an open secret.

Chinese name

Semaphore

Foreign name

Semaphore

Modern meaning

A common language for navies around the world

Uses

Communication

Contents

1? Manqiao introduces the principles and requirements

2? Departure welcome with full flags

3? Hanging specifications

4? Navy flag etiquette supply reverse turn signal

5? Historical events

6?Chinese fan language 1, fan position and code number 2, initial consonant 3, medial 4, tone 5, final 6, number 7, examples of Chinese fan language

Manqi

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Introduction

There are strict regulations on the time and order of hoisting the full flag. The time to fly the full flag is generally to welcome the leaders of the party and the country, the government, and the military, to welcome foreign heads of state, on major festivals, to welcome the visit of foreign warships, before the visiting fleet leaves the dock, when it arrives at the port of the visited country, and when it is anchored abroad, etc. For example, during China's Spring Festival, National Day, and Mid-Autumn Festival, when foreign leaders and presidents come to visit our country, they need to be filled with flags.

Internationally it is usually English. This is how the Age of Discovery began. But now it seems that the speed of communication seems to be a bit slow with such expressions. If you are in distress at sea, you need 4 semaphore actions to say "HELP", and you will have to wait for a while before you can be rescued.

Principle

Whether it is a beacon, a telescope, a traffic light, or a flag, they are all different forms of optical communication, but they have one thing in common, which is the use of the atmosphere to propagate. Visible light is received by the human eye. It is precisely because of this that we are so familiar with them, but these are not optical communications in the true sense, let alone powerful optical communications. The truly powerful optical communications should be optical fiber communications. Optical communication is the general term for all communication methods that use light as a carrier to transmit information, regardless of the medium used for transmission; optical fiber communication is a communication method that simply relies on optical fiber as a medium to transmit information.

Today, both the navy and the army use semaphores. The difference is that the army's semaphore is relatively simple, while the navy uses the same morse code, consisting of 26 English letters, which is the same as the navy's at night. The light communication is very simple. It is often possible for the navy to communicate with foreign ships, and it is impossible to use Chinese Pinyin. Sometimes it is necessary to maintain radio silence during exercises and operations, and to use semaphores during the day.

Requirements

There are some special requirements for flying full flags:

No communication flags with the same pattern as the national flags of various countries shall be flown, nor shall they be flown to indicate battle, A single flag to protect against nuclearization and air strikes. A single flag among the flags means nothing. When our country's visiting fleet arrives at the visited country, the naval vessels of the visited country generally fly a full flag to express welcome. The order of arrangement is the same as ours. The difference is that the foreign military's full flag is one or two smaller than ours. Number.

Before my visiting ship leaves the dock, the sending off troops, local government officials, envoys of the visited country to China, navy chiefs or fleet chiefs will hold a grand farewell ceremony at the dock. All ships moored at the dock will Fly the full flag.

On behalf of the full flag

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Leave

30 minutes before the visiting fleet leaves the dock, in order to facilitate the departure from the dock, the full flag is generally lowered. The flag was changed to the Manchu flag and lowered after leaving the port. The Daiman flag is to hang the national flag No. 1 on the top of the two masts, and hang the naval flag on the bow and stern masts. When it is stipulated that the full flag should be hung, if there is heavy rain or strong wind, the full flag can be hung instead. When the formation leaves the dock, the square yellow "Q" flag is hung halfway, indicating that the formation leaves the dock uniformly. The "Q" flag is hoisted to the top of the mast, indicating that the formation has begun to leave the dock, and the "Q" flag is lowered, indicating that the departure from the dock is complete. The sign leaving the dock is to remove the last cable. When Ship 112 visited Pakistan, it received an exceptional reception.

When the 112th ship entered Pakistan's territorial waters, Pakistan sent two frigates and a missile boat to greet it respectively flying the Daiman flag. The two frigates lined up on the left and right, and the missile boat led in front. When entering the harbor, a 21-gun national salute was fired. All the ships stationed at the pier hoisted full flags, and the crew lined up in separate groups on the deck, shouting: "Long live China-Pakistan friendship!" When leaving the pier, a 21-gun salute was made as an exception, and the above three ships were dispatched to hoist flags. The full flag was sent across the territorial waters, showing the special friendship between the navies of China and Pakistan.

Welcome

Welcome and Farewell Flags When sending off our ship formation for a visit, the main mast of the visiting ship hangs a group of flags to greet the leader: one group is "LBF" and "LBV" , the "L" flag is a square flag, consisting of yellow, black, and yellow squares occupying one-quarter each, with yellow squares in the upper left corner and lower right corner, and black squares in the upper right corner and lower left corner. The "B" flag is the red swallowtail flag. The "F" flag is a red diamond in a white flag, with the four corners of the diamond in the middle of the four sides of the flag. The "V" flag is a thick red cross within a white square flag, with the four terminal ends of the cross extending to the four corners of the flag. It means "warmly welcome the chief's guidance" and "pay tribute to the chief."

Hanging Specifications

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Hang between the two masts and beams, and connected to the bow and stern flagpoles respectively. A national flag is hung on each top of the two masts. , a naval flag is hung on each of the bow and stern flagpoles. The destroyer is full of flags, usually flag No. 2, with about 67 flags. This depends on the actual length of the ship and the distance between the front and rear masts. The single-masted ship is connected to the bow and stern flagpoles by mast beams, and a national flag is hung on the top of the mast.

Signal flags are available in 5 specifications. Divided into No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5. No. 1 is the largest and No. 5 is the smallest. There are 46 signal flags in a set. Among them, there are 26 letter flags, 10 number flags, 4 direction flags, 3 substitute flags, 1 execution flag, 1 permission flag, and 1 international permission flag. The number flag is a triangular flag, the letter flag includes a square flag and a swallow-tail flag, and the permission flag and the international permission flag are trapezoidal flags, etc. The arrangement of the full flags is two squares and one pointed. The square flag refers to a rectangular flag, the pointed flag refers to a triangular flag, the swallow-tail flag can be used as a square flag, and the trapezoidal flag is also called a long flag and can be used as a pointed flag.

It is convenient to fill the flag. There are three thin steel wires from the top of the bow flagpole to the top of the mainmast, from the top of the mainmast to the top of the mizzen mast, and from the top of the mizzen mast to the top of the stern flagpole. Our ship formation arrived at the visited country. When the first cable was tied to the bitt, the signal soldier quickly used an electric pulley to slowly raise the full flag along the thin steel wire.

Naval Ensign

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When the flag ship removes the last cable, it hoists the navigation flag, the naval ensign, on the mizzen mast. Sailing day and night, always hanging. This is to tell people which country the warship belongs to. When experienced sailors encounter foreign warships on the ocean, they cannot tell which country they belong to. They can tell which country they belong to by looking at the navigation flag with a telescope.

Etiquette

Warships, also known as naval ships, are ships that perform combat missions at sea. Those that directly perform combat missions are called combat ships, and those that perform auxiliary combat missions are called auxiliary combat ships.

Ships are divided into two categories: combat ships and auxiliary combat ships. Combat ships are divided into surface combat ships and underwater combat ships according to their different navigation conditions. .Surface combat ships perform surface combat missions. According to their different basic tasks, they are divided into different ship types, including: aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, torpedo boats, missile boats, submarine hunters, minelayers, and mine countermeasures ships. and landing ships, etc.; within the same ship type, they are divided into different ship classes according to their displacement and weapons and equipment, such as the United States' "Nimitz" class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Soviet Union's "Kala" class guided missile cruiser, etc. . Within the same ship class, different ship types are divided according to their appearance, structure and tactical and technical performance.

Warships are considered part of the national territory and enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities when sailing or anchoring in foreign territorial waters and internal waters. When encountering a warship, it is common to salute the warship. When a merchant ship salutes a warship, the signalman on the warship should lower the naval flag to one-third of the top of the flagpole to return the salute, and then raise the naval flag to the top to complete the salute. When warships encounter each other, they only blow whistles, salute and return salutes, and do not use semaphores.

Replenishment

After the visiting fleet has sailed for a period of time, it needs to replenish oil and water. There are two types of replenishment: horizontal and vertical. No matter which method of supply is used, signal flags must be hung to indicate various commands and supply actions during the supply process.

Both receiving ships and supply ships must fly the flag group: "VP". The "P" flag is a small white rectangle in the middle of the blue square flag, with its length and width each accounting for one-third of the top, bottom, left, and right. At the same time, three body signals, spherical, diamond-shaped, and spherical, are hung on the other mast side to indicate that the ship's maneuverability is restricted. Explain to passing ships: "Our ship is undergoing supply operations, please pay attention to safety."

Reverse steering

Steering flag When the ship needs to reverse when leaving the dock or sailing in the channel, For safety reasons, raise the "S" flag to the top. The "S" flag is a small blue rectangle in the middle of a white square flag. It means to tell passing ships: "I have reversed, please pay attention to safety!" When the ship turns to the left, it hangs the "I" flag. The "I" flag is a square yellow flag with a black circle in the middle, which means: "I am turning left." When the "I" flag is raised halfway, it means: "I am preparing to turn left." When it is raised to the top, it means: "I am turning left." ", the "I" flag is lowered as: "I have completed the turn!" When the ship turns to the right, the "E" flag is lowered. The "E" flag is a square flag with blue at the top and red at the bottom, each occupying one-half. It means "I turn to the right." When the ship is maneuvering, in addition to using semaphores, according to the international collision avoidance regulations, it also needs to use the whistle to coordinate: one right, two left, three reverse. That is, when the "S" flag is hoisted, the whistle blows three short blasts. When hanging "I", the whistle blows two short blasts. When the "E" flag is hoisted, the whistle blows briefly. The steps for raising and lowering the flag are basically the same as turning left.

Crossing territorial waters and equatorial flags When a visiting ship formation crosses territorial waters and the equator, in order to stimulate the enthusiasm of the visiting officers and soldiers, an oath-taking ceremony is usually organized and the navigation flag is hoisted at the same time. The sailing flag is to fly the national flag on the two masts, and the naval flag is not hung on the bow and stern flagpoles.

Signals

Hand flags are also a method of maritime communication. Suitable for daytime, close distance and good viewing distance. When the distance is short at night, light communication is generally used. The hand flag is a square flag with a small area and a wooden stick at the base. Hand-flag communication requires the use of two flags. The signal soldier holds a flag in each hand and stands on a higher and more prominent part of the side. The different positions of the flags relative to the body express different letters and symbols. For example, the left hand is raised vertically and the right hand is extended parallel to indicate "P". The right hand is raised vertically and the left hand is extended parallel to indicate "J". Extend your hands parallel to indicate "R". Raising both hands vertically indicates sound insulation. Several pinyin letters make up a word, and several words make up a meaning. The hand flag can also indicate the direction of the small boat launched by the ship (ship).

Foreign terminals

Before my visiting fleet enters the territorial waters of the visited country, the visited country usually sends warships to greet it. When entering the territorial waters, the flag of the visited country shall be flown according to the agreement between the two parties. The flag of the visited country is hung on the starboard side of our main mast, and the national flag of our country is hung on the port side of the main mast. When docking, the "H" flag reaches the top, which means "start docking". When the first cable is brought in, the "H" flag is lowered. The "H" flag is a square flag, half white and half red vertically. It means: "I have docked at the dock." When the first cable was brought on, the flags and naval ensigns on the bow and stern of the ship began to be hung. If the warship of the visited country hoists a welcome flag, I should hoist a thank you flag to express my gratitude. Leaving the dock is the same as leaving the dock in our country. During a foreign visit, generally speaking, a grand flag-raising ceremony is scheduled every day. Full flags were raised along with the national flags of both sides.

Historical Events

Editor

When the ship visited Southeast Asia for the first time, before leaving Shanghai, she said goodbye to the chief of the navy, the officers and soldiers of the troops, and the visiting country’s station in China. The envoys and others hung two sets of flags: "LBN" and "LBZ". The "N" flag is a square flag with four rows arranged horizontally. The first row is blue, white, blue, and white squares. The second row is white, blue, white, and blue squares. The third row is the same as the first row, and the fourth row is the same as the first row. Two lines. The "Z" flag is a signal flag composed of four isosceles triangles of yellow, red, black and blue in the square flag. Yellow is on the top, red is on the bottom, black is on the left and blue is on the right. The tops of the four isosceles triangles are at the top of the flag. center point. It means "Thanks to the chief for his care and encouragement, and I promise to complete the mission." "Thank you, goodbye!" When the 113th ship visited Canada, the warships in the Canadian naval port were also full of flags, and the accompanying ship hung out "Welcome to visit Victoria." "Port" flag, the Canadian Navy flies the communication flag of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which is slightly different from ours. Ship 113 also displayed the "Thank you" flag. When Ship 112 visited Pakistan, the Pakistani Navy not only displayed full flags, but also displayed a welcome flag set.

When a foreign warship enters our territorial waters, the mainmast of the ship I go out to greet is hoisted with a welcome flag set: "WTC". The "W" flag is a blue cross in a white square flag, with the terminals of the cross on the four sides of the flag. center point. The "T" flag is a square flag with three equal vertical stripes of red, white and blue. "C" is the five horizontal stripes of blue, white, red, white and blue in the square flag. It means "Welcome to China". When foreign warships visit and enter the port, my ships parked in the port must also fly the "WTC" flag group. When foreign warships leave the dock after their visit, the ships moored at the dock must fly a farewell flag: "GDB". "G" is the six equal vertical stripes of yellow, blue, yellow, blue, yellow and blue in the square flag. The "D" flag is a square flag with three equal horizontal stripes of yellow, blue and yellow. It means "goodbye".

Chinese Fan Language

Editor

Chinese Fan Language, invented by Liu Xuezhong, the author of Shuangpin Palm Language, is a visual communication language. The characteristics and advantages of Chinese fan language are: one person holds two fans in each hand, red (double spelling means "stretch" palm) and yellow (double spelling means "flexing" palm), and two arm movements express a Chinese word There are actual syllables; Chinese fan language is a scientific and efficient visual communication solution, suitable for navigation and can also be used for hearing-impaired people to communicate over long distances.

1. Fan positions and codes

The left arm of the fan speaker is facing up, the red fan is right red 1, the left arm is facing diagonally upward, the red fan is right red 2, the left If the arm is facing straight left, the red fan is Right Red 3; if the left arm is facing diagonally downward, the red fan is Right Red 4; if the left arm is facing straight down, the red fan is Right Red 5; if the right arm is facing straight up, the red fan is Left Red 1 , the right arm is facing upward, the red fan is left red 2, the right arm is facing right, the red fan is left red 3, the right arm is facing diagonally downward, the red fan is left red 4, the right arm is facing straight down, the red fan is left Red 5.

The left arm of the fan speaker is facing up, the yellow fan surface is right yellow 1, the left arm is facing diagonally upward, the yellow fan surface is right yellow 2, the left arm is facing straight left, the yellow fan surface is right yellow 3, left If the arm is facing diagonally downward, the yellow fan is Right Yellow 4; if the left arm is facing straight down, the yellow fan is Right Yellow 5; if the right arm is facing straight up, the yellow fan is Left Yellow 1; if the right arm is facing diagonally upward, the yellow fan is Left Yellow 2 , the right arm is facing straight to the right, the yellow fan is left yellow 3, the right arm is facing diagonally downward, the yellow fan is left yellow 4, the right arm is facing straight down, the yellow fan is left yellow 5; the palm of the hand is crossed to the chest mark _.

2. Initial consonants

b: Left 1, Right 1

p: Left 2, Right 1

m: Left 3, Right 1< /p>

f: Left 4, Right 1

Comma: Left 5, Right 1

d: Left 1, Right 2

t: Left 2, Right 2

n: Left 3, Right 2

l: Left 4, Right 2

er (regarded as initial consonant): Left 5, Right 2

< p>zh or z: left 1, right 3

ch or c: left 2, right 3

sh or s: left 3, right 3

ri: left 4 right 3

Period: left 5 right 3

g or j: left 1 right 4

k or q: left 2 right 4

h or x: left 3 right 4

Initial zero consonant: left 4 right 4

Decimal point: left 5 right 4

Colon: left 1 right 5

Semiconcolon: 2 from left, 5 from right

Question mark: 3 from left, 5 from right

Exclamation mark: 4 from left, 5 from right

Partition mark ：Left 5 Right 5

3. Mediator

i: Left red and right yellow

u: Left yellow and right red

v: Left Red, right, red

Virtual mediator: left yellow, right yellow

4. Tone

The finals starting with a:

Yinping: left Red and right yellow

Yangping: left yellow and right red

Upper tone: left red and right red

Down tone: left yellow and right yellow

e Or finals starting with o:

Yinping: left yellow and right red

Yangping: left red and right yellow

Shang tone: left red and right red

De-sound: left yellow and right yellow

Five. Finals

a: left 1 right_

ai: left 2 right_

ao: left 3 right_

an: left 4 right_

ang: left 5 right_

e or o: left _ right 1

p>

ei: left_right 2

ou: left_right 3

en: left_right 4

eng: left_right 5

Empty final: left_right_

Six, numbers

One: left_left1

Two: left_left2

Three: Left_Left 3

Four: Left_Left 4

Five: Left_Left 5

Six: Right_ Right 1

Seven: Right_Right 2

Eight: Right_Right 3

Nine: Right_Right 4

Zero: Right_right 5

7. Examples of Chinese fan language

The Chinese pinyin of "fan" is shan4yu3:

The prefix code of "fan" is sh- The picture of the kind words is left yellow 3 and the right yellow 3. The picture of the fan language of "fan" is left yellow 4 and right yellow _; The picture shows red 4 on the left and red 4 on the right. The picture of the good words with the last sound code of "Yu" _3 (empty vowel in the upper tone) is red on the left_red on the right_