At the beginning of the 19th century, a special method of transmitting information from ship to land was invented in France, the so-called semaphore alphabet. On the mast, several crossbars were raised and, by moving them, letters were added, and then words. "Semaphore" in Greek means "bearing sign". For almost two centuries, this sign system has been actively used around the world. Later it was replaced by radio communication and Morse code. Today, flag communication is practically not used in the fleet.
Semaphore alphabet in Russia
In Russia, the appearance of the semaphore alphabet is associated with the name of Vice Admiral Stepan Osipovich Makarov. At the end of the 19th century, he developed a system for transmitting Russian letters using flags. The Russian semaphore alphabet consists of twenty-nine alphabetic characters, to which, if necessary, three service characters can be added. All numbers and punctuation marks are spelled as it does not have a separate notation for numbers or signs.
Each letter or service mark is a set hand position with flags. Sometimes, if there are no flags, signals are transmitted using a peakless cap. It is believed that a sailor well trained in the alphabet of flags can clearly reproduce 60-80 letters or characters per minute. Evening or nightUse flags in bright and light colors, such as yellow or white. During daylight hours - black or red. Currently, the semaphore alphabet is taught only in special courses. After all, the flags were replaced by searchlights with Morse code and radio communications.
Semaphore alphabet abroad
In the 17th century in England, pictures were used to transmit information at a distance. The semaphore alphabet in its modern form was created in France only two centuries later. The flag system used abroad is a bit similar to the Russian one. She also uses flags to represent the letters that make up words and sentences. But there are some differences between them. The first is that the flags are not single-color, as usual in Russia, but colored, with a different combination of colors and symbols. Each such flag is a single letter. That is, you can hang flags in a certain order, making up words and sentences from them. Based on the Latin alphabet. Another difference is that the Western semaphore alphabet has special designations for numbers as well. In this case, the method of transmitting information and two flags is allowed.
Organization of flag language
Due to the fact that the method of transmitting information using a semaphore was considered very successful, it became necessary to streamline all the signals. In the 19th century, the number of ships increased, many countries acquired their own fleet, sothe need to create a single maritime language for communication at a distance. In 1857, the Code of Signals was developed, where international flags, their colors and meanings were designated. It included eighteen main flags that are constantly used in the fleet. Initially, four maritime powers took part in the development of this code: the USA, Canada, France and Britain. In 1901, all states with a military and merchant fleet approved this document for use. It is believed that from that moment on, the marine semaphore alphabet was adopted and officially registered as a single communication system.
In 1931, the Code of Signals undergoes minor changes. In view of the fact that radio communications and searchlights began to be used more and more actively to transmit information using Morse code, some of the flags were removed, and the meaning was changed for the rest. In 1969, flag signals were translated not only into Latin, but also into Cyrillic. The system has become truly international and understandable for sailors almost anywhere in the world.
Flags and their meanings
At the moment, the International Code of Signals consists of three blocks. The first includes twenty-six flags that represent only letters. Naturally, the Latin alphabet is taken as a basis. The second contains ten flags to indicate numbers from zero to nine. There are three replacement flags in the last block. They are used in exceptional cases: if there is only one set of flags on the ship and there is no possibility to display, for example, repeating letters in a word. Substitutes come to the rescue.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the system of flag signals in Russia and the CIS countries has not changed much.
The use of the semaphore alphabet today
With the advent of radio communications and electricity, the flag signal system gradually lost its relevance and is practically not used at the moment. But in almost every country, in case of a critical situation, there is a sailor on the ship who knows how to transmit information using flags. Also, the semaphore alphabet is actively used in parades and during demonstration performances. Now it is more a tribute to tradition than a means of communication at a distance.
