Mare Island-Made RKF 1936

[tdurbinmas]

Thought I would share some photos of a new acquisition. This flag is an AMERICAN-MADE German RKF made for use by our naval warships when making port call to a German city. The flag is very large measuring in at 8' x 18'. It is constructed of multiple pieces of wool appliquéd together. It is a beautifully made flag, typical of US naval yard flags.

[raz]

Learned something new today , thanks for showing a flag I did not know was used on our ships much less made by us for this .

[Rakkasan187]

Very nice looking flag.. I did not know these existed...

Smitty

[MAP]

New to me as well. Those are HUGE!

[tdurbinmas]

Thanks, the second flag I laid out for comparison is a 300 x 500 German-made and naval approved (Eagle M stamp) nazi ensign. That flag is a little bigger and is screen printed. I'm told by another collector that the 300 x 500 would've been used for a light cruiser. These flags are HUGE! But they're fairly thin so the don't take up much space.

I know of only 2 Mare Island RKF's. There's this one and a nearly identical one made in February 1936. I bet many of these American-made RKF's met unceremonious ends on December 8, 1941!

[Tank Destroyer]

Sorry I’m late to the party. This is an amazing flag and one I would have never thought to have been made in the USA. Do you have any story pertaining this flag?
Your collection is top notch.


Marty

[tdurbinmas]

Thanks Marty, I appreciate it. Just happened to stumble across this one. There is no history available yet. It was an antique store find and unfortunately no background. It is a rarer flag though. The US navy yards made these first pattern RKF's in 1936 for use by our ships when visiting Germany. It was likely on a large US warship. Only wish I knew which one. I bet a lot of these were destroyed when the war started. Only a handful still live today, this being the second of 2 Mare Island made RKF's I can locate.

[panzerace]

I haven't seen one of these in 40 years....loved it then and love it now......great shape and well preserved piece of americana....

[tdurbinmas]

Did you have one of these in the past? It really is a cool piece of Americana. The Mare Island Naval Yard made lots of flags during its existence. This had to be one of the more unusual ones in hindsight. I wish the flag could share its travels, it would be very interesting!

[lonewolf523]

Very interesting! Wonder what else was made in America for Germany?