Last modified: 2026-04-04 by 
zachary harden
Keywords: ufe | unidentified flags | 2023 |
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Below is a series of images of flags that have been provided to FOTW; some we have recognized, and some we have been unable to recognize. If you can help us identify any of these flags, please let us know! Contact the: UFE Editor.
Identification Key:
= Positive ID (Positive Identification)
= Tentative ID (Tentative Identification)
= Some Speculation
2023 Unidentified Flags on this Page:
2024 Unidentified Flags on this Page:2025 Unidentified Flags on this Page:
Unidentified Flags on other pages |
Image located by John King, 11 January 2023
John King sent this flag to Ted Kaye of NAVA for identification. It was forwarded to us as well to help ID this flag.
Editor, 11 January 2023
User golaswede suggested this flag could possibly be that Jurbarkas (Taurage, Lithuania).
Some Speculation
Image located by Fabrizio D'Eramo, 14 February 2023
Image located by Fabrizio D'Eramo, 14 February 2023
Good morning, Do you kindly have information (nationality, era, military or civilian,...) of the attached flag? Thank you Fabrizio D'Eramo, 14 February 2023
Due to the two balls in canton, I suppose, it is a rank flag of a vice commodore of a commonwealth or US yacht club, but I have no idea, which one.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 February 2023
As mentioned by Klaus-Michael, the images attached are indeed
Yacht-related. Its manufacturer, "Captain O M Watts Ltd London" was established by
Oswald Martin Watts, himself a master mariner and nautical author who
worked as a ship chandler and yacht broker. Maybe you can try and
contact them directly Here's a similar flag manufactured by the same company, which, one can
infer, has the same dimensions as the one you provided: 25 x 15.5
inches (cotton made).
Esteban Rivera, 14 February 2023
Rather, it's the British system: Full field for the Commodore, one ball
for the Vice-Commodore, and two balls for the Rear Commodore. People who are not in the know, will often miscount.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 17 February 2023
Bloody right Peter Hans, thanks. Do you also know the club?
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 February 2023
Though this second flag posted by Esteban is indeed a London Yacht Club, it's not Captain
Watts' own City Livery Yacht Club as one might
expect, but it's instead the Royal London Yacht Club. And indeed, once again a Rear Commodore's.
The colour of the original one is a bit odd: Light blue, as if for air
ships. But no, not pictured for burgees of most of the world in the
early 1960-s. Also, not around that same time for US and Canada. (For
Canada, that is ...) I don't have complete listing there, though.
This makes you wonder whether it might be azure instead, since the
original question is from Italy. Regardless of whether we manage to
identify it, would the poster tell us a bit more. Was this found in the
proverbial Grandfather's left chest? Or do you know more of where it
came from?
But for now: I don't know. I agree with Esteban, Ask the flagmaker, they may well know the time
from the style of the label.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 17 February 2023
Image from Ted Kaye, 12 January 2022
An UFE that was sent to NAVA and us; the following information was sent to us by Ted Kaye regarding the background of the flag:
"The flag was found in my dad’s garage in Tucson, but it likely goes back to Minnesota. My dad grew up in Morris, MN. His dad was also from MN, and his grandfather emigrated from Luxembourg as a child in the mid to late 1800s. His mom emigrated from Moravia (then Austro-Hungary, currently Eastern Czech Republic) as a child in 1905.
After my parents were married, they raised their family in Wisconsin and only moved to the southwest after the kids were out of the house and they were retired. They spent a number of years in Carlsbad, NM, before moving to Tucson, AZ. I believe the flag belonged to my dad’s parents, but it may have just been his. What is odd is that I’ve never seen this flag before and neither had my mom. It was packed in a box with a 48 star flag, which I had seen many times throughout my childhood.
Submitted by Ted Kaye, 12 January 2022
Image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 21 March 2025
The flag itself is a ~1:2 blue and white vertical equal triband
with a red device that indeed looks like a stylized key — but also can
be seen as a monogram: It could be reading either "PPL", "QPL", or even,
if the falg is upside down, either "ΓΦ" (Greek) or "ГФ" (Cyrillic).
But I have no idea: Gamma Phi was an early African-American collegiate
fraternity in the 1st half of the 20th century, whose colors were blue
and white. This could also
be a Bulgarian or Russian/Soviet maritime houseflag or naval ensign of
some sort. Or this could be an organization flag for any of the many
bearers of the initials "PPL" or (less so) "QPL" (maybe NYC’s Queens
Public Library?). Further details about the flag itself, such as fabric,
stitching, labelling, hoisting fixtures, etc., could perhaps help in
determining its approximate date and/or location of origin.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 21 March 2025
Image from William Garrison, 8 March 2023
Source: about 1:34-1:35 min. at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCoVJrQCsE0
Caption: Unidentified white-field Palestinian flag. Flag image taken from a UK television program detailing the ties between "Northern Ireland" separatists (pro-Ireland reunification; anti-UK) and Palestinians seeking independence from Israel; c. 2019-2020. The Palestinian flag appears to be alongside the fly edge of this flag. I cannot identify the black-ink logo.
William Garrison, 8 March 2023
Some Speculation
Image from Michael B. Stogsdill, 19 March 2023
An acquaintance recently mentioned to me he had a flag he acquired from an estate that had a large WWI era collection. The only photo I have of the flag is the one attached to this message that was a photo of a picture on his phone (the white smudge in the center of the photo is glare from the phones screen). He mentioned the flag is roughly 5' x 8' and made of wool. It is a horizontal flag with 3 equal height horizontal stripes with the outer most stripes being olive drab in color, and the center stripe is white. It has a red cross centered vertically and horizontally slightly overlapping the OD green stripes. I have searched crwflags.com for flags relating to Templar, Maltese cross, iron cross, various German naval jacks, Portuguese, and Spanish flags, with no luck. Due to the nature of the collection, I'm assuming it was from the German Empire era, but while that is only speculation, it is obviously an old flag and not of new construction. Any help identifying this flag would be appreciated.
Michael B. Stogsdill, 19 March 2023
This cross looks like the cross used by the Swedish Order of Freemasons. The Swedish freemasons have somewhat different rules and symbols compared to freemasons in other countries. [You can see] the arms of the Swedish Order of Freemasons at the Wikimedia Commons). The red cross as a stand-alone symbol is a registered trademark for the Order.
However, I do not know what the flag Michael B. Stogsdill has stands for or if there is any connection to the Swedish Freemasons.
Elias Granqvist, 20 March 2023
Image from Stratis Andreadis, 22 March 2023
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Image from Stratis Andreadis, 22 March 2023
Forwarded from Ted Kaye to us.
Image from YouTube submitted by Esteban Rivera, 10 April 2023
Image from YouTube submitted by Esteban Rivera, 10 April 2023
Watching the following video titled "Waiting For
D-Day, 1944. AI Enhanced, London street scenes, Colour, Sound, HD" I
encountered a flag (1:19 onwards) during what seems to be a rally
(popular gathering) around a speaker.
It features the initials N, S, A in white capitals, on each corner of
the flag, which is a St. George-type flag.
I tried to link this to perhaps British Fascism or British Neo
Nazism but after
looking at this list of British fascist parties and movements, I
could not match any of them with the flag in question.
Additionally, in the video it is mentioned that this was shot before
D-Day (June 6, 1944), so perhaps it was in May, during what is
commemorated as Labor Day (May 1), so perhaps this flag is related to
a trade union. Also, since the color combination seems to be a black
(or maybe a dark blue) background with a saltire cross (in red), maybe
it is linked with Anarchism.
There's an additional element in the video which might give a clue at
least on the site: a marquee is observed in the facade, reading
"Regal" (I don't know if it's a hotel or a department store). Perhaps
this London landmark could give some hints as far as location goes and
also about a rather popular meeting place for demonstrations. However,
I have not been able to properly recognize this flag and have a
positive Id.
Esteban Rivera, 10 April 2023
Don't recognise the flag, I'm afraid, although it does look like that of a right-wing group of some kind (or perhaps some kind of English nationalist group, since it's a St George flag, rather than a UJ).
But the location is Speaker's Corner, on the corner of Hyde Park. The current location is a short distance away from that in the film.
The Regal in the background is on Oxford Street, by the corner of Great Cumberland Place - it was a cinema at the time, but on today's Google Streetview it's now shops.
Ian Sumner, 10 April 2023
Wouldn't have been very unopportune to show a flag of Nazism or Fascism at that time in London? The war against Germany was still on and in 1944 the luck was clearly on the side of the Allies. I also think an English nationalist group is out of the question, since the war effort made everyone British and there was really no explicit English nationalism until many decades later.
I have no clue as to what this flag is, but I would guess it had something to do with the war effort. Maybe the flag of some voluntary auxillary force?
Elias Granqvist, 11 April 2023
As Elias says, it would have been a very bold man indeed to stand up and proclaim pro-fascist statements at this time. Certainly the leaders of the fascist parties had been interned early in the war, on remote Scottish islands and the like. But there was the English National Association, which contested a by-election in 1943. But the point of Speaker's Corner was that anyone could stand up and make a speech if they wanted.
And while English nationalism is strident and active in the modern era, it certainly has its roots in the late nineteenth century, so I wouldn't rule it out completely.
My first thought when I saw Esteban's post was that ENA was perhaps a mistake for ENSA, the Entertainments National Service Association who organised touring concert parties for service personnel, but they had a badge, which is not on this flag.
Volunteer auxiliary forces were quickly taken over by the Government. Even then, flags were not considered vital to the war effort, and while many organisations wanted flags during the war (eg Civil Defence, National Fire Service), textile shortages were always cited as the reason why they should not be made, or made in quantity (even the Royal Air Force had to wait until the 1950s before squadron standards were issued, and they had been proposed in 1942).
Ian Sumner, 11 April 2023
Tentative ID
Image from Joserra Zas, 20 April 2023
The first flag is the Swedish travel company Nyman & Schultz; the other three pins are still unidentified.
Zachary Harden, 15 September 2024.
This Spanish auction site had these pins and was showing the back of the button-hole ones. Both state the pins were made in Portugal.
Zachary Harden, 21 March 2026.
Image from Tatjana Voljavec Scarborough, 21 May 2023
Dear Mr. Karner,
I hope you are able to help me decipher the pennants in the photo I attached. They are on a silver cigarette case inscribed Brioni September 1912. IT belonged to my great uncle . He captained the Szigetvàr - Zenta class.
I am curious to know what they stand for. I would appreciate your assistance.
Tatjana Voljavec Scarborough, 21 May 2023
![[The Olympic flag]](../images/u/ufe_yc!jl.gif)
image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 December 2023
The music video of John Lennon’s 1980 song “Watching the Wheels” shows
briefly at 01:56 [ https://youtu.be/uVXR2LYeFBI&t=1m56s ] a triangular
flag at the aft of a small watercraft apparently in the San Francisco
Bay. It seems to be a yatch club burgee, apparently black with a white
roundel containing a large black letter "R". The shape of this flag is not simply triangular but rather
tappering, yes, but also forked. The "R" is uppercase and serifless. This boating scene is part
of what seems to be home movies shot during his “househusband” years of
1975-1980, and thus the exact color of the flag might be off, even if
this is color footage. (This is a truely great song, by the way.)
António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 December 2023
It look like that's not the case, here. I lean towards it not being such
a small craft after all, and we're being mislead by the singer looking
back. S, it's more likely to rather be a jack.
It seems to be a yacht club burgee, apparently black with a white
roundel containing a large black letter "R".
Maybe. It may well be a marine blue of sorts.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 10 December 2023
Image located by Nick Lamont, 26 March 2024
I’ve been trying to identify this unknown airline badge for literally decades. It appears to have a shipping pennant in the middle with a word that seems to be AMARAUS or similar…it’s hard to read! I assume it’s an early British Airline many of which were associated with shipping companies but I cannot identify it. It has the standard British or Commonwealth airline look with an eagle above the badge. Any help or ideas would be very gratefully accepted.
Nick Lamont, 26 March 2024
Are we sure it is an airline badge? It seems more likely to me to be a shipping or steamship company cap badge or something naval or military. There is an Amasus Shipping Company in The Netherlands, perhaps they could help you in your search? It also could be something for some WWII auxiliary pilot's cap, there were many lesser-known military units with similar sewn cap badges dating from back then. My point is although it is similar to an early airline badge, I think you will have to widen your search, which you probably have anyway. I tried a few quick searches but was unable to hit anything useful. Just wanted you to know you request is not being ignored. Not much help here, but I hope if you have success, you'll let us know.
Pete Loeser, 27 March 2024
Thank you for the help - it's very much appreciated. The pattern is 'classic British Airline' from the 1920s onwards. I've got about 4000 badges of the sort and a great many have this style so I'm pretty sure it's an airline and probably British...but it's not certain by any means. Very few European shipping lines had the eagle above the badge...in fact I don't know of any. Quite a few started small airlines though. Also it came in a bundle of other UK airline cap badges and wings. None of that is conclusive of course. I've searched for the word in the flag all over, on Latin websites etc but to no avail so far. I'll keep searching and widening the search and if I ever find out of course I'll let you know.
Nick Lamont, 28 March 2024
Inscription might be "AMANAUT" as well. Have definitely never seen that pennant.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 28 March 2024
Nick is right - the cap badge is of the 'classic British airline' pattern, featuring a distinctive emblem surrounded by a wreath beneath a pair of wings (typically a RAF-style eagle).
My speculation is that the word on the pennant was meant to read AMATEUR - in other words, this could be a 'generic' cap badge intended for private pilots.
Miles Li, 28 March 2024
It appears to be white (maybe yellow) pennant, edged
blue, with the word AMARAUS on it, although I am not sure of the last
few letters.
I make it "Amanaut". That would make it a "sailor for pleasure", but
whether that's the name of ship or position of the wearer, I wouldn't know.
In the times of the professionally crewed yachts, surely an owner just
sailing for the fun of it, not to best his equally rich neighbour, might
name his vessel, or himself, "For the fun of it".
Do we know when this was, or where? I could look through Lloyd's
Register of Yachts, but it would help to know when we're looking for.
I see some Amanaut in British newspapers, but I don't know whether Nick
already searched those (nor whether they may be misreadings).
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 29 March 2024
Tentative ID
(click to expand) Image located by António Martins-Tuválkin, 07 August 2024
Most are well known, but it’s interesting to see photos of actual flags
laid flat, showing its actual colors and ratios and other realities of
the cloth, often idealized in diagrammatic and artistic representations
of house flags we’re more accustumed with. These are mostly old-style /
sea-worthy flags made of actual stitched/appliqueed fabric, not printed
nylon, and some of them evidencing an interesting degree of rusticness
often absent in more professionally created naval and national flags.
For each, the source page included for transparency, but mostly these
are contentless nonsense. Pinterest has become a garbage heap of bot
“curated” random assemblages without rhyme or reason in their contents,
title, description, and keywords. I also archived each of these image
files (in Archive.ORG and GhostArchive.ORG; Archive.Today remains sadly
unavailable [as of this writing]).
António Martins-Tuválkin, 07 August 2024
Image #1 on this graphic is that of Robin Line (Seas Shipping Company)
Image #4 on this graphic is that of Petrinovic Steamship Co (that appeared on another UFE request in 2018).
Image #7 on this graphic is that of Hacklin (Finland)
Positive ID
Image from Peter, 25 September 2024
I was reading your website, flags of the world trying to identify a flag belonging to my Grandpa; Commander Albert Ayre DSO RNR(retired).
He was merchant marine through the First World War, then a pilot between the wars. In ww2 He started commanding asw ships, a corvette then a frigate (DSO) becoming commodore of coastal convoys and playing a key role in the d-day block ships, mulberries etc.
He was also 4 times head of hull trinity house and a genuine local dignitary.
This is just to try and give you some context
I have a few of his flags including the blue one for being a commodore but I can not identify this one.
I would be grateful if you or the users of your site could provide any assistance
Peter, 25 September 2024
I have found an ensign matching the description of UFE 24-3 in a document entitled "The Colours of the Fleet" downloaded from the Flag Institute. See the following statement on page 40: "Corporation of Trinity House for Hull - Three Yellow Stars on a Red Bar across an
Inverted Yellow Anchor on a Green Shield. Hull Trinity House has always been
separate from Trinity House."
Russ Adams, 08 December 2025
Image located by Nick Lamont, 26 March 2024
A UFE query here from Clay Moss. I think this is likely a home-made
flag - the crown looks like it might be glued on, and the union jack
is definitely not official - the diagonals are too symmetrical.
Rob Raeside, 13 January 2025
A flag collector has sent me this picture, asking me if I can identify
the flag, or ensign. Can anyone on FOTW recognize it?
Clay Moss, 13 January 2025
It seems this flag was sold at an auction in 2008; I was able to use Google Images to discover this information. Here is what the auction page says about the flag: "Union Flag. A linen Union flag, 18th century, the segments hand-stitched, circa 136 cms x 222 cms, Union Jack in top left corner with three red panels in other corners separated by a white cross, with shaped white coronet in centre (faint traces of faded markings), leading edge reinforced for mounting, no regimental or unit markings visible, probably a militia or yeomanry flag (see Hayes-McCoy, Irish Flags, colour plate V & pp. 103, 107). Minor damages. Provenance: Purchased at a sale of items from the archive of a defunct Dublin solicitor, including residues of 18th century estates." The information came from the auction site.
Zachary Harden, 02 September 2025
Image from ,
[Does anyone] know the context of the image - what was happening in the
photograph? Is it a screen capture from a video or a newspaper
article?
Rob Raeside, 22 February 2025
Image from Judge Muscat, 25 February 2025
This flag was submitted to JJ McCullough's YouTube page by Florian
Seaman of Littleton, New Hampshire. It was flying outside a condo
building in Bretton Woods, NH.
Judge Muscat, 25 February 2025
It was also re-posted to Reddit and they are also stumped on this as well. Note, the designer's name listed [on Reddit] is a red-herring.
Zachary Harden, 26 February 2025
The construction with a triangle (mountain) and muslim devices seems typical from Balawaristan.
Jaume Olle , 26 February 2025
I was going to say some sort of local flag from Azerbaijan, given the sun, moon, and stripes design.
Paul Bassinson, 28 February 2025
The star and crescent do certainly suggest an Islamic country, but I haven't found a match for it yet.
Judge Muscat, 28 February 2025
Could it just be that it is simply a decorative flag? Maybe it just symbolizes the area around Bretton Woods.
Daniel Rentería, 28 February 2025
True! In which case we may never know.
Judge Muscat, 28 February 2025
Image from Lindsay Macdonald, 23 June 2025
I recently bought a postcard (see attached image), which shows the
prize giving ceremony at what appears to be a boys’ school or college,
c.1905. But what is the flag on the left? It looks like a country or
dependency in the British Empire, but I can’t identify it. There are
hints of the Australian Federation flag and the Australian Civil Air
Ensign, but I cannot match it exactly. Is the central crown
significant?
Lindsay Macdonald, 23 June 2025
I offer some speculation only. My first method to find an unknown flag back in my UFE Editor days was to throw a speculative image together and use it as a search tool. I also carefully examine any illustration such on the postcard closely to determine if it shows evidence of PhotoShoping. For example, I examined both flags for signs of tampering or replacement and found a few under magnification, especially the 5-pointed stars on the left-hand flag as they seemed a bit brighter than the rest of the composition. Also, some interesting pixelation at the bottom and top of the flags. Not 100% sure, but suspicious.
My image search, also not conclusive but interesting, came up with an interesting match of a flag in the alternate history universe. Robert Sobel's alternate history book For Want of a Nail " is based on a British victory at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777 and the collapse of the American bid for independence." On a webpage titled "For Want of a Nail" I found the fictitious national flag interesting. Add a Union Jack in the canton and a crown centered on the English cross and what do we have.
Peter Loeser, 24 June 2025
I wonder if it is a version of the royal ensign flag that is flown when the king or queen is actually on board?
Judge Muscat, 24 June 2025
My speculation is that it was a proposed flag of Australia from around the time of the Federation in 1901.
This flag bore some resemblance to the Federation Flag popular in Australia at the time.
The six stars on this flag probably represented the six states of Australia - compare this with a six-star version of the Federation Flag. Also worth noting were the positions of the two flags - it was common practice to fly/display the flag of Australia on the dexter side, and the Union Jack on the sinister side, to denote Australia as a nation, albeit within the British Empire.
Miles Li, 24 June 2025
Image submitted by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 03 September 2025
Image submitted by Austin, 04 December 2025
I went to your Flags of the world website, under German Air Force
1933-1945 (here) looking for a match for a car pennant
flag I have had for many years, and I cannot find a match there, or
anywhere online. The closest match has the eagle flying and holding
the cross for "Other Members of the Air Force," but the one I have,
which is similarly on a deep blue canvas, has a silver and black
embroidered 1.5" cross, but has only one wing flying, not the whole
bird. It's 10" from one corner to the other with metal clips. I know a
little bit of the history of it, so I know it's authentic, but is it
so rare that it's not a known item?
Austin, 04 December 2025
It is most similar to the "Car Pennant for Other
Members of the Air Force", but instead of a flying eagle, has only a
wing with the swastika superimposed. It is beautifully embroidered on
both sides with the wing and swastika showing relief using different
colours of thread. Any suggestions?
Rob Raeside, 05 December 2025
