Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
International maritime signal flags are various flags used to communicate with ships. The principal system of flags and associated codes is the International Code of Signals . [ 1 ] Various navies have flag systems with additional flags and codes, and other flags are used in special uses, or have historical significance.
To avoid having to carry multiple sets of signal flags, the Code uses three "substitute" (or "repeater") flags. These repeat the flag at the indicated position. For instance, to signal MAA ("I request urgent medical advice" the Mike, Alfa, and 2nd substitute flags would be flown, the substitute indicating a repeat of the second character.
But they retain additional flags for naval usage (such as related to maneuvering or status), and use their own codes. E.g., in the ICS the single flag Mike means the vessel is stopped; in the U. S. Navy it means the duty medical officer is on board. Flaghoist was the only way ships could signal prior to the advent of radio and blinking light ...
The code numbers typically would have been hoisted on the mizzenmast, one after another, preceded by the "telegraphic flag" (a red over white diagonally-split flag) [10] to show that the subsequent signals would employ the Popham code. [11] As well as digit flags, the code used "repeat" flags so that only one set of digits was needed; thus the ...
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 15 January 2025. Letter names for unambiguous communication Not to be confused with International Phonetic Alphabet. Alphabetic code words A lfa N ovember B ravo O scar C harlie P apa D elta Q uebec E cho R omeo F oxtrot S ierra G olf T ango H otel U niform I ndia V ictor J uliett W hiskey K ilo X ray L ...
Like Morse code, but unlike Myer's original code, this binary code did not have a fixed length for each character. For instance, i was coded as "2", but d was coded as "222". [ 9 ] Myer's 1866 manual also includes a 3-element fixed length code using four elements, and the 1872 manual has a 3-element fixed length code using three elements.
Because the latter allows messages to be spelled via flags or Morse code, it naturally named the code words used to spell out messages by voice its "phonetic alphabet". The name NATO phonetic alphabet became widespread because the signals used to facilitate the naval communications and tactics of NATO have become global. [2]
[2] The flags used by Captain Walker at his action are preserved in the Bootle Town Hall, accompanied by an exhibit of the same in the Merseyside Maritime Museum. Note however that the code flags used by Captain Walker were different from those indicated above and in 1944 were Royal Navy Signals BRAVO MIKE ZULU (modern code flag Whisky, red ...