Last modified: 2003-09-13 by
Keywords: navy | cruzeiro | admiral | admiral of the fleet | vice admiral | rear admiral | star (white) | star: 21 | star: 5 | star: 4 | star: 3 | star: 2 | anchor | anchor: 2 |
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1. The flag of an admiral (of any rank) who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Esquadra (i.e., the fleet) is same as the appropriate flag for the Commander-in-Chief's rank with an anchor added in the lower hoist quarter and a star set the in lower fly quarter.Zeljko Heimer, 25 March 2001
2. The flag for an admiral (of any rank) commanding a force (almirante comandante de força) is the same as the appropriate admiral's rank flag with an anchor added in the lower hoist quarter (unless the command is of a Marine force (Fuzileiros Navais), when the FN badge is set there).
I believe força refers to an operational command of any size, since there are flags for relatively junior officers commandante de força provided for in the Brazilian Navy Ceremonial manual, cited as MB Cerimonial.
Joseph McMillan, 23 March 2001
Admirals of the Brazilian Navy originally flew the Cruzeiro as their flag of rank, the point of hoist (mainmast, foremast, mizzenmast) corresponding to their rank, as in other navies at the time. The use of stars in the upper hoist to indicate rank (as well as the flag of the Minister of Marine with the star of the republican coat of arms in the upper hoist) date from the 1890s.
Joseph McMillan, 28 October 2002
Almirante (Admiral of the Fleet) 
by Zeljko Heimer
Source: Album des Pavillons, 2000
The cruzeiro flag defaced in the canton with five white stars set in points of an imagined pentagon. This agrees well with MB Cerimonial, apart from the question of the size of the aditional stars. Album de Pavillons (2000) here shows the rank stars larger than the stars forming the Cruzeiro, and in my image I used stars that are 50% larger (i.e., with 90 units hoist, the Cruzeiro stars are inscribed in 4 unit circles and the rank stars are in 6 unit circles). But that is based on my impressionistic feeling. MB Cerimonial does not provide an answer to this question.
Zeljko Heimer, 24 March 2001
by Zeljko Heimer
Source: Album des Pavillons, 2000
Almirante de esquadra is a rank title that has nothing in particular to do with what the almirante commands.
Joseph McMillan, 23 March 2001
The Cruzeiro flag defaced in the canton with four white stars set in points of an imagined circle at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock, and in lower hoist quarter a slanted white anchor. Even if Album shows here the admiral's stars of the same size as those in the cruzeiro, I drew them larger as in the previous flag.
Zeljko Heimer, 24 March 2001
by Zeljko Heimer
Source: Album des Pavillons, 2000
The Cruzeiro flag defaced in the canton with four white stars set in points of an imagined circle at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock.
Zeljko Heimer, 24 March 2001
by Zeljko Heimer
Source: Album des Pavillons, 2000
The Cruzeiro flag defaced in the canton with three white stars set in points of an imagined isosceles triangle pointing up, in lower hoist quarter a slanted white anchor, and in upper fly quarter a single white star. If I understood the MB Ceremonial rightly, this is the flag used instead of the "senior officers afloat" if that senior officer holds rank of an admiral. The flag includes the appropriate number of rank stars in canton. My guess is that all combinations (2,3,4 and 5) could in theory be used, though I guess there would not be many chances for higher ranking admirals not to be entitled to some other flag.
Zeljko Heimer, 24 March 2001
by André Pires Godinho
by Zeljko Heimer
Source: Album des Pavillons, 2000
The cruzeiro flag defaced in the canton with three white stars set in points of an imagined isosceles trangle pointing up.
Zeljko Heimer, 24 March 2001
by Zeljko Heimer
Source: Album des Pavillons, 2000
The Cruzeiro flag defaced in the canton with two white stars set horizontally.
Zeljko Heimer, 24 March 2001