Saudi Arabia: Ensigns and jack

Last modified: 2003-03-15 by ivan sache
Keywords: saudi arabia | shahada | sword | swords: 2 | naval ensign | astrolabe | naval jack | masthead pennant | helm wheel |
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• Naval ensign
• Naval jack
• Masthead pennant

See also:

• Saudi Arabia: Index of all pages
• Naval rank ensigns

Naval ensign

by Mario Fabretto & António Martins

The Flags of all Nations chart [man36] shows the naval ensign as the national flag, with an additional blue vertical stripe at the hoist with a yellow astrolabe centered on it. This stripe is separated from the rest of the field by a white fimbriation.
Whitney Smith got the official contract to redesign the flags for the Saudi Navy in the 1970's. He selected a gold astrolabe (as seen below on the former jack,) on green as the identifying emblem of the Saudi Navy and designed a suite of flags for them.

Nick Artimovich, 25-29 April 1996

Naval jack

by Mario Fabretto and Santiago Dotor

Former jack

by Zeljko Heimer

Used since 1970's until late 1990's.

Source: The World Encyclopaedia of flags [zna99]

The circular emblem is supposed to be a medieval Arab astrolabe, a navigational instrument that was a precursor of the modern sextant.

Joseph McMillan, 17 March 2000

Masthead pennant

by Zeljko Heimer

Used since 1970's until late 1990's.

Source: The World Encyclopaedia of flags [zna99]