Proportions of the War Ensign and Jack 1871-1935 (Germany)

Last modified: 2002-05-31 by santiago dotor
Keywords: german empire | iron cross | specification: proportion | law |
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• Proportions
• Legislation on the War Ensign
• Legislation on the War Jack

See also:

• War Ensign 1871-1918 (Kaiserliche Kriegsflagge)
• Jack 1871-1918 (Kriegsgösch)
• North German Confederation 1867-1870 (Norddeutscher Bund)

The Iron Cross in the jack was 5/9ths the height until 1903 and slightly above 2/3rds (226/333, according to Flaggenbuch 1939) thereafter. (...) If I am correct, the jack and [Reichskriegsflagge] canton changed in 1903.

Norman Martin, 27 February 2001

Norman Martin's dimensional data above prompted me to have a look in Martin and Dreyhaupt 1999 as well as Flaggenbuch 1939. My executive summary would be that the 1867-1903 jack (and ensign canton) was 2:3 with an iron cross 2/3rds of the hoist, the 1903-1919 jack (and ensign canton) 3:5 with an iron cross 4/5ths of the hoist. Let us see why.

Martin and Dreyhaupt 1999 firstly describes the 1867 ensign, saying about its canton that it has three stripes black-white-red, with an iron cross "reaching halfway into each the black and the red stripes". So that is 2/3rds of the height (of the canton). It then describes the 1892 and 1903 changes with no figures. After that (but rather as a different flag category, rather than chronologically) it describes the jack, as a 2:3 flag, with the iron cross occupying "two thirds of the height", and says that it is displayed on the ensign occupying 3/7ths of its height. Both the 2:3 proportions and the 3/7ths jack/ensign hoist ratio make me think that that description corresponds to the 1867-1903 jack.

The flag images on the A3-sized charts in Martin and Dreyhaupt 1999 are quite small (approx. 16 mm high) but allow for some measurement and comparison:

After that I had a look in Flaggenbuch 1939, and particularly the Corrections included in the 1992 facsimile edition proved quite conclusive. All the dimensions given there by Neubecker for the Imperial ensign are as the 1903-1919 above, with one exception, the canton appears as 315:495 (almost exactly 7:11) rather than 3:5. The height of the iron cross is 240/315 (0,762...) which is very close to 0,8 or 4/5ths.

As for the "226/333" shown by Flaggenbuch 1939, I would not trust the 1933-1935 ensign as a valid reference for the pre-1919 jack and ensign canton. Flaggenbuch 1939 clearly shows many differences in the latter one — size, offset to hoist, white fimbriation around cross on black and red stripes etc.

Also, Martin and Dreyhaupt 1999 clearly shows the 1903-1919 jack and ensign canton as having a very large iron cross, whereas Martin and Dreyhaupt 2000 (Weimar Republic flags) shows the iron cross back to the pre-1903 2/3rds size.

Finally, none of the Martin and Dreyhaupt 1999 illustrations of the jack and ensign show the iron cross vertically (nor horizontally) offset.

I wonder where did Norman Martin get the information about the 5/9-high iron cross. I seem to recall that that proportion affected only the diameter of white discs on state ensigns etc. I may be wrong though.

Santiago Dotor, 28 February 2001

I am sorry, but I do not agree with Santiago Dotor's executive summary. The only debate is on the size of the Iron Cross (in short EK, for eisernes Kreuz). Let me summarize my data and measurements.

First, the official measurements that I have that appear to be relevent fix the height of the EK:

• on the merchant flag with EK of 1896 as 5/9 of the height,
• on the Weimar jack(s) as 2/3 of the height, and
• the two on plate IX of Flaggenbuch 1939 which fix that of the Kaiserliche Kriegsflagge (obviously intended to be the 1903 Reichskriegsflagge) as 0.7649 of the height and
• that of the Schwarzweissrote Reichskriegsflagge (obviously intended to be the 1933-1935 Reichskriegsflagge) as 0.6787 of the height.

I am struck by the fact that all three which show both the jack and the merchant flag with EK show their Iron Crosses the same height. Note also that the Martin and Dreyhaupt 1999 text cites the merchant flag with EK as having an Iron Cross 5/9 the height even though its illustration measures 0.64. Of course, one cannot rely on the measurements to better than a few hundredths.

My conclusion is that the best estimates are:

• Jack 1867 and merchant flag with EK 1867: 0.56~ (i.e. 5/9)
• Jack 1903: 0.67~ (i.e. 2/3)
• Ensign 1867: 0.64
• Ensign 1903: 0.78

Norman Martin, 2 March 2001

Since my last message, I found a couple more:

• Wilson 1986: ensign 0.45 (1867), [???] (1903)
• A photograph of troops of the 2. Marinebrigade during the Kapp Putsch 1920: ensign 0.71 (1903)

Norman Martin, 5 March 2001

The legislation data supplied by Ralf Stelter largely clarifies the issue if we can assume that the jack agreed completely in proportions with the canton of the Kriegsflagge. In that case we have as proportios of the Iron Cross to height:

• 1892 Kriegsflagge: 2/3 (0.67) [1867 presumably the same]
• 1896 Handelsflagge mit EK: 5/9 (0.56)
• 1903 Kriegsflagge: 16/21 (0.76)
• 1919 Kriegsflagge: 16/21 (0.76)
• 1921 canton of Handelsflagge mit EK: 2/3 (0.67)
• 1921 Kriegsflagge: 5/9 (.56)
• 1933 Kriegsflagge: ca. 2/3 (ca. 0.67)

Norman Martin, 6 March 2001

Editor's note: see Legislation on the War Jack for an answer.

Ralf Stelter asked, "For 1903 and 1919, I wrote 2/7 H, which makes 2/3 of the canton. So you meant 6/21 not 16/21?". He did write 2/7 H, but he also gave the height of the canton to be 3/8, so that the relative height of the Iron Cross becomes 2/7 divided by 3/8, in other words 16/21 or 0.76.

Norman Martin, 7 March 2001

On the question of proportions of the German Iron Cross and naval ensigns, this is what I have at hand:

• Norddeutscher Bund [North German Confederation 1867-1870]:
  • Constitution of 25 June 1867, Art. 55: The flag of the war and the merchant navy is black-white-red.
  • Allerhöchster Präsidial-Erlass of 4 July 1867 gives a verbal description of the flag in a rather strange way:

    The North German war flag consists of a white area with wide stripes of black and white separating the area once in length and once in width in four parts. In the center is the Prussian heraldic eagle on a white circular shield. The upper left corner is striped in the federal colours black-red-white [sic — typo!]. On its center the Iron Cross.

    No proportions are given. The pilot flag (flag to call for a pilot) was described together with proportions:

    A merchant flag (i.e. black-white-red) of smaller format with a white border of the width of a single stripe, that is 1/5 of the flag.

• Reichskriegsflagge [War Ensign 1871-1903]:
  • Allerhöchste Order of 19 December 1892: Order to the Reichs-Marine-Amt to change the design of the Prussian eagle according to the attached sample.
  • By a proclamation dated 28 December 1892 the use of the old type [1867-1892] ensigns was allowed until 1 January 1895. Proportions were given [for the new 1892 ensign]:
    • Length:Height = L:H = 3 1/2 : 2.
    • Height of the jack: 3/7 H.
    • Diameter of Iron Cross: 2/7 H [hard to identify the cipher 2].
    • Center of the circular field from the mast: 5/7 H.
    • Center from upper and lower edges of ther flag: 1/2 H.
    • Diameter of the medaillon: 3/7 H.
    • Outer width of black-white stripe: 1/7 H = h.
    • Width of inner black stripe: 4/10 h.
    • Width of outer black stripe: 1/10 h.
• Handelsflagge mit Eisernem Kreuz [merchant flag with Iron Cross i.e. Naval Reserve Officers' Civil Ensign]:
  • Introduced by Allerhöchstem Erlass of 1 July 1896, proclaimed on 16 August 1896:
    1. Diameter of Iron Cross 5/9 of flag height
    2. parts of the cross in the black and red stripe: 1/5 of the cross' diameter
    3. width of the white border around the cross is 1/30 of the cross' diameter.
• Reichskriegsflagge [War Ensign 1903-1918]
  • By Allerhöchste Order, on 26 September 1903 the German Emperor ordered the stripes of the cross to be changed according to the draft of the Reichs-Marine-Amt.
  • Proclamation of 26 September 1903: Details:
    • Length:height = 5:3.
    • Height of the jack: 3/8 H.
    • Diameter of Iron Cross: 2/7 H [hard to identify cipher 2].
    • Center of the circular field from the mast: 5/7 H.
    • Center from upper and lower edges of ther flag: 1/2 H.
    • Inner diameter of the circular field: 3/7 H.
    • Outer width of black-white stripe: 1/4 H = h.
    • Width of inner black stripe: 6/10 h.
    • Width of outer black stripe: 1/10 h.
  • On 20 October 1903 was proclaimed that old [1892-1903] ensigns could be used until 1 April 1906.
• Reichskriegsflagge [War Ensign 1919-1921]
  • Ausführungsverordnung of 16 April 1919: "the provisional Reichsmarine uses (...) the acknowledged war ensign".
  • Reichskriegsflagge By decree of 27 September 1919 the new eagle was placed in the center of the flag, and the Reichsfarben [black-red-yellow] placed in the upper corner with Iron Cross.
  • Ausführungsbestimmungen to that decree, 15 October 1919. Reichskriegsflagge dimensions:
    • H : L = 3 : 5
    • Height of the field with Reichsfarben and Iron Cross: 3/8 H
    • Diameter of Iron Cross: 2/7 H.
    • Center of the circular field from the mast: 5/7 H.
    • Center from upper and lower edges of ther flag: 1/2 H.
    • Inner diameter of the circular field: 3/7 H.
    • Outer width of black-white stripe: 1/4 H = h.
    • Width of inner black stripe: 6/10 h.
    • Width of outer black stripe: 1/10 h.
• Decree (Verordnung) of 11 April 1921:
  1. National flag is three equal horizontal stripes, on top black, in the middle red, below golden yellow.
  2. Merchant flag black-white-red, in the upper corner the Reichsfarben, separated from the black stripe on the outer edge by a 2 cm wide vertical white strip. Length of the upper corner including the white strip is equal to the height of the black stripe. The total proportions of the upper corner are 2:3. The flag is of 2:3 proportions.
  3. Merchant flag with Iron Cross is same as merchant flag but with "a white edged black cross in the design of the Iron Cross" placed upon the Reichsfarben. The cross reaches halfway into both the black and golden yellow stripes.
  4. Reichskriegsflagge like merchant flag but with white edged black Iron Cross-like cross in the center, reaching one third into both the black and red stripes. Proportions 3:5.