Definition of Flagship

Every combat fleet is led by a commander, generally with the position of admiral, who acts from a boat determined, known as flagship.

The flagship is the command ship of a fleet, from which the head of the fleet (the admiral, for example) gives the orders.

The logical thing would be think that the flagship of a fleet is the largest and power or importance in their operational role, which is not always true although it occurs in most cases, as well as thinking that it is one in particular and that, upon its sinking, the fleet is left without a ship badge.

The reality is far from being this way, and as a flagship, anyone in which the admiral is located is known and, from there, give the operational orders. Therefore, paradoxically, the flagship can end up being a modest patrol boat, if the admiral must be evacuated, by sinking or any other reason, from your ship of origin.

The need for a flagship is basically organizational: it is assumed that the ship that serves as As such, it has infrastructures such as meeting rooms for the admiral's staff, for example.

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Communications are also a key factor, since orders issued from said vessel must reach the rest of the fleet on time. The speed of the naval vehicle is also usually a criterion to take into account, as well as the fact that the ship can assume a large number of functions on the battlefield.

The fleet's flagship signals its condition visibly by flying the admiral's flag.

In this way, and although damage to communications has been caused by the enemy, it is easy to visually recognize the flagship. This has its counterpart in that the enemy can also visually recognize in a very simple way our flagship, concentrating its fire on it with the aim of beheading the command of the fleet.

Historically, the term "flagship" began to be used from modern times, in the XV-XVI centuries.

Over time, the name "flagship", used as an expression, has made its fortune in other fields outside the military.

Thus, with the designation of "flagship" the maximum exponent of something is known; for example, manufacturers of smartphones annually present their most powerful model and with the largest benefits, to which all press called as flagship (which is nothing other than the translation to English of "flagship").

Photos: Fotolia - Aleksey Stemmer / EdVal