Original Item: Only One Available. This is something that we have only seen a very few of before! This is a very nice German WWII Kriegsmarine Navy Lotsen-Flagge (Harbor Flag), likely marked Lotsen-Flg. 0,5 X 0,6 on the header, but due to the heavy wear, the markings are too faint to read. This would indicate a relatively small size of 0.5m (19.7in.) by 0.6m (23.6in.), and measuring the flag confirms this. When flown on a ship or boat, this flag indicated that the ship had a qualified harbor pilot aboard. These were required when going in and out of the congested and dangerous waterways inside major deep water ports. With the flag other vessels, particularly the water police, would be aware that the vessel was underway under qualified direction. It is also possible that these smaller flags were used to indicate a launch that had the harbor pilot on board, in transit to a larger ship.

The design of the flag is basically the standard NSDAP National Flag in the center with a wide white border. This example is dyed into the fabric of the flag, which looks to be a wool / cotton blend. It has a canvas header with a halyard inside, forming loops at both ends that originally had metal hooks, but they are now gone. The flag shows that it definitely saw service in the field, and now has numerous holes and tears from deterioration of the fabric. We usually see these rare flags in nearly unissued condition, so finding one that really saw use at a German controlled harbor is a real treat!

Ready to add to your WWII maritime collection!