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24-706: The Royal Australian Air Force Ensign is used by the Royal Australian Air Force and the Australian Air Force Cadets in Australia . It may also be flown on Air Force aircraft overseas. It is based on the Australian national flag , with the field changed to Air Force blue , and the southern cross tilted clockwise to make room for the RAAF roundel (which itself is a modified RAF roundel ) inserted in

48-720: A London periodical , as to the origin of the U.S. flag. In a letter to members of the Continental Congress from Virginia dated January 5, 1776, the Naval Committee described the Continental Union Flag as the British "Union flag... striped red and white in the field." Having seen the Continental Union Flag flying aboard Admiral Esek Hopkins' flagship a few days later, a Philadelphia resident further defined

72-581: Is a warship , a merchant ship , a ship under contract to carry mail , or a yacht , for example. The national flags of several Commonwealth countries originated in the ensigns of the United Kingdom. Some of these national flags include those of Australia, New Zealand and several island nations. It is also very likely that the Grand Union Flag , from which the flag of the United States developed,

96-638: Is currently the only school in Australia with permission to fly the RAAF ensign. Ensign (flag) The Middle English ensign is derived from the Latin word insignia . Vexillologists distinguish between three varieties of ensigns: Some countries like the United States and France use just one flag as an ensign and also as a jack , while lacking special cantons and transparent identification. All ships of

120-539: Is shared by Laurie Calkhoven, a biographer of George Washington , who suggests it was designed to reflect their hope for reconciliation. The Continental Union Flag is strikingly similar to the Flag of the East India Company . The red and white stripes on that flag, however, varied from nine to fifteen. One theory is that Americans would have been somewhat familiar with the East India Company flag and it may have influenced

144-541: The Royal Air Force Ensign ) and civil air ensigns . In heraldry , an ensign is an ornament or sign, such as the crown, coronet, or mitre, borne above the charge or arms . Grand Union Flag The Continental Union Flag (often referred to as the first American flag , Cambridge Flag , and Grand Union Flag ) was the flag of the United Colonies from 1775 to 1776, and the de facto flag of

168-622: The Thirteen Colonies . Although the flag is often referred to as the "Cambridge Flag" and "Grand Union Flag," the terms did not come into use until the 19th century . Although it has been claimed that the more recent moniker , Grand Union Flag, was first applied to the Continental Union Flag by G. Henry Preble in his Reconstruction era book Our Flag, the first substantiated use of the name came from Philadelphia resident T. Westcott in 1852 when replying to an inquiry made in Notes and Queries ,

192-769: The White Ensign of the Royal Navy , and the Union Flag carried on land by the British army . The emerging states had been using their own independent flags, with Massachusetts Bay using the Taunton Flag , and New York using the George Rex Flag , prior to the adoption of united colors. It is not known for certain when or by whom the Continental Union Flag design was created, but it could easily be produced by sewing white stripes onto

216-583: The British Red Ensign. American sailors first hoisted the Continental Union Flag on the warship Alfred , in the harbor on the western shore of the Delaware River at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 3, 1775, under the command of the new appointed Lieutenant John Paul Jones of the formative Continental Navy. The event was documented in letters to Congress and eyewitness accounts. The "Alfred" flag has been credited to Margaret Manny . The flag

240-508: The British forces then occupying the city. It is also stated that the flag was interpreted by British military observers in the city under commanding General Thomas Gage , as a sign of surrender. However, some scholars dispute the traditional account and conclude that the flag raised at Prospect Hill was probably the British Union flag, though subsequent research supports the contrary. The city of Somerville hosts an annual commemoration of

264-518: The RAAF asked to change the flag to avoid confusion. A warrant for the new flag, which had the roundel in the lower fly of sky-blue ensign with Commonwealth Star and tilted southern cross to match the Australian national flag, was given in 1949. The RAAF adopted a distinctive roundel on 2 July 1956; a red kangaroo replacing the red circle of the British version. The old roundel remained on the ensign, however, until 1981, when Elizabeth II , who also serves

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288-684: The United States until 1777, when the 13 star flag was adopted by the Continental Congress . The Continental Union Flag was so called because it combined the British Union flag (denoting the kingdoms of England and Scotland ) with thirteen stripes (representing the United Colonies). The canton consists of the British Union flag, while the field is thirteen horizontal stripes, alternating red and white. The Continental Union Flag made its first appearance on December 3, 1775, when it

312-747: The design. By the end of 1775, during the first year of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress operated as a de facto war government, who had authorized the creation of the Continental Army , the Navy , and Marines . A new flag was needed to represent both the Congress and the United Colonies, with a banner distinct from the British Red Ensign flown from civilian and merchant vessels ,

336-578: The flag as a British " Union flag, with 13 stripes in the field, emblematical of the Thirteen United Colonies." British author and professor and Nick Groom believes incorporation of the Union Flag of 1707 in the canton of the Continental Union Flag suggests the Americans adopted it, not as a protest against the British Ministry , but as a profession of loyalty to King George . This view

360-606: The flag raising each January. The Continental Union Flag became obsolete after the passing of the Flag Act of 1777 by the Second Continental Congress . The new national flag replaced the British Union flag in the canton with thirteen stars (representing the United States ) on a blue field. The resolution describes only a "new constellation" for the arrangement of the white stars in the blue canton and so overall designs were later interpreted and made with rows, columns,

384-534: The flag. This results in the axis being rotated 14.036° clockwise around Gamma Crucis and each star is rotated in this way, although the constellation as a whole is not simply rotated. The RAAF was established in 1921. On 24 July 1922, the British Royal Air Force Ensign , a sky-blue British ensign with the RAF roundel in the fly , was approved as the ensign of the RAAF. This flag was used until 1948, when

408-524: The lower fly quarter. The roundel is a red leaping kangaroo on white within a dark blue ring. The ensign was proclaimed as a Flag of Australia under section 5 of the Flags Act on 6 May 1982. The southern cross is tilted so that Gamma Crucis stays in the same position as for the Australian National Flag and that Alpha Crucis is moved along the x-axis towards the hoist by one-sixth of the width of

432-428: The role as Queen of Australia approved the change to the current flag. Although the flag is only flown by the RAAF, dispensation was granted to New Lambton Public School, NSW on 18 May 1995 to fly the RAAF ensign. This was in recognition of the school's involvement with the RAAF during World War II , when it was requisitioned by the government and used as No. 2 Fighter Sector Headquarters . New Lambton Public School

456-536: The seagoing services of the United States Government except for the United States Coast Guard fly the national flag as their ensign, although the ships of some agencies also fly an agency flag as a distinctive mark . Countries like Ukraine , Italy , Russia , South Africa , Australia , New Zealand and Japan use different ensigns. These are strictly regulated and indicate if the vessel

480-476: The ship is under way, becoming known as a steaming ensign . A boat flag is also often used as guest country flag and is flown on the boat when navigating in foreign waters or entering another country's port. With the creation of independent air forces and the growth in civil aviation in the first half of the 20th century, a range of distinguishing flags and ensigns were adopted. These may be divided into air force ensigns (often light blue in color, such as

504-546: The ship. This includes employment contracts, safety regulations, stamp duty or value-added taxes . In most countries, especially in Europe and the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations , it is common for the ensign to display additional information, like whether it is a civil, state or military flag. Ensigns are usually at the stern flagstaff when in port, and may be shifted to a gaff (if available) or mast amidships when

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528-512: Was also used as a naval ensign and garrison flag throughout 1776 and early 1777. It was widely believed that the flag was raised by George Washington's army on January 2, 1776, at Prospect Hill in Charlestown (present-day Somerville ), near his headquarters at Cambridge , Massachusetts (across the Charles River to the north from Boston ), which was then surrounding and laying siege to

552-649: Was hoisted at the commissioning of Admiral Esek Hopkins ' flagship on the western shore of the Delaware River at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . Known as the Continental Union Flag or the American flag during the Revolutionary War , the name was derived from a combination of the words "Continental," referring to the Continental Congress, and "Union Flag," referring to the British Union Flag of 1707 used in

576-475: Was strongly influenced by either the British Red Ensign or the flag of the British East India Company . In nautical use, every boat uses a flag belonging to a specific Nation to indicate its organizational membership. This flag signifies the home port of the ship owner and that taxes for ship-related income are paid there. Flagging out always means that the relevant laws of the country apply on

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