I was watching "Midway" for the nth time recently and during the battle scenes admirals on both sides were reminded by subordinates of the importance of transfering their flag to another ship. That's simply a symbolic gesture, isn't it?
2007-08-08 13:18:01 · 5 answers · asked by canucklehead1951 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
"Transferring the Flag" only means that the command of the fleet moves from one ship (in this case - sinking) to another.
It is important to keep the command of the fleet (or squadron or whatever) clear as the captain of the admiral's ship sends signals to the fleet for the admiral.
The transference of the flag (piece of bunting/cloth) is symbolic, the transference of the flag (command of the fleet) is not.
Historically, an admiral gains the right to his own "private" flag (hence "flag officer") and in the days of sail (pre-radio); the command ship was identified by the fact that it flew the fleet commander's flag. So transferring the flag was critical to ensuring continuance of command.
Good Question tho....
2007-08-08 14:11:18 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
It provides for continuity of command. Admiral Nogumo was in tactical command of the task force which was involved in the Battle of Midway and his afloat headquarters was on the carrier Akagi. The same one he commanded from during the attack on Pearl Harbor. So, when Akagi was in danger of sinking, he had to transfer command headquarters to a nearby cruiser. The same for Admiral Fletcher in USS Yorktown. Admirals are also known as flag grade officers.
2007-08-08 20:33:12 · answer #2 · answered by desertviking_00 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The part of the movie that you are referring to is when Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher transferred his flag from carrier USS Yorktown to cruiser USS Astoria. Yorktown had sustained heavy damage from Japanese air attacks, but was not sinking. As the damage extended to engineering, Yorktown was unable to function at 100%. Therefore, Admiral Fletcher moved to Astoria with his staff, to command his task force from there. Astoria then became the flagship, as admirals are known as "flag officers".
USS Yorktown was damaged in another Japanese air attack, but survived only to be sunk by torpedoes fired from a Japanese submarine.
2007-08-08 20:34:36 · answer #3 · answered by wichitaor1 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like it. The navy is the service most deeply connected with tradition and its past.
2007-08-08 20:22:21 · answer #4 · answered by Kevy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it is just a symbolic gesture.
2007-08-08 20:24:39 · answer #5 · answered by Oldvet 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋