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USN Signal Bridge Flag & Pennant board


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Salvage Sailor

Aloha Everyone,

 

This is a typical reference board that would be found on any USN vessel or shore signal station. It would be posted on the flag bag, signal bridge, bridge wings, etc. This particular board came from a yard tug (YTB). There were (3) on this particular tug. One on the signal bridge, one on the flag bag, and one in the pilot house.

 

The International flag signals are standardized for all Navies and Merchant fleets, and corespond to those found in Pub. 102 - International Code of Signals (INTERCO). The flags are primarily used for signaling, to spell out words, or for information. (i.e. Bravo - fueling, Alpha - Divers in the water, etc.) The codes are all in Pub. 102.

 

The pennants are used for numbers and the Naval special pennants are used for maneuvering & formations (changing course, speed, direction, formation, etc.)

003_Signal_board.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

Here's a related training aid for learning the International Code of Signals aboard ships.

 

FLAG CARDS - Device 5LL2 75 Cards

FSN: IN 6910-514-2033

A Product of U.S. NAVAL TRAINING DEVICE CENTER

WESTERN PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC.

Contract No. N 00126-72-C-0428

012_Flag_Cards.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

This deck of flash cards came from the USS GRASP (ARS-24) in March, 1978 when she was decommissioned.

013_Flag_Cards.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

They were primarily for sharpening the skills of the Signalmen (SM) aboard the ship as they had the semaphore, morse, and visual flag codes on the reverse.

016_Flag_Cards.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

They were also used to train the boat coxswains & crews to recognize basic flag hoists and signals

017_Flag_Cards.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

Aboard the GRASP on Westpac, we used this particular deck in the CIC (Combat Information Center) to keep up on the Naval Code signals as these were used by the Operations Specialists (OS - ex-RD rate) for voice & visual codetaking & TACCOM (Tactical Communications) on the Naval freqs.

 

We would practice with the Quartermasters (QM) who also needed to be familiar with the basic INTERCO signals for marine navigation on the guard freq.

 

The Operations Department Training Petty Officer - me - was responsible for teaching the basic INTERCO to all of the PO3 and below QM's, SM's, and Boat Coxswains & the full Naval Codes to the OS's who also had to work drills with the tactical & manuevering codebooks via voice, light, flag, morse & semaphore.

 

You had to have a good memory for this stuff, and the flash cards really helped to make it happen.

 

The skivvy wavers only had to know the alphabet and not be colorblind.

018_Flag_Cards.jpg

015_Flag_Cards.jpg

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Nice stuff. In my hayday I could get through the flag deck in 37 seconds no mistakes. When I was at FTG SD, we had an observer who would put a piece of tape on his brief case when he went out to evaluate a ship. He would write his current time on the tape as a chalange. Some where I think I still have one of those semaphore trainers with the cicular hands.

 

I served on an aircraft carrier, two destroyers and three amphibious ships. We never had any of those plaquards mounted on the signal bridge. We did have to know each ones single flag and pennant meaning, both Allied and International (and the INCSEA Agreement with the USSR meanings) And, actually, we were better and faster at the Signal Book (and the Manuvering Book for that matter ) and the International Code of Signals than CIC. On one destroyer, Combat couldn't keep the surface picture, so one of my guys would have to call down to CIC every time we turned and update the surface picture for them with the true and relative bearing of every thing visual.

 

I realize that you guys in the salvage fleet didn't do all that much visual communicating ( I got a few SM's from the service fleet), but out in the battle fleet, Tin Cans, Gators and the Unrepers, we did quite a bit of operating. Needed to know a bit more than the alphabit.

 

Steve Hesson

SMCS (SW) USN RET.

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  • 4 months later...
Salvage Sailor
Nice stuff. In my hayday I could get through the flag deck in 37 seconds no mistakes. When I was at FTG SD, we had an observer who would put a piece of tape on his brief case when he went out to evaluate a ship. He would write his current time on the tape as a chalange. Some where I think I still have one of those semaphore trainers with the cicular hands.

 

I served on an aircraft carrier, two destroyers and three amphibious ships. We never had any of those plaquards mounted on the signal bridge. We did have to know each ones single flag and pennant meaning, both Allied and International (and the INCSEA Agreement with the USSR meanings) And, actually, we were better and faster at the Signal Book (and the Manuvering Book for that matter ) and the International Code of Signals than CIC. On one destroyer, Combat couldn't keep the surface picture, so one of my guys would have to call down to CIC every time we turned and update the surface picture for them with the true and relative bearing of every thing visual.

 

I realize that you guys in the salvage fleet didn't do all that much visual communicating ( I got a few SM's from the service fleet), but out in the battle fleet, Tin Cans, Gators and the Unrepers, we did quite a bit of operating. Needed to know a bit more than the alphabit.

 

Steve Hesson

SMCS (SW) USN RET.

 

We mostly worked with "cans" & "balls" and single flag hoists Steve. When you're independently steaming, there's no one to talk to. You're right about tincans and unrepping - working in task forces visual signals are very important.

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