In the modern
Royal Navy, and other navies of
Europe and the
Commonwealth, ships are identified by
pennant numbers (sometimes referred to as
pendant numbers). The name pennant number arises from the fact that ships were originally allocated a
pennant (flag) identifying a flotilla or particular type of vessel: for example, in the Royal Navy, the
red burgee for
torpedo boats,
H for
torpedo boat destroyers. By the addition of a number to the identifying pennant, each ship could be uniquely identified. A pennant number thus consists of letters and numbers. Where a letter precedes a number it is known as a
flag superior and where it is a suffix it is known as a
flag inferior. Not all pennants have a flag superior.
For the American equivalent, see
Hull classification symbol.
For the Canadian equivalent, see
Hull classification symbol .
Royal Navy Systems
The system was adopted prior to
World War I to distinguish between ships with the same or similar names, to reduce the size and improve the security of communications, and to assist recognition when ships of the same class are together. Traditionally, a pennant number was reported with a full stop "." between the flag superior or inferior and the number, although this practice has gradually been dropped, and inter-war photos after about 1924 tend not to have the full stop painted on the hull. The system was used throughout the navies of the
British Empire so that a ship could be transferred from one navy to another...
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