Naval heraldry

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Naval heraldry is a form of identification used by ships from the end of the 19th century onwards, after distinguishing features such as figureheads and gilding were discouraged or banned by several navies. Naval heraldry commonly takes the form of a badge, seal, crest, or coat of arms designed specifically for a ship (or a series of ships bearing the same name), which in Commonwealth navies takes the form of a large plaque mounted on the superstructure of the ship, and in the United States Navy is found primarily on crew uniform patches. An item of naval heraldry is seen as the identifying logo of the vessel, and is commonly reproduced on hats, stationery, trophies, souvenirs, and gifts related to the ship

The naval heraldric tradition follows the heraldic traditions of the country, with some distincitve variations.

Note: Although ships are commonly referred to in this article, identical or similar forms of heraldry are used for bases and facilities, organisational divisions, and land-based naval units.

Contents 1 Royal Australian Navy 1.1 Size and use 2 Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Forces Maritime Command 3 Royal Norwegian Navy 4 Royal Navy 5 South African Navy 6 United States Navy 6.1 Terminology 6.2 Aircraft Carriers 6.3 Destroyers 6.4 Supply ships 7 References 8 Notes 9 External links

[edit] Royal Australian Navy

Naval heraldry in the Royal Australian Navy is referred to as ships' badges, although the incorrect ships' crests is sometimes used.^[1] Initially, the badges were designed and assigned to ships by the Royal Navy. Just after World War II, an Australian body, the Badges, Names and Honours Committee, was created to take on the task of creating ships' badges.^[1] At the first meeting, it was decided that all RAN badges would follow the Royal Navy format: a circle of rope in which the individual design would be placed, capped by a naval crown and a scroll with the ship's name.^[1] A second, longer scroll was located below the rope circle for the ship's motto.^[1] To indicate that the badge was for an Australian ship, a boomerang was added between the rope circle and motto scroll; a crossed nulla nulla and stone axe were intertwined with the boomerang shortly after.^[1]

Initially, there were gaps between the naval crown, name scroll, and rope circle.^[2] The name and motto scrolls were intended to be light blue with black lettering, although in practice they were painted dark blue, making the name hard to read.^[2] In 1964, the gaps between the crown, scroll, and circle were closed up, and the scrolls were changed to black, with gold edging and lettering.^[2] The lettering style was also simplified.^[3] In 1970, a minor change was made to the naval crown, with one of the pennants on top of the sails altered to point left instead of right.^[2] Another minor change was made to the crown in 1974, with the curvature of the sails altered.^[3] In 1975, the weapons below the rope circle were reorganised so the nulla nulla and axe were superimposed over the boomeraing.^[3] The weapons were also redrawn slightly: one of the major changes being thicker hafts on the crossed weapons.^[3]

[edit] Size and use

Ship's badges are used equally by the RAN for ships, shore establishments, and organisations within the RAN. The standard badge measures 755 mm by 620 mm (29.75 in by 24.5 in), with the rope circle having a diameter of 350 mm from the outside edge and 295 mm from the inside edge.^[4] 'Boat's badges' were created for small craft belonging to a ship: the weapons and motto are omitted.^[4] Boat's badges are either 127 mm (5 in) or 203 mm (8 in) in diameter.^[4] Following the introduction of Attack class patrol boats and Oberon class sumbarines into the RAN fleet in the early 1960s, a smaller badge design was created for all commissioned ships of less than 40 metres in length and all submarines, measuring 440 mm by 365 mm but with no other modifications.^[4] For the patrol boats, it was decided that a full-size badge was not appropriate for such small ships.^[4] The reduced size for submarines was a practical necessity: the badge had to fit through the external hatch, as it was placed on the fin every time the submarine entered port, and removed on departure.^[4]

For non-commissioned units and establishments, an altered badge design was used. The first establishment to wear a non-commissioned badge was the RAN/RAAF Australian Joint Anti-Submarine School (AJASS) in 1967; as a joint unit it was decided that the badge design would be based on the RAAF unit badge, with a double circle of gold rope surrounding the collar on which the unit name was written, and an alteration in colouring to the black and gold system used on the scrolls of ships' badges.^[5] The royal crown was used instead of the naval crown.^[5] The badge entered use with all non-commissioned units, such as the dockyards, naval police, and administrative divisions.^[5] In 1979, all of the altered badges (with the exception of the AJASS badge, which was still jointly operated with the RAAF) were changed from the royal crown to the naval crown.^[5]

[edit] Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Forces Maritime Command

Ships in the Royal Canadian Navy or the Canadian Forces Maritime Command receive badges, specifically designed for each ship. Using a circular design, they are topped with the naval crown and surrounded by a gold rope. Three maple leaves at the bottom of the rope circle distinguish Canadian badges from those of other Commonwealth navies.^[1]

During World War II, the number of ships being built and commissioned outstriped the ability of a central authority to design and approve. Local authority to the commanding officers of the ships resulted in humorous and risque badges including some cartoon characters. These badges are not considered to be official.

Currently, all badges are reviewed by the Director of Ceremonial and recommended to the Governor General.^[6]

[edit] Royal Norwegian Navy

It is customary for each individual ship and other units in the Royal Norwegian Navy to receive an individually designed coat of arms. These coats of arms follow the Norwegian heraldic tradition of being very simple in design. They often feature only one colour, one metal and one motive. They all have the same shield shape and are surrounded by a rope. The shield is sourmounted by the heraldic Crown of Norway atop the ship's name.

The design of the individual shield is often inspired by connections the ship name gives. The HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen is given a shield inspired by the family coat of arms of the Nansen familiy. Others are given shields based on the unit's function. The Naval Schools have a shield depicting a golden anchor and two silver torches of wisdom. All naval coats of arms have to be approved by the King of Norway.

[edit] Royal Navy

During the Age of Sail, ships were identified by figureheads and guilded carvings.^[7] However, the extravagance of these decorations began to reach the point of flamboyance, and an Admiralty directive in the early 1700s restricted the amount that could be spent, and eventually banned it outright.^[7]

Ships' badges first appeared in the 1850s, as identification markings on the stationery used by some Royal Navy ships.^[8] These marks were quickly utilised to mark the boats assigned to a ship, to aid crew in finding their boat at a dark or crowded wharf.^[7] The creation of badges was haphazard, and eventually came into use for the ships themselves.^[7] In 1918, Charles ffoulkes, the curator of the newly established Imperial War Museum was asked by the commanding officer of HMS Tower to design a badge for his ship.^[7] He quickly received requests to create badges for other Royal Navy vessels, and on 10 December 1918 was appointed the Admiralty advisor on heraldry.^[7] Shortly prior to this, a Ships' Badge Committee had been established to regulate the creation and use of ships' badges.^[8]

Testing was carried out to ensure that the badges were designed appropriately to identify ships.^[8] Cardboard mockups were created, gilded, and installed on a police launch, which was observed on patrol of the Thames by a captured German submarine moored outside Westminster Palace.^[8] It was decided to use different shapes to identify different types of vessel: circles for battleships, pentagons for cruisers, 'U'-shaped shields for destroyers, and diamonds for auxiliary units, including depot ships, small war vessels, and aircraft carriers.^[8] In 1940, the designs for all ships were standardised to a circular design.^[8] The standardisation was primarily due to wartime shortages, although another factor was to eliminate difficulties caused when a ship was commissioned with a previously-used name, but was of a different type to the previous ship, and required the badge to be redesigned for the new shape.^[8] At the same time, the use of scaled-down badges for a ship's boats was suspened, and as of 2000 has not been resumed.^[8] After the war, the pentagonal badge shape was assigned to Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, and use of the diamond began by commissioned shore bases.^[8] Before World War II, the design of badges for ships in other Commonwealth navies was the responsibility of the Royal Navy Ships' Badge Committee, but this responsibility was assigned to the relevant nations after the war.^[1]

Ships' badges are reused along with the ship name. When the Queen approves the name of a new ship she will also approve the new ship's badge, which may have changed if the shape needs to change.

HMS Chatham is the only Royal Navy ship with an original badge, since none of the previous Chathams bore a badge. ^[9]

[edit] South African Navy

A few ships of the South African Navy adopted badges during World War II, but they appear to have been unofficial. Only one, that of the reserve base HMSAS Unitie, conformed to the Royal Navy pattern of enclosing the badge in a ('U'-shaped) frame of golden cable, ensigned of a naval crown resting on a name plaque.

Badges were formalised after the war, the Royal Navy model being followed. At first, badges were diamond-shaped, but after a few years they were changed to circular frames. Unitie retained her shield-shaped badge, and in the 1980s, pentagonal badges were introduced for Navy Headquarters and the headquarters of the regional commands. The naval crown was replaced by the red lion crest of the national coat of arms in 1954, and this in turn was replaced by the secretary-bird crest of the new national arms in 2002.

Where ships and shore units are named after provinces and towns, their badges incorporate elements of the provincial or civic arms, e.g. the ox-wagon in the badge of the frigate SAS Transvaal.

Those named after historical personalities incorporate their namesakes' personal coats of arms, or elements of their arms, in their badges, e.g. the shield of the Van Riebeeck arms in the badge of the destroyer SAS Jan van Riebeeck.

For some categories of ships, i.e. Daphne-class submarines, Minister-class strike craft, and River-class minehunters, standard badges were designed, which were then differenced to identify individual vessels. The submarines' badges depicted a trident (emblem of the submarine branch) surmounted by a lozenge displaying the arms of the lady after whom the vessel was named. The strike craft badges depict a Viking longboat in full sail, with elements of the arms of the cabinet minister after which the ship was named on the sail. The minehunters' badges depict a bridge across a river, with an additional device above the bridge alluding to the name of the river.

Badges are designed and approved by the South African National Defence Force's heraldry section, and registered at the Bureau of Heraldry to provide legal protection against misuse.

[edit] United States Navy

It is the custom in the United States Navy for ships, bases and other commands to receive an individually designed heraldic emblem. Due to heraldic traditions in the U.S., these emblems usually take the form of seals or crests.

From World War I to the beginning of World War II, some U.S. Navy ships had these insignia, but World War II brought them into general use. During long wartime patrols, crew members designed their own, which flew high on battle flags upon return from patrol. Many ships wrote to top artists to have their insignia designed, while others developed them on their own, frequently through contests. The Korean War saw another upsurge in interest in crests and coats of arms. In the 1950s and 1960s, OPNAVINST 5030.2B encouraged ships to design their own crests, and laid out the procedure for getting official approval for them. Today, the prospective commanding officers of new ships are responsible for designing the crests and submitting them for approval. They have great leeway in determining the design, and may optionally use the services of the U.S. Army's heraldry branch.

[edit] Terminology

For some US Navy ships, the official emblem is called a seal, while others are called a crest. No official distinction seems to exist and sometimes the term is used interchangeably. Some examples where the term "Seal" is used are the aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), in its official description, and USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), in its official description.

Many other ships use the term "crest". This term is used at the official list of ship's crests, at Surface Force Command.

One document which sheds some clarity on this topic is the heraldic description for USS Mahan (DDG-72) ship crest, shown below. The ship's crest and the ship's seal are referred to as distinct (though overlapping) items. This would appear to illustrate at least one way to distinguish the two types of emblems.

Please note that the ship's crest consists of the shield, and the visual item above it which is the actual item termed the "crest". On the other hand, the term "Seal" refers to both these items when also shown with a large border, (plus any other components). Thus the specific term for this emblem when all components are shown is "Seal", though it appears these terms are often used interchangeably.

[edit] Aircraft Carriers

USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70)

Description of Coat of Arms: The seal of Carl Vinson shows an eagle, wings spread and talons extended, carrying a banner in its beak. The eagle is emblematic of the nation and the ship's motto, and also represents the power that resides in the ship's aircraft. The eagle flies in the form of a stylized letter "V," the initial of the ship's namesake, Congressman Carl Vinson. The "V" also represents the ships hull when viewed bow-on. Inscribed on the banner the eagle carries is the Latin Phrase "Vis Per Mare" which means "Strength from the Sea." ^[10]

[edit] Destroyers

USS Mahan (DDG-72)

The seal of Mahan incorporates some noteworthy naval visual elements, since the ship's namesake, Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan, is considered one of the foremost proponents of modern US naval strategy.

[edit] Supply ships

USNS Bridge (T-AOE-10)

Here is the Ship's Seal for the USNS Bridge (T-AOE-10) . ^[11]

This seal for a supply ship incorporates a few notable elements. Note the Horn of Plenty symbols and grenade symbols, both alluding to the ship's supply function. The bridge in the center of the shield alludes to the ship's namesake, Commodore Horatio Bridge, who served as Head of the Bureau of Provision and Clothing from 1854-1869. The eagle, and blue and yellow staff, reflect his Navy service. The blue and grey sash carried by the eagle alludes to the Civil War.

The bridge image also subtly alludes to the ship's function, in the sense that a bridge also conveys important items over a body of water. Many Navy ship emblems try to combine some symbol of the ship's mission, with some allusion to the ship's namesake.

[edit] References

• U.S. Navy: All Hands, May, 1954
• U.S. Navy: All Hands, October, 1960
• U.S. Navy: All Hands, May, 1963
• Cassells, Vic (2000). The Capital Ships: their battles and their badges. East Roseville, NSW: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7318-0941-6. OCLC 48761594. 
• Du Toit, A.F. (1992). South Africa's Fighting Ships.
• Goosen, J.C. (1972). South Africa's Navy - The First Fifty Years.
• Smith, H.H. Badges of the Ships of the South African Navy.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• US Navy website
• List of US Navy official ship websites
• List of Ships Crests, at Surface Force Command
• NavSource Online. Patches from World War II to the present are shown in articles on individual ships.
• US Army Institute of Heraldry page of naval coats of arms
• South African Heraldry Website