FG-055 – Imperial German jack (Kriegsschiffgösch), 1903

Imperial German Naval Jack (1903–1918) — Imperial German naval jack (Kriegsschiffgösch), 1903–1918. FG-055.

Flag ID: FG-055

Flag facts

Maker (stamp): None
Dimensions: 70 × 100 cm
Materials: wool bunting, cotton hoist header, braided hemp rigging
Construction: Printed
Layout: Imperial naval jack, 1903 pattern
Markings (hoist): crown-over-M + “1”, “GÖSCH – 0,7 × 1,0 m”
Legal stamp expansion (if relevant): Imperial property mark
Acceptance: Imperial acceptance stamp (crown-over-“M” + “1”)
Period: 1903–1918
Condition: operational wear, moth damage

Context & Use

In German naval terminology, a Gösch is the small jack flown at the bow jackstaff of a warship when the vessel is at anchor or moored. It functions as a national or service identification mark in harbour, complementing the larger war ensign at the stern.

On Imperial German warships the Kriegsschiffgösch carried a simplified version of the national or war flag arranged as a separate rectangular flag. It was normally hoisted:

when the ship was in harbour or at anchor,
during ceremonial occasions, inspections and official visits, and
in combination with the war ensign at the stern or mainmast.

Unlike masthead command flags or full-size war ensigns, the size of a jack does not map directly onto the size of the ship. Contemporary practice appears to have used size groups of jacks that provided a visually balanced flag at the bow, rather than a strict table tying each jack size to a particular ship class or tonnage. A 70 × 100 cm jack such as FG-055 therefore represents a smaller service jack within the 1903 system, but it cannot be used to identify a specific vessel type on its own.

Because each ship needed only a small number of jacks, and because these smaller flags were heavily used in everyday harbour service, surviving examples of Imperial jacks are noticeably scarcer than full-size war ensigns.

Comparative notes – pre-1903 vs. 1903 jack

Imperial German naval jack, pre-1903 pattern with compact Iron Cross — Pre-1903 Imperial German naval jack with compact Iron Cross (1867–1903 pattern).
Image: Ratisbons, Kriegsmarine war flag / jack (archival reference).

Imperial German naval jack FG-055 with enlarged Iron Cross, 1903–1918 pattern — FG-055 – Imperial German naval jack with enlarged Iron Cross (1903–1918 pattern).

Pre-1903 pattern (1867–1903)

From 1867 until 1903, the German naval jack showed the black–white–red tricolour with a relatively compact Iron Cross in the centre. Contemporary reconstructions suggest that in this earlier pattern the height of the cross was around five-ninths of the flag height (~0.56), resulting in a comparatively narrow, modest cross with long “open” colour fields around it.

Visually, this produced a more open tricolour where the stripes remained dominant and the Iron Cross read as a central emblem rather than as the main field of the design.

1903 modification – the type used on FG-055

On 26 September 1903 the Imperial authorities issued new regulations modifying both the war ensign and the naval jack. The most reliable explanation found in contemporary naval documentation does not refer to a single saluting incident but to a broader recognition problem: the bars and thin elements of the Imperial war ensign were regarded as too narrow and could be misread at distance or in poor visibility, particularly in comparison with the British White Ensign.

As a result, the war ensign received a redesign with thicker elements and increased visual weight to improve long-range identification at sea. In the same regulatory update, the naval jack was modified in parallel to maintain visual and symbolic consistency with the updated ensign.

The most significant visible change was the enlargement of the Iron Cross. The pre-1903 pattern used an Iron Cross measuring approximately 5⁄9 of the flag’s height (~0.56), whereas the 1903 design increased this to about 2⁄3 (~0.67). In practical terms this made the arms of the Iron Cross roughly 20% thicker and visually dominant across the entire field.

A surviving pre-1903 jack is not available within the present comparative sample, but reconstructions published by Flags of the World (FOTW, “Germany: Naval Jack 1867–1903” and “Naval Jack 1903–1918”) provide reliable proportional data for both the early and the 1903 pattern. These reconstructions show the compact 5/9 cross height of the pre-1903 design clearly, allowing a direct numerical comparison with the measurements taken on FG-055.

No primary source has yet been identified that provides a separate, stand-alone justification for altering the Gösch beyond its alignment with the broader 1903 redesign of Imperial naval flags. The matter therefore remains under ongoing research.

Full view measurement alignment on FG-055 — Measured cross height on FG-055. Total flag height ≈ 73 cm.

Measurement of Iron Cross height on FG-055 — Alignment of the measuring rule across the full height of the Iron Cross ≈ 48 cm..

The physical dimensions of FG-055 confirm the 1903 pattern mathematically. The flag’s total height is approximately 73 cm, while the Iron Cross measures about 48 cm from the upper to the lower outer black edge. This gives a ratio of 48⁄73 ≈ 0.66, which falls squarely within the 2⁄3 height range defined for the enlarged 1903 cross and clearly above the earlier 5⁄9 (~0.56) proportions of the pre-1903 jack.

The purpose of the 1903 redesign was straightforward:

to increase the recognition distance of the German jack,
to reduce confusion with other tricolour-based naval flags at sea, and
to emphasise the Prussian military identity of the Imperial Navy through a stronger Iron Cross.

Where FG-055 fits

FG-055 clearly belongs to the post-1903 enlarged-cross pattern. The Iron Cross is broad and visually dominant, with a wide white fimbriation and arms extending deeply into the stripes. This matches the proportions documented for the 1903–1918 jack, rather than the more modest cross of the 1867–1903 design.

4. Comparison with the 1933 “Alter Art” (first-pattern Nazi revival)

When the National Socialist regime came to power in 1933, naval flag policy briefly reverted to Imperial imagery. The enlarged-cross 1903 Imperial war ensign and its matching naval jack were reintroduced almost unchanged as the first-pattern Reich war flag and jack, later referred to as Alter Art.

In practice the revived 1903 pattern under the Nazis was used both as Kriegsflagge and as Gösch, depending on size and assignment. This explains why surviving examples can show mixed hoist markings, with some pieces labelled as war flags and others as jacks, even though the basic artwork is identical.

Compared with the original Imperial jack, the key visual innovation of the Alter-Art implementation is the introduction of a continuous white fimbriation around the Iron Cross. This ensures that the full outline of the cross remains visible even where the arms extend into the black stripe — a feature never present on authentic Imperial-period jacks (1903–1918). It is the most reliable single diagnostic feature for separating a true 1903 Imperial jack from a 1933 Alter-Art flag.

The transitional period from 1933 to 1935 also saw the black–white–red tricolour reinstated as a national flag, coexisting with new swastika-based national and party flags. In 1935 a new Reich war flag with a large central swastika and an Iron Cross was decreed, replacing both the revived Imperial pattern and the earlier dual-flag arrangement. This second-pattern war flag remained in service until 1945.

The following comparison shows the overall differences between the Imperial 1903 jack (FG-055) and the 1933 Alter-Art revival, including close-up views of the Iron Cross on both flags.

FG-055 Imperial Jack 1903 pattern — FG-055 — Imperial 1903 Gösch (no continuous white outline).

Alter-Art full flag — 1933 “Alter Art” — revived 1903 pattern with added white outline.

FG-055 Iron Cross close-up — FG-055 close-up — Imperial narrow fimbriation (no full white border).

Alter-Art close-up — blue arrow shows added continuous white border (key Nazi-period diagnostic).

Reference note – Weimar naval jack vs. Weimar war ensign:
The Weimar-era Gösch is included here for comparison only. It uses an Iron Cross in the pre-1903 proportions (narrow arms, compact form), placed on black–white–red stripes with a black–red–gold canton.

This design must not be confused with the Weimar Kriegsflagge, which looks similar at a glance but carries an Iron Cross much closer to the post-1903 enlarged style (thicker arms, stronger visual weight).

Weimar Gösch — Iron Cross in **pre-1903** proportions (compact cross).
(Image: Wikipedia, public domain)

Weimar Kriegsflagge — Iron Cross in **post-1903-like** proportions (thicker arms).
(Image: Wikipedia, public domain)

A full documentation of the Weimar war ensign is available here:
Weimar Republic Naval Ensign – FlagGeek Study .

The Alter-Art pattern is fully documented in the dedicated FlagGeek study of the 1933–1935 transitional war flag:
Reichskriegsflagge Übergangsmodell .

Additional images

Upper hemp rope loop at the hoist of FG-055 — Braided hemp rope loop at the hoist, secured with hand-executed whipping in natural thread. Typical Imperial Navy construction with no synthetic fibres.

GOSCH designation on hoist of FG-055 — Hoist inscription “GOSCH – 0,7 × 1,0 m”, combining jack designation with nominal dimensions.

Size marking 0,7 × 1,0 m on hoist of FG-055 — Hand-applied size marking “0,7 × 1,0 m”. Looks like 0,5 due to reflection.

Imperial crown-over-W acceptance stamp on hoist of FG-055 — Faded Prussian crown-over-“W” acceptance stamp, standard for Kaiserliche Marine property before 1918.

Reinforced lower hoist corner patch on FG-055 — Rectangular reinforcement patch at the lower hoist corner, strengthening the main load point.

Lower hemp rope loop at the hoist of FG-055 — Matching lower hemp rope loop, braided and hand-whipped, confirming an original loop pair.

Outer hem on red field of FG-055 — Outer edge hem on the red stripe with double straight-stitch seam in black thread.

Outer hem across white and black stripes on FG-055 — Continuous double-stitched hem running across the white and black stripes, with only minor tension shift.

Moth damage and wear on white stripe of FG-055 — Localised fibre loss and insect damage on the white stripe; cloth remains structurally sound.

Macro view of wool bunting on red stripe of FG-055 — Macro of the red wool bunting: open weave, slight lanolin sheen and no synthetic filament — pre-WWI wool.

Sources & References

Imperial regulations of 26 September 1903 — Amendment defining the enlarged Iron Cross for both the war ensign and the naval jack (Gösch). Referenced in: “Dienstvorschriften der Kaiserlichen Marine – Flaggen und Standarten”, 1903–1904 editions.
Kaiserliche Marine hoist markings — Crown-over-"W" acceptance marks as seen on FG-055 correspond to acceptance stamps documented in: Reichs-Marine-Amt textile inspection and procurement records (1890–1918), Bundesarchiv RM-3 and RM-5 collections.
Imperial jack proportions (pre-1903 and 1903 patterns) — Dimensional breakdowns and reconstruction data from FOTW: FOTW – German Empire Naval Flags 1871–1918 .
Jack 1871-1918 (Germany) FOTW – German jack Flags (Historical Overview) .
Weimar naval jack & war ensign — Illustrative reconstructions used for comparative analysis sourced from: Wikipedia – List of German Flags .
Weimar Kriegsflagge (1921–1933) — Technical documentation and breakdown: FlagGeek – Weimar Republic Naval Ensign .
Reichskriegsflagge “Alter Art” (1933–1935) — Transitional characteristics, adoption, white outline around the Iron Cross, and dual use as Gösch/Kriegsflagge: FlagGeek – Reichskriegsflagge Übergangsmodell .
Early Imperial jack visual reference — High-resolution archival photos of pre-1903 and early German naval designs used for comparative analysis: Ratisbons – Kriegsmarine War Flag (archival auction reference) .
Imperial-era textile construction — Wool bunting types, marine stitching patterns, header canvas structure, and ropework standards documented in: Kaiserliche Marine Beschaffungsrichtlinien (1895–1918) and Heeresdruckerei textile standards, archival microfilm.
Direct measurements — All FG-055 dimensions, proportions, hoist features, acceptance marks, stitch structure and material analysis recorded by FlagGeek (2025).

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