Last modified: 2024-03-23 by 
zachary harden
Keywords: ufe | unidentified flags | 2017 |
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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 Some Speculation
Image from Jens Pattke, 25 February 2017
Can anyone identify this flag? (source)
Jens Pattke, 25 February 2017
Image from the Australian Embassy Website, 25 February 2017
The picture's caption reads: "Accredited to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas..."
So, from this, the flags are (from left to right):
- Republic of Marshall Islands
- Yap (Micronesia variant)
- Federated States of Micronesia
Since everybody in the picture you referenced are wearing t-shirts that say "Micronesia"), I am certain that it is the flag of Yap State (a variant, indeed), since it features four stars inside the circle (which I think are for the four States of the country), plus the bigger four-ray star on the hoist.
Esteban Rivera. 25 February 2017
Agreed that it looks like a variant of the Yap flag (where my wife happens to be working right now).
Dave Fowler, 25 February 2017
I have another hypnosis. The flag combines the flag of the participating countries. The sun as a symbol of the Marshall Islands, the boat represents Yap and the four stars refer to the Federated States of Micronesia. Or perhaps it is really a municipal flag?
Jens Pattke, 25 February 2017
In regards to this odd Yap-Marshallese hybrid "flag," my wife spent two weeks on Yap earlier this month, and none of the locals that she interacted with had ever seen it before, so I suspect that it is a fanciful design.
Dave Fowler, 28 March 2017
The mystery flag is almost certainly a flag representing the College of Micronesia (logo); compare the sailboat motif and four stars. This is further borne out by the context in the photograph which appears to be a celebration of a graduation from a faculty, possibly of law, with a career path marked out on cardboard signs towards becoming chief justice by 2030. Note the College of Micronesia has branch campuses on the main islands including Truk, Yap and Ponpei. The Flag is spotted here, here, and from main post here.
This event was supposed to be at the National Campus of the College of Micronesia in Palikir and/or Pohnpei on the island (in the Micronesian state) of Pohnpei. Note: some of the sections or faculties or departments of College of Micronesia appear to have their own flags, such as the Fisheries Management section, which replaces the sailboat seen on what is probably the main flag of COM in question at with a fishing trawler.
OK, I didn't find a photo of that flag exactly, but COM-FSM has the right logo, as does the department of education for FSM... Could it be a Marshallese exchange student at COM who wanted to be true to his school and to his home islands, adding a little Marshallesque star in the upper left to the college logo?
HC Storage, 10 May 2017
Positive ID
Image from Rena Madden, 9 March 2017
The picture of flag below was taken on the back of door in my son's room while Skyping with him .. Hanging vertical instead of horizontal. The background is his step-grandfather was born in Quebec but lived in western Canada from early 70's until he passed away several years back. His grandmother then gave my son this flag and didn't know the origins. I have tried Googling flags in various ways with stars and maple leafs, etc, but been unable to locate it.
Rena Madden, 9 March 2017
Just my two-cents here, and I have absolutely no evidence to back up any of this speculation, but the elements of the flag appear to me to represent possibly a pre-1999 proposal for a new Canadian flag. The red, white, blue, and gold colors of the flag would represent the colors of the British and French (fleur-de-lis) flags of the colonial powers that originally settled what is modern day Canada, while the central maple leaf motif would represent the confederation as we know it. The 12 four-pointed white stars would represent the 10 provinces and two territories that existed pre-1999, before the creation of Nunavut as the country's third territory.
Again, I have absolutely no evidence to back up my speculation, and I've tried multiple searches online to no avail. I'm posting this theory of mine hoping that it might trigger someone's memory of actual information. Still, I like my idea. 
Randy Young, 9 March 2017
Brochure Cover
[Editorial enlargement]
Image from Ralph Bartlett, 10 March 2017
This flag is a Canadian unity flag, or "UNI-FLAG"/"UNI-DRAPEAU", dating from 1991/1993. I have a colour brochure about this flag that, if my memory serves me correctly, was distributed to subscribers in either an issue of The Flag Bulletin or the Canadian Flag Association's Flagscan bulletins. In the brochure this flag is described as, "an educational art form".
In brief, the twelve Stars represents the then Provinces and Territory, which make up the Canadian Confederation. The colours represent the following: Red & White represents the Canadian Confederation, Golden-Yellow represents Canadian Culture, and Blue represents Canadian Liberty.
Ralph Bartlett, 10 March 2017
I can confirm that this "UNI-FLAG" was reported upon in the Canadian Flag Association's bulletin, Flagscan No. 22 - Summer (June-July-August) 1991, pp.1-5, and No. 28 - Christmas 1992, p.29. This flag was designed by Ottawa resident, Eric Allen Black, as "a design to promote unity within our country and not one to replace our national flag". The flag was first present at Citizen's Forum in Whitby, Ontario on 11 April 1991, followed shortly afterwards at other forums in Montreal on 20-21 April 1991, and Toronto on 27-28 April 1991.
To reinforce the unity intention of this flag, the central design symbol of the flag is a large red Maple Leaf, representing "Federal Unity - One Canada with a strong central or federal government, will represent our national and international interests." - according to Eric Allen Black.
Ralph Bartlett, 10 March 2017
Some Speculation
Image from William Garrison, 21 March 2017
Does anybody recognize this flag? It is possibly that of an Iraq Tank unit, c2017? [Photo tags include: "military offensive; shiite; pro government forces"] (photo source)
William Garrison, 21 March 2017
What does it say on the white stripe, what does it say on the black stripe, and do we know the emblem? We do have a link to the source photograph, but what is the photograph's source, which might tell us about the context?
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 2 April 2017
The following websites also use the same image (all credits to AFP/Tony Gamal-Gabriel/Getty Images):
#14a
#14b
Images from Esteban Rivera, 19 April 2017
I add a different theory about the flag mounted on the tank. I noticed that the round red and yellow symbol on the bottom of the fly of the flag almost appears to be a variant of the Iraqi Army 1st Division logo. The 1st Army Division was mechanized as the 1st Mechanized Division and has served as that during the Islamic State onslaught, where several of its brigades have been "decimated" in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad. However, the 3rd Motorized Brigade, temporarily assigned to 5th Division in Diyala (armor units get attached to infantry units to support them often in combat), has now been relocated to Mosul - according to this Wikipedia page. Notice that what is left of the 1st Division (see under Engagements in the left hand box) is now serving in the "Iraqi insurgency" in the Northern Iraq Offensive and is at the Battle of Mosul. Could the remnants of the 3rd Motorized Brigade be showing their colors there in what might be a posed PR picture. (You don't usually fly bright colored flags in combat - you usually don't want to attract the attention and become a bigger target than you already are). I also noticed the main gun on that tank has a dust cap over the end of it, and doesn't look combat ready to me (as an old armor officer anyway) - but then again maybe desert warfare demands more dust protection than we did in the mud of Vietnam, however, its still not wise to block your gun tube before firing in combat. (I can't remember if we use tube covers, but maybe we did.... its been over 50 years) I noticed the flag is also not attached, but just slipped in a couple of the hand holds. Anyway, this is just more musing and speculation.
Pete Loeser, 29 April 2017
That is a nice approach to it indeed. However, I have my doubts, since the use of T-72 tanks is solely carried by the 9th as mentioned earlier.
Esteban Rivera, 30 April 2017
Positive ID
Image from David Phillips, 20 March 2017
Positive ID
Image edited by Rob Raeside , 2 April 2017
Attached is a jpg of a black-colored Brexit (?) flag that I found on a Goggle search of Brexit flags. Can you identify it for me? Image is so small that I can't really read it. Hopefully you can enlarge it.
William Garrison, 1 April 2017
I have trimmed the image a bit and flipped it to make the writing more legible - it says SOUTH ? ? at the top, and "NO SURRENDER" between EST and 2012 at the bottom, with the British arms and two union jacks, so it does look like a demonstration flag of Brexit solidarity.
Rob Raeside, 2 April 2017
There is not really much in real flags one can find with a google search of "brexit flag", but I encountered a cartoon, that I want to share with you. (Weeping away from this union)
M. Schmóger, 2 April 2017
I think it is more likely an Orange Lodge flag. The slogan "No Surrender!" harks back to the siege of Londonderry in the war between the supporters of King James II and King William III which was decided at the Battle of the Boyne on July 12, 1690. The symbols and colours also point in the Irish Loyalist direction. Given that Ulster, like Scotland and the rest of the "Celtic Fringe" voted to stay in the EU, this may have been flown in a some sort of Unionist Party rally rather than in support of Brexit.
Michael Halleran, 2 April 2017
"No Surrender!" has been the traditional watchword of Ulster Protestant loyalists since the siege of Derry.
William Linden, 2 April 2017
It appears to be the flag of the South East Alliance, which describes itself at as "a pro-British, pro-English street movement... against Islamic fanatics here at home and overseas." They claim to be "right wing but we are not Nazis or follow Nazism." A Google search for South East Alliance yields several photographs showing similar black flags to the one in the original e-mail, as well as variations on the English Cross of St. George, the White Ensign, and the Scottish Cross of St. Andrew. Many Neo-Nazi-related flags are also visible.
See also (source #1), (source #2) and (source #3)
Randy Young, 2 April 2017
Tentative ID
Image from Tomislav Ŝipek, 17 April 2017 - Photo from Jens Pattke, 17 April 2017
This flag is very popular in mayors' offices and ceremonies, but I don't know what it is.
The flag is red with national coat-of-arms centered on it. Anyone?
Tomislav Ŝipek, 17 April 2017
Here is an example (photo above)
Jens Pattke, 17 April 2017
The source that Jens provides and the one that Tomislav provides, both show the same flag. The flag is a rectangular red horizontal flag with the National Emblem of Kyrgyzstan in the middle. This link is the official website of the Issyk-Kul Sustainable Development Project for toilets (water sanitation, (source #1) and (source#2) although it is not likely that this is the flag of the project, since they have a different logo. The formal name of the emblem (CoA) is the "State Emblem of the Kyrgyz Republic" or Kirgiz Respublikasinin Mamlekettik gerbi (Кыргыз Республикасынын Мамлекеттик герби), and it was adopted on January 14, 1994. It was designed by A. Abdraev and S. Dubanaev (А. Абдраев and С. Дубанаев). Its colors are white and light blue, color of courage and generosity, with the image of a white hawk waving its wings inside a circle in the middle, the lake is located just behind the mountain ranges of Tian Shan and sun rays. To the left and right of the CoA, wheat (top) and cotton (bottom) are displayed. In the upper part, the name of the country appears in Kyrgyz "Кыргыз" and below "Республикасы" (Respublikasy or Republic). Sources: Office of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic website and Wikipedia.
Now, the flag is most likely a government flag (perhaps the Ministry of Interior or an alternate Government organization of some sort). I'm discarding the Supreme Council because they have a different logo. Another image of the flag is found here. (source). The formal name of the state flag is the "National flag of the Kyrgyz Republic" or Kirgiz Respublikasinin Mamlekettik tuusu (Кыргыз Республикасынын Мамлекеттик туусу). This flag was designed by the following committee: E.Aidarbekov, B. Zhaichybekov, S. Iptarov, J. Mataev and M. Sydykov (Э. Айдарбеков, Б. Жайчыбеков, С. Иптаров, Ж. Матаев, and М. Сыдыков). (source #1) (source #2)
After seeing several pictures like this example (source), in which the flag is seen again (third flag from left to right), in this case in the office of the Mayor of the City of Tokmok, I have come to the conclusion that the flag reported by Jens (red background and National Emblem) is also the official flag of the country because it is seen in public offices around the country. We could label it "Government or State Flag", since the official website, featuring the same color combinations (red background for the National Emblem); and claims to be the official website of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic or Kirgiz Respublikasinin Ökmōtu (КЫРГЫЗ РЕСПУБЛИКАСЫНЫН ӨКМӨТҮ)
I forgot to mention that here's the same flag (source) reported by Jens, displayed in a vertical manner (second vertical flag from left to right, next to the Kazakhstan Presidential vertical flag.
Esteban Rivera, 17 April 2017
Several days ago I asked Kyrghyzstan Embassy in Russia about this UFE, the red flag with the Coat-of-Arms. The
Press-Secretary of the Embassy, G. Baiymbetova, answered me on 26 April 2017: "There are not any state bodies which adopted this flag. This variant is not official"
Victor Lomantsov, 2 May 2016
So should we label it de facto government flag instead?
Esteban Rivera, 2 May 2017
More like an "unofficial" variant of the State flag. A de facto flag would be a flag used by tradition when there was no other flag, wouldn't it?
Pete Loeser, 3 May 2017
Not quite: de facto means "adopted" but not by rule of law, but by custom. The opposite concept would be de jure, which would mean a flag established by a government organization through a Law or Presidential Decree (for example).
Esteban Rivera, 3 May 2017
Positive ID
Image from Esteban Rivera, 15 April 2017
I just came across this image (source) of which I have no information. It is clearly an Australian origin flag (in fact there are three flags: one in blue background, the other one in red background and the third one in white background, all variants, (perhaps a Trate Union flag) but I can't identify it. The article is titled "Dandenong South factory workers picket over pay, conditions as unemployment rises in city", online article published on July 13, 2015 and the picture caption reads: "Nissan warehouse workers show solidarity outside the Dandenong South warehouse in support of 42 workers set to lose their jobs. Picture: Valeriu Campan". Any guesses?
Esteban Rivera, 15 April 2017
Yes, a trade union flag: Australian Manufacturing Workers Union. I have some photos and the white version of the flag was published several years ago in the Flag Report (Issue 43, July 2007).
Jaume Ollé Jolle, 15 April 2017
These are flags of the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union. Such logos-on-bed sheets are common among trade unions in Australia.
Miles Li, 15 April 2017
Here's some additional information: "The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, or more fully, the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union (AMWU) ("The Metalworkers"). The AMWU has its origins in the amalgamation of four metal trade unions - the Boilermakers and Blacksmiths Society of Australia, the Federated Jewellers, Watchmakers and Allied Trades Union of Australia, the Sheet Metal Working Industrial Union of Australia and the Amalgamated Engineering Union - to form the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union (AMWU) in 1973 (although they claim to have predecessors as old as 160+ years old). Seven years later, after amalgamation with the Federated Shipwrights and Ship Constructors Union of Australia, the AMWU changed its name to the Amalgamated Metal Workers and Shipwrights Union(AMWSU). When the Federated Moulders' (Metals) Union amalgamated in 1983, the union's name changed slightly to the Amalgamated Metals Foundry & Shipwrights' Union, but in 1985 reverted to the Amalgamated Metal Workers' Union. A 1991 amalgamation with the Association of Draughting Supervisory & Technical Employees (ADSTE) created the Metals and Engineering Workers' Union. Two years later a further amalgamation with the Vehicle Builders Employees' Federation of Australia resulted in the Automotive Metals & Engineering Union. In 1994 this union merged with the Confectionery Workers' and Food Preservers' Union. to form the Automotive Food Metals and Engineering Union. Finally, the Printing and Kindred Industries Union amalgamated to form the printing division of the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union" (source #1) (source#2)
The flag is the logo on the three background colors mentioned in my previous message. They also have a variant flag: a horizontal violet background with the initials in capitals that cover the whole flag, the letters being A, M and W (white) and U (red) as seen here (source)
Esteban Rivera, 15 April 2017
Positive ID
Image from Bill Hoffman, 26 April 2017
I am searching for the identity of the attached flag fixed to a ship wheel pin badge. Could you please help me.
Bill Hoffman, 26 April 2017
I don't recognise this pennant, nor do I see it on a perusal of our collection of British, US and a few other countries' flags. Item is being sold on Ebay, under header "1920s 30s Steamship Line Hat Badge - Unknown Company??" It is located in Los Altos, California.
Rob Raeside, 26 April 2017
Not an answer to the question, sadly, but I'm beginning to think that an index of shipping company flags by the initials on the flags might be a useful addition to FOTW.
James Dignan, 26 April 2017
The Blue Pennant is from the Newport Harbor Yacht Club based on the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach, Orange County, California. Hope this helps.
Kevin McGinn, 26 April 2017
Yes, the index you seek exist at House Flags of the World in which you have this indentifer.
Dominique Cureau, 27 April 2017
It's the Newport Harbor Yacht Club Hm, I see they now have a banner with flags on their front page. I'll have to ask them what we see there.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 27 April 2017
We've received William's thanks. Apparently he is satisfied with the identification. I've drawn a simple version of the pennant, but have
asked the club for confirmation and details first.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 29 April 2017
Image from Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 27 May 2017
Since I've not seen any messages from the club, I'm now sending my drawing to the mailing list. It's a really dark blue burgee bearing a red ring, and in the ring a white capital letter "N" in a sans font. Presumably, the N stands for "Newport". I followed a printed depiction of the burgee, rather than a photograph of an actual burgee, hence I'm not completely sure about the shade of blue.
The club has a "Non-Calm Advisory Chair". Now, what would the function of such an officer be?
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 27 May 2017
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