WWII Signals Battalion Flag? Possibly 1960s? Need help Identifying..

[johnny12550]

I didn't know where to post this, so I posted it here. This flag is about 3.5 feet by 2.5 feet. It is definitely an Army Signals Flag, but I don't know the era. I was told it was WWII, but I think it could also be from the 50s or 60s. I came to that hypothesis because the word "STRAC" was used post was to mean Strategic Army Corps which was made up of some key airborne and infantry units. But on the other hand STRAC was also a term used during WW2. The flag is real high quality and is multi piece construction. I would appreciate any help in identifying the era and what signals unit this flag represents. Thanks

[johnny12550]

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[johnny12550]

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[johnny12550]

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[James39]

Just a thought: SOBC stands for Signal Officer Basic Course. Signal LT's attend this course to become qualified in the Signal Regiment...Magnificant 7 could have been their class moto.

[johnny12550]

Yeah, I was thinking that it could be an Officer Basic Course flag. The weird thing is that this is not a flag that was cheap to make. There are at least 33 separate different pieces that were put together to make this flag.

[patches]

I think the key here is Magnificent 7, this was as we know a very popular MACHO movie from 1960, The Magnificent Seven, thus it's a clincher as far as we should be concered as to the date, post 1960, thus STRAC would be the 60s use, as the term also would in no time after it's introduction as an acronym for Strategic Army Corps, come to mean a squarded away, professional, no BS unit or individual.

[johnny12550]

Your explanation makes a lot of sense, thanks. Now, being that the cost to make this flag would be pretty high, I don't think that everyone in the officer school would be getting one of these flags. Where do you think this flag would be displayed or hung if it is just representing a small group of officers going through a basic signals course? It is definitely an older flag, looks like a silk material, so probably Vietnam era.

[patches]

Your explanation makes a lot of sense, thanks. Now, being that the cost to make this flag would be pretty high, I don't think that everyone in the officer school would be getting one of these flags. Where do you think this flag would be displayed or hung if it is just representing a small group of officers going through a basic signals course? It is definitely an older flag, looks like a silk material, so probably Vietnam era.

Not sure what it would be for, what the 7 in Magnificent 7 stands for, a Battalion, as in 7th Training Battalion SOBC?, would there be a 7th Battalion in this organization? Or School awarded flag for some kind of outstanding achievement during training?

[mars&thunder]

The 7 stands for Class 7. Each class that goes through the Signal Officer Basic Course gets a number, which a sequence which is restarted each year (so there is a Class 1 in Yr X and next year also has a Class 1. It is the class flag, and so there is only one produced for each class. The fact that it is nicely made reflects on the class itself, and the decisions they made in having it produced. An earlier post made a reasonable guess at the timeframe of this banner.

[johnny12550]

Thanks for the information. It all makes sense now. Since that was a popular movie back in 1960 then I would guess that based on the quality,materials and the reference to the movie it would date to early to mid 60s. Thanks

[patches]

The 7 stands for Class 7. Each class that goes through the Signal Officer Basic Course gets a number, which a sequence which is restarted each year (so there is a Class 1 in Yr X and next year also has a Class 1. It is the class flag, and so there is only one produced for each class. The fact that it is nicely made reflects on the class itself, and the decisions they made in having it produced. An earlier post made a reasonable guess at the timeframe of this banner.

So this flag and flags like it for SOBCs would be unique to the Class, correct? Too bad they didn't think to add the year of the Class on the flag.

 

@Johnny, looking at this, is it a flag that is slid down on a staff, or is it a drap? We're seeing fringe on all four sides.

[johnny12550]

The flag looks like it is meant to be draped. There are no eyelets to raise it or mount it on a pole. There is also nothing on the back to assist with mounting it on a wall for display. The back is just plain blue material and it has fringe all the way around.