BattleFlags


USS Sculpin SS-191 (This one hung in the USS Sculpin SSN-590 Webmaster's Qual boat)	USS Sea Devil SS-400 Webmaster's First boat


USS Pargo






SS-364	USS Flasher SS-249


USS Barb SS-220	USS Bergall SS-320


USS Rock SS-274	This was sent me along with Rock Battle Flag


USS Blenny SS-324	This was sent to me along with Blenny Battle Flag


USS Queenfish SS-393	USS Sea Robin SS-407 (Webmaster's "First Dive" boat)

	The Sea Lion SS-195 (SeaLion I). This boat was the first submarine lost in WWII (Cavite) before she made a single war patrol. The flag you show is for SS-315 (Sealion II), the only American submarine to ever sink a Battleship (the RJN Kongo). The reason I know this info is that my father (and his brother) were sub sailors throughout the war in the Pacific and I qualified on the Sealion APSS-315 in 1967. Michael (Wheels) Wheeler USS Sealion (not Sea Lion - changed to two words in late 40's) is from the 2nd Sealion (SS-315 not 195, which never had a battle flag having been sunk 12/8/41) .... John Clear
USS Sealion SS-315


USS Torsk SS-423	USS Spot SS-413


USS Swordfish SS-193	USS Tang SS-306


USS Grouper SS-214	USS Ronquil SS-396
Link to web page

	Photo of the BREAM battle flag is to the left. Some info from Warren Shaw who was a GM3 on her last 3 patrols. The swastika was for what the skipper thought was a small German tanker. Turned out to be a small Japanese tender. The life ring is for picking up a pilot. The crossed oars over a 5 is for a patrol where they put some Aussie rangers ashore. The mine is for a patrol laying mines, of course. The 6 red bars indicate she made six patrols (5 were classified successful). The big red moon was used because the commissioning skipper was Wreford "Moon" Chapple and the crew thought very highly of him. The albatross was for good luck.
USS Bream SS-243 Link 1 - Link 2


USS Tunny SS-282	USS Atule SS-403


USS Thresher SS-200	End of War photo (Supplied by Ric Hedman)


USS Sea Fox SS-402	Second one submitted and a different web page link


USS Redfish SS-395	From web page at:

	THE CROAKER SCOREBOARD* 7 Aug 44 NAGARA Cruiser 5,700 14 Aug 44 DAIGEN MARU No.7 Cargo 1,289 17 Aug 44 SANSHO MARU Cargo 6,862 9 Oct 44 SHINKI MARU Cargo 2,211 23 Oct 44 MIKAGE MARU Cargo 2,761 24 Oct 44 BYAKURAN MARU Cargo 887 _________ 6 Vessels 19,710 * These figures are taken from the Joint Army— Navy Assessment Committee report. It was during CROAKER’S second war patrol that the ESCOLAR (SS-294) was last heard from.Also if noticed on the Battle Flag, there are four Kangaroos, well, these were picked off by by crew members during a refit period, while in Australia.


USS Jack SS-259

	Battle flag of USS Flying Fish During World War II, USS Flying Fish patrolled the waters off of Midway, Taiwan, Iwo Jima and the Marianas Islands. While under the command of Commander Robert D. Risser, and Lieutenant Commander Julian T. Burke, Flying Fish received 12 battle stars and was credited with damaging a Japanese battleship. She was also one of the first boats to be outfitted with mine detection gear for use in the Sea of Japan. The flag shows that Flying Fish had sunk six warships and 13 merchant vessels in its 12 war patrols by late May 1945.
USS Flying Fish SS-229

	Battle Flag of USS Balao From 25 July 1943 to 27 August 1945, USS Balao served in the Pacific Ocean. Her flag shows that Balao destroyed one warship and nine merchant vessels during her ten patrol. Postwar assessments, however, reduced the claim to seven Japanese ships totaling 36,500 tons plus an additional 1,100 tons of enemy small craft. For her services in World War II, Balao received nine battle stars. Balao's flag was designed by a Disney artist at the request of Motor Machinist's Mate 3rd class William G. Hartley in 1945.
USS Balao SS-285

	Battle Flag of USS Spot Commissioned on 19 May 1944, USS Spot registered the destruction of 16 merchant vessels on her three war patrols in the Pacific. Much more elaborate than the other flags, Spot's flag not only records the number of kills, but also lists the ships' names. As seen on the flag, Spot successfully shelled the radio station at Kokuzan and disabled the passenger freighter Foochow. She received four battle stars for her services in World War II.
USS Spot SS-413

	Battle Flag of USS Gurnard Launched 1 June 1942, Gurnard first patrolled the Bay of Biscay for German blockade runners. By 12 June 1943, she was transferred to the Pacific Ocean. There, Gurnard received six battle stars and the Navy Unit Commendation, while her captain, Lieutenant Commander C.H. Andrews, earned the Navy Cross. Gurnard had one of the highest single patrol tonnage scores during World War II -- 29,700 tons. Her battle flag shows that she destroyed 12 combatant and merchant vessels. The flag also records the total tonnage of the ships sunk. However, postwar study proved that Gurnard succeeded in sinking only 10 ships -- 57,866 tons.

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Submarine Battle Flags of World War II

Battle flags in World War II kept an unofficial record of the number of ships
a submarine sank. Warships were represented by the rising sun version of the
Japanese flag, while the merchant vessels were represented by the "meatball"
flags. The submarine's logo was also featured on the flag. The difficulties in
assessing actual damage from attacks on the enemy led many submarines to
overestimate their successes. After the war, an Allied naval review board
discovered inaccuracies as great as thirty percent during an examination of
Japanese losses credited to American submarines.

Below Battle Flag History by Ron "Warshot" Smith is from Web page
http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/cno/n87/usw/winter99/historical.htm
Great web site on RADM Eugene B. Fluckey, USN (Ret.)
Historical Reflection - Message to Today's Submariners

pg25_shp.gif (9440 bytes)

FROM BROOMS
TO BATTLE FLAGS
by Ron "Warshot" Smith

The origin of the submarine battle flag in World War II is a matter of some speculation, because before 1942, U.S. submarines did not own or display them. During late 1942 or early 1943, however, it became customary for a broom to be tied to the shears of a submarine returning from a successful patrol, indicating that it had made a “clean sweep” or sunk everything possible. In 1944, pennants were added to the brooms to indicate the number of kills. A Japanese flag denoted each ship sunk, with a solid orange circle on a white background for merchant ships and a rising sun for warships. Occasionally, these flags were also painted on the conning tower. This spontaneous and informal practice soon evolved into the creation of larger, more elaborate pennants, which included the submarine’s particular insignia, often borrowed from a crewmember’s “Submarine Jacket.” This emblem was sewn into the pennant, along with symbols denoting additional kills and distinctive accomplishments, as sort of a “living history” of the sub’s career. During 1944, Disney Studios, already involved in designing military insignia for both the United States and its allies, also designed submarine insignia. In all, the studio designed more than 30 fish insignia, which were assigned to submarines. Thus, on the Submarine Battle Flag – of which Barb’s is such a great example – was born.

http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq62-1.htm
is another Battle Flags web site - Boats 229, 254, 285, & 413

Other Web pages from "Battle Flags" Google search include:
http://www.csp.navy.mil/news/flags.htm
http://www.geocities.com/usstinosa283/FlagHist.htm
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us^nv~01.html#ffish
http://www.sid-ss.net/ntins/bbs-036.htm
http://www.tjcsubbase.org/FYI.htm
http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/cno/n87/usw/winter99/historical.htm
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us%5Env~ss.html
http://stmaryssubmuseum.com/museum6.html
http://www.ussbatfish.com/sublinks.html

Submarine Veterans - If you're not a member of USSVI please check
the organization out at: http://www.ussvi.org

If you are the original creator of material featured on this website
and want it removed, please contact the webmaster. Click HERE

Web Server space and page Design donated by donmac - AKA Don Smith
Life Member of: USSVI National, Seattle, Bremerton, LIB, and South Sound Bases
Edited with Microsoft Front Page. Problems and or questions, click HERE to e-mail me.
Some material on this web site may be copyrighted

Battle flag of USS Flying Fish

Battle Flag of USS Gurnard

Submarine Battle Flags of World War II