Rare WWII Under Secretary of the Navy Flag

Rare WWII Under Secretary of the Navy Flag
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Product Code: 19209
Shipping Weight: 4.00 lbs

Product Description

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Under Secretary of the Navy Flag, Circa WWII. Approximately 43 x 63 inches. Two-piece red wool field with white cotton multi-pieced machine-sewn stars in each corner and a multi-pieced rope and anchor in the center. The rope is highlighted with black stitching. Hoist stenciled "UNDER SEC. OF NAVY 6". Reinforced at the corners of the hoist. Number "6" is the size of the flag. Mint Condition! 

The position of Under Secretary of the Navy was created in 1940, superseding that of Assistant Secretary as the number two post in the Department.  A flag for the position was established on June 16, 1943.  It has the same design as the Secretary's but on a red field, following the long-standing but since abandoned practice by which the second senior flag officer of a given rank flew a red flag with white stars while the seniormost flew blue with white stars.  James V. Forrestal was the first occupant of this office and the first to fly its flag; he was subsequently to hoist the blue flag of Secretary of the Navy (1944-47) and the first to hoist that of the Secretary of Defense (1947).
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