2. Pennant

A pennant is a special flag indicating that a ship is traveling in company. A pennant is hoisted on the main topmast (or fore topmast if there is only one mast) of ships flying the naval ensign the day the ship begins traveling in company, and lowered the day the formation ends or at the time of repair.

A pennant is flown continuously day and night, under way and at anchor, in good and bad weather, and is not hoisted only when the flag or broad pennant of an official has been hoisted on the topmast of one of the masts. Hoisting (lowering) of a pennant can occur simultaneously with the hoisting (lowering) of the naval ensign, or at a specially designated time.

3. Flags and Broad Pennants of Officials

The flags of officials (broad pennants) are hoisted on the official ships of these officials. On other ships, when an official to whom a flag (broad pennant) has been assigned is visiting, this flag is hoisted and lowered only by his order.

Commanders of formations (divisions) of ships hoist their flags (broad pennants) only on ships of their formation (division) and aboard ships attached to them. As the flag (broad pennant) of an official is hoisted on a ship he is visiting, the flag (broad pennant) of this official, hoisted previously on another ship, is lowered. The flag (broad pennant) of only one official can be hoisted aboard a ship. Therefore, when the flag of the senior officer is hoisted on the ship, the flag (broad pennant) of the junior officer hoisted on the ship must be lowered.

The flags of officials remain hoisted day and night, and in all kinds of weather, and are not lowered in the brief absence of the officials to whom they are attached. At night, in peacetime, at anchor and while under way the flagship carries an Admiral's top light on the mainmast, in addition to the flag of an official.

While proceeding in launches, officials hoist their flags and broad pennants (reduced in size) on the forward flagstaff, while commanding officers of ships of the first and second rank hoist commission pennants.

The Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, their deputies and other officials representing the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the Council of the Ministers of the USSR are assigned a Soviet national flag, which is hoisted on the fore topmast.

The flags of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the USSR, the Minister of Defense of the USSR, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR, the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy, the Chairman of the Committee of State Security of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the Chief of the Main Staff of the Navy, the Commander-in-Chief of the Frontier Forces of the Committee of State Security of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, and a fleet commander are hoisted on the main topmast (or on the fore topmast if there is only one mast).

The flags of a flotilla commander, the commander of frontier forces of a military district, a squadron commander, the commander of a formation of Soviet ships and the commander of a formation of ships of the frontier forces are hoisted on the fore topmast. The broad pennant of the commander of a division of ships is hoisted on the main topmast. The broad pennant of the senior officer afloat is hoisted beneath the flag of an official or beneath a broad pennant.

4. Procedure for Hoisting and Lowering Flags

and Broad Pennants of Officials

With the order from the officer of the watch to prepare to hoist a flag (broad pennant), the signalman attaches the flag unfurled to the proper halyards. With the order from the officer of the watch "Hoist flag (broad pennant)," the signalman hoists it to the truck of the mast. With the command "Lower flag (broad pennant)" he lowers it. If the officer of the watch is not near the place where the flag is hoisted and the aforementioned orders are not given, the flag (broad pennant) is hoisted (lowered) independently by the signalman in accordance with the order received.

A flag (broad pennant) of an official is transferred from ship to ship in the following manner. At the moment of arrival of an official aboard ship (or at a designated time), the command from the officer of the watch "Hoist flag (broad pennant)," the flag, which was prepared in advance, is hoisted. Aboard the ship where until this moment the flag (broad pennant) of the given official was flying, as soon as the hoisting of the flag aboard another ship is begun, the officer of the watch gives the order: "Lower flag (broad pennant)." With this order, the flag (broad pennant) is quickly lowered.

5. Signaling When Ships are Saluted and Visited

The following salutes are rendered:

1) state salutes-national, international and military holidays and during parades;

2) national salutes-when warships of the Soviet Navy (formation of ships) are visiting a foreign port;

3) personal salutes-in honor of officials aboard a meeting ship (at sea or while visiting a port or roadstead), and in honor of officials visiting a vessel of the Soviet Navy.

In a national salute, the saluting vessel hoists the national flag of the State being saluted on the main topmast. The salute is begun when the flag is hoisted close up. The flag is lowered upon completion of the salute. The flag is hoisted slowly unfurled to the top and lowered quickly from the top to the bridge.

In answering a national salute, rendered by a foreign vessel, the same rules are observed, i.e., the national flag of the state to which the saluting foreign vessel belongs is hoisted to the main topmast.

In rendering a personal salute to officials of the Soviet Government, the national flag of the Soviet Union is hoisted, and when Soviet officials are saluted their own official flag is hoisted. When a personal salute is rendered to Soviet officials to whom a flag has not been assigned, the national flag of the Soviet Union is hoisted on the fore topmast. In this case, the flag of the official aboard the ship, hoisted to the fore topmast, is not lowered.

In rendering a personal salute to foreign representatives and officials, the national flag or naval ensign of the State whose representative is being saluted is hoisted. The flag is hoisted on the fore topmast, but his flags hoisted on the fore topmast are not lowered.

The national flag of the USSR is hoisted during an official visit of an Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Minister or envoy of the USSR aboard a warship of the Soviet Navy in foreign waters. The flag is hoisted to the main topmast when an ambassador is aboard a warship, and hoisted to the fore topmast when an envoy is aboard. When an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, a Soviet envoy or chargé d'affaires is traveling officially aboard a launch, the national flag of the USSR is hoisted to the bow flagstaff. The flag is hoisted within the waters of the State to which these officials are accredited. The national flag of the USSR is hoisted aboard launches by Soviet consuls only in ports in which they perform their duties.

Whenever a ship of the Soviet Navy meets Soviet and foreign merchant vessels, an honor is rendered by flying the naval ensign at half mast, i.e., a flag salute. A salute with the naval ensign is given only when a merchant vessel salutes a warship by flying its stern flag at half mast. Once having observed the approach of a merchant vessel, the officer of the watch dispatches the signalman to the naval ensign at the proper moment. When the officer of the watch blows a whistle, the signalman slowly lowers the naval ensign to one-third the length of the naval flagstaff or gaff-halyard, and slowly hoists it up close.

With the departure of a visiting warship from a foreign port, after the anchor is weighed a signal of appreciation for the reception accorded is hoisted. After the warship has left the territorial waters, a telegram of appreciation may be sent to the official (senior naval officer or mayor of the city) who received the visiting Soviet vessels. If the visiting Soviet warship leaves the port under the escort of a foreign warship, the Commanding Officer of the Soviet warship hoists a signal of appreciation for the reception the moment the escort warship turns back.

With the departure from port of visiting foreign warships, the senior officer present afloat hoists a signal wishing them bon voyage.

CHAPTER IX

SEAMANSHIP

SECTION 54. GROUND TACKLE AND MOORING FITTINGS

1. Ground Tackle

Ground tackle is the name given to the equipment used to anchor a ship and weigh anchor. The ground tackle of a ship includes the anchor chains with swivels, shackles and Senhouse slips, hawse holes (mooring pipes), windlasses, and anchor and chain stoppers.

The following overall demands are placed on all ground tackle:

1) the ability to quickly let go the anchor and pay out the chain to the desired scope;

2) secure attachment to the ship of a veered anchor chain in any position; 3) the ability to quickly weigh anchor and hoist it to the ship;

4) safe heaving and stowage of the anchor for sea.

Anchors. According to their design, they are classified as stocked anchors with fixed flukes (Admiralty pattern anchors) and anchors with swinging flukes (Martin's anchor) and stockless (Hall's anchor).

Depending on their purpose, anchors may be bower or slewing. Bower anchors on warships and merchantmen are usually Hall's anchors (stockless anchors with swinging flukes), and on boats-Hall's anchors or Matrosov anchors, possessing great overall holding power.

The primary advantage of Hall's anchors is their compact form, relative stability while operating on most types of bottoms, strength of construction, trouble-free operation, and the ease with which they dig in and break out from the bottom.

Disadvantages of the Hall's anchor: its low unit holding power compared to Admiralty pattern anchors of the same weight, and the difficulty involved in searching for a lost anchor, since it is completely buried in the bottom.

Fig. 129. Operation of an anchor

on the bottom.

Slewing anchors are used, together with bower anchors, to hold a ship in a certain position with respect to wind or current. They have no chains and are paid out or laid out on steel cables or fiber ropes. Depending on their weight, slewing anchors are either stern anchors or kedge anchors. Warships with a displacement of over 800 tons are fitted with stern anchors, and those with a displacement of less than 800 tons-with kedge anchors. The weight of a stern anchor is roughly one-half that of the bower anchor for that particular ship, and the weight of the kedge anchor for that ship is approximately one-third the weight of the bower anchor.

Each type of anchor is characterized by its unit holding power and total holding power. They depend on the construction of the anchor and the holding ability of the bottom at the point where the anchor is bottomed, and are determined in practice with the anchor in operating position on the bottom.

The unit holding power of the anchor is the force applied per unit of its weight, required in order to break out the anchor from a given type of bottom (Fig. 129). The product of the unit holding power of the anchor and its weight is the total holding power of the anchor.

If the pull on the anchor cable is horizontal, the unit holding power of the anchor attains a maximum value, since the anchor flukes, in order to dislodge the anchor, must displace a maximum mass of the bottom. If the pull on the anchor chain is at an angle, this mass is decreased considerably, and when vertical it is at a minimum and the anchor easily breaks out of the bottom.

All anchors must be stamped with the name of the manufacturer, the factory number and the weight of the anchor. On stocked anchors, the weight is indicated separately: the weight of the anchor without stock is indicated on the shank, and on the stock-the weight of the stock.

The unit holding power of various anchor systems as a function of the bottom is shown in Table 20.

The weight of a bower anchor depends on the displacement and length/ beam ratio of the ship for which the anchor was designed, and also on the unit holding power of the anchor of a given design. The approximate weight of a bower anchor for various types and classes of ships