Swallowtail (flag)

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A barn swallow in flight. Note the shape of its tail.

In flag terminology, a swallowtail is either

a V-shaped cut in a flag that causes the flag to end in two points at the fly; or
any flag which has this V-shaped cut.

The name comes from the forked tail that is a common feature of the swallow species of birds.

Nautical signal flag for "A"

Naval ensign of Poland

Naval ensign of Germany

[edit] Variants

[edit] Double-pointed

Common in Scandinavia, this swallowtail flag contains a vertical section in the centre of the fly.

Naval ensign of Denmark

Presidential standard of Iceland

[edit] Swallowtail with tongue

Also common in the Nordic countries, the swallowtail flag contains a third tail (the "tongue") between the other two tails.

Naval ensign of Sweden

Naval ensign of Norway

Naval ensign of Finland

Naval ensign of Estonia

[edit] Burgee

A burgee is either 1) any triangular flag (pennant) ending in a swallowtail; or 2) the distinguishing triangular flag of a boating club (which may not necessarily end in a swallowtail).

Flag of Ohio, USA

International signal flag for "group"

[edit] Guidon

A guidon is the general name given to a small swallowtail flag. Guidons are used to represent military units and are displayed on vehicles attached to a particular unit. In some countries (such as the United States), guidons do not necessarily have a swallow tail.

The military use of the guidon originated from the flags used by cavalry units in Europe. A variant of the guidon – the hussar cut – was used by German cavalry regiments. Instead of a straight V-shaped cut, the swallowtail in a hussar cut flag was curved.