Editing Flag of Romania (section)

==Former flags used by the Socialist Republic of Romania==
===Flags of the president, prime minister and minister of the armed forces===

The president of the RSR (until 1974 the president of the Council of State) and the prime minister had their own standard, a square Romanian tricolor with a white edge and a red border beyond that; the RSR's coat of arms was in the center, {{Fraction|2|3}} the height of the tricolor's width. The standard was decorated with fringes of golden thread and tassels of the same material. The flag of the minister of the armed forces of the RSR consisted of a white pennant in a 1:2 ratio. The flag of the RSR was placed in the canton, while two red five-pointed stars occupied the fly.
<gallery>
File:Flag of Chairman of Councils of State and of Ministers of Romania.svg|President's flag
File:Standard of the Minister of Defense of Romania (1965-1989).svg|Flag of the minister of defense
File:Standard of a Minister of Romania (1965-1989).svg|Flag of the other ministers
</gallery>

===Military colours===

On 28 July 1950 the [[Great National Assembly (Socialist Republic of Romania)|Great National Assembly]] issued Decree nr. 189 for the establishment of the military colors of the [[Army of the Socialist Republic of Romania|Romanian People's Army]], as well as standards for the [[Romanian Air Force|Military Air Force]] and the [[Romanian Naval Forces|Naval Forces]].<ref>Decree published in ''Buletinul Oficial'', year II, nr. 66 of 2 August 1950, p. 763-767</ref> Article 2 defined the units’ military colors as follows: “three silk stripes colored red, yellow and blue, arranged vertically with blue situated near the flagpole. On the edges the flag has golden metal fringes, while the fly corners each have a tassel of the same wire. On the side oriented from the flagpole to the right, in the middle, is placed the coat of arms of the R. P. R. in natural colors. Above the coat of arms, on the same side, in an arched line, is written with letters of golden wire: ‘Pentru Patria noastră’ (‘For our Fatherland’). On the other side and in the middle of the flag, the emblem worn on the uniforms of officers of the Armed Forces of the R. P. R. is applied. Under the emblem is written straight, with letters of golden wire, the unit's name. The flagpole ends in an [[ogive]]-shaped tip, within which is found a five-pointed star, in the center of which are written the initials RPR”. The law's annex also specified the dimensions of the flag (100&nbsp;centimeter long by 60&nbsp;centimeter wide), the coat of arms and the emblem (20&nbsp;centimeter high), the fringes (5&nbsp;centimeter long), the flagpole (250&nbsp;centimeter long) and of the ogive (15&nbsp;centimeter long by 7&nbsp;centimeter wide).
<gallery>
File:Battle flag of Romania (1950-1952, obverse).svg|1950 military colors (front)
File:Battle flag of Romania (1950-1965, reverse).svg|back
File:Battle flag of Romania (1952-1965, obverse).svg|1952 military colors (front)
</gallery>
Article 3 described the Air Force ensign: "it is made of sky-blue silk. The ensign is rectangular, with each face having applied to it 18 red silk strips in the form of sunrays. On the edges, the ensign has fringes and tassels the same as on the military colors. In the middle of the face oriented from the flagpole to the right is affixed the coat of arms of the R. P. R., while in the middle of the other face is affixed the emblem worn on the uniforms of officers belonging to the Armed Forces of the R. P. R. The coat of arms of the R. P. R., the emblem and the inscriptions are identical to those of the military colors". The annex specified the dimensions of the ensign and the decorative elements, which were identical to those of the military colors. In the center of the flag, a ray had an angle of 10˚. Also specified was the shade of blue to be used on the flag: "iron blue".
<gallery>
File:Flag of Air Force of Romania (1950-1952, obverse).svg|1950 Air Force flag (front)
File:Flag of Air Force of Romania (1950-1965, reverse).svg|and back
File:Flag of Air Force of Romania (1952-1965, obverse).svg|1952 Air Force flag (front)
</gallery>

Military colors and standards adopted during the Romanian People's Republic were modified or completely changed by Decree nr. 106 of 24 December 1966 regarding regulations for granting the military colors of units and large units from all military branches, modifying the display protocol for ensigns and pennants of navy and Coast Guard ships, establishing a distinctive emblem and commanders’ emblems for navy and Coast Guard vessels, a jack for navy ships and a distinctive ensign for Coast Guard ships.<ref>Decree published in ''Buletinul Oficial'', nr. 82 of 24 December 1966</ref>

Article 4 described the Romanian Navy's ensign thus: "made of two pieces of white and blue silk, rectangular, laid horizontally, the blue one, beneath, having a width of 20&nbsp;centimeter, while the white one, above, having a width of 40&nbsp;centimeter. The coat of arms of the R. P. R. is applied to the middle of the white surface on the face oriented from the flagpole to the right, while on the other face, also in the middle of the while surface, the emblem worn on the uniforms of officers belonging to the Armed Forces of the R. P. R. is applied. The coat of arms, the emblem, the inscriptions, the fringes and the tassels are the same as those of the military colors". The annex specified the flag's dimensions (also 100 × 60&nbsp;centimeter) and those of the coat of arms (also 20&nbsp;centimeter high), as well as its distance to the edges of the white strip (11&nbsp;centimeter above and 9&nbsp;centimeter below). The words “Pentru Patria noastră” (“For our Fatherland”) were found on the white strip above the coat of arms, while "Republica Populară Română" and the unit's name were placed in the middle of the blue strip.
<gallery>
File:Flag of Naval Force of Romania (1950-1951, obverse).svg|1950 Navy ensign (front)
File:Flag of Naval Force of Romania (1950-1965, reverse).svg|and back
File:Flag of terrestrial units of the Naval Force of Romania (1952-1965, obverse).svg|1952 flag of Navy land units (front)
</gallery>

Decree nr. 190 of 1950, published in the same issue of ''Buletinul Oficial'',<ref>''Buletinul Oficial'', year II, nr. 66 of 2 August 1950, p. 768-769</ref> established the design of Army soldiers’, officers’ and generals’ emblems. The officers’ emblem was a five-pointed, red-enamelled star 34&nbsp;centimeter in diameter. In the center were two circles: the first, with a radius of 15&nbsp;centimeter, was enamelled yellow and touched the star's interior angles, while the second, which had a radius of 11&nbsp;centimeter, was enamelled blue and in the center had the golden initials “R. P. R.”

The following year, Decree nr. 124 of 20 July 1951 for the modification of art. 4 of Decree nr. 189 altered the Navy's ensign.<ref>Decree published in ''Buletinul Oficial'', year III, nr. 82 of 28 July 1951</ref> The new regulation provided for three separate insignia: the flag of Navy land units, the flag of Navy ships and the flag of Coast Guard ships.

The Navy's land units had as their flag "two pieces of silk, colored white and blue, rectangular in shape, laid horizontally, the blue piece below, and the white one above. In the middle of the white area facing from the flagpole to the right is affixed the coat of arms of the Romanian People’s Republic, in natural colors, while on the other side, also in the middle of the white area, is affixed the symbol worn on the uniforms of officers belonging to the Armed Forces of the Romanian People’s Republic. The coat of arms, emblem, inscriptions, fringes and tassels are the same as those of the military colors described in article 2 [of Decree nr. 189 of 1950]". According to this decree's annex, the flag's dimensions were 100 × 60&nbsp;centimeter, the blue strip being 20&nbsp;centimeter wide and the white 40&nbsp;centimeter, the coat of arms was 20&nbsp;centimeter high and it was 11&nbsp;centimeter away from the top edge of the white strip and 9&nbsp;centimeter away from the bottom.
<gallery>
File:Flag of ships of the Naval Force of Romania (1952-1965).svg|Navy battle ships' flag
File:Flag of Coast Guard of Romania (1952-1965).svg|Coast guard ships' standard
File:Flag of auxiliary ships of the Naval Force of Romania (1954-1965).svg|Auxiliary Navy ships' standard
</gallery>

===Naval ships===
Navy ships had an ensign consisting of a "piece of ordinary rectangular canvas, with the colors white and blue printed on either side, in two stripes laid horizontally, the blue one below. The coat of arms of the Romanian People’s Republic, in natural colors, is affixed to the middle of the white area on both sides. The ensign does not have fringes or tassels [and] is supplied with cords and a mechanism for raising it on the stern beam or the mast". The ensign for Coast Guard ships was different from that of Navy ships only in the color of the lower stripe—Coast Guard green. The law's annex described proportions for the ensign's various elements; the actual dimensions were to be fixed by the Armed Forces Ministry and the Interior Ministry depending on the ship's size and the place where the ensign was raised. Thus, the flag was 0.6 times as wide as it was long, being divided thus: {{Fraction|1|3}} colored stripe and {{Fraction|2|3}} white stripe. The coat of arms was to be {{Fraction|1|3}} the height of the flag's width, being placed {{Fraction|1|6}} of this width away from the edges of the white stripe.

Between 1953 and 1964, due to a spelling reform, the country's name was written on flags as ''Romînia'' and not ''România''.

Decree nr. 93 of 17 April 1954 for the modification of art. 4 of Decree nr. 189<ref>Decree published in ''Buletinul Oficial'', nr. 18 of 17 April 1954</ref> established new vexillological devices: the ensign of auxiliary Navy ships (the previous ensign continuing in use only for battleships) and pennants for Navy battleships, auxiliary Navy ships and Coast Guard vessels.

The ensign of auxiliary Navy ships was made of an "ordinary canvas, rectangular and blue. In the upper corner on the side where it attaches to the cord, it has imprinted on both sides the colors white and light blue, in two horizontal stripes, the white one above. To the middle of the white area, on both sides, is affixed the coat of arms of the Romanian People’s Republic, in natural colors". This ensign's proportions were indicated in the annex. It was 0.6 times as wide as it was long: the upper left part of the standard was similar in proportion to the basic elements of the battleship standard, while its dimensions were 0.5 of the flag's length and 0.3 of its width.

Navy and Coast Guard vessels had a masthead pennant made of an “ordinary rectangular canvas, red for Navy battleships, blue for auxiliary Navy ships and green for Coast Guard ships [the width is 0.6 of the length]. At the edge near the cord, the colors white and light blue are imprinted on both sides, in two horizontal stripes, for Navy ships and white and light green on Coast Guard ships [in proportions of {{Fraction|2|3}} and {{Fraction|1|3}} respectively; this area’s length is 0.075 that of the pennant’s length]. In both cases white shall be above. The coat of arms of the Romanian People’s Republic, in natural colors is affixed to the middle of the white area on both sides [with a height {{Fraction|1|3}} of the pennant’s width and located {{Fraction|1|4}} and {{Fraction|1|6}} of this width away from the edges of the white area]. At the other end, the pennant is cut in the form of a sharp angle pointing inward [the cut was 1.2 times as deep as the length of the white and colored area near the cord]. The ships’ pennany is provided with a cord and a mechanism for being raised on a tall mast”. The proportions of the pennant's component elements were indicated in the annex, with the actual dimensions remaining to be decided by the Armed Forces Ministry and the Interior Ministry.
<gallery heights="20">
File:Masthead pennant of battle ships of Romania (1954-1965).svg|Pennant of Navy battle ships
File:Masthead pennant of Coast Guard of Romania (1954-1965).svg|Pennant of Coast Guard ships
File:Masthead pennant of auxiliary ships of Romania (1954-1965).svg|Pennant of auxiliary Navy ships
</gallery>

=== Military colours, 1968 pattern ===

All the flags of the former 1950 pattern were replaced altogether in 1967 with a new national colours pattern for the Armed Forces and other uniformed services, wherein the emblem of the Socialist Republic was used. In the attached commentary, it was mentioned that the previous regulations were no longer valid, primarily because:

*military colors of naval land units no longer featured the national flag colors, but only white and blue;
*ensigns and pennants of the Navy and Coast Guard ships no longer featured the national flag colors and thus—even at close distances—Romanian ships could be confused with those of other nations;
*the air force flag was no longer necessary, as it did not correspond to the new organization of the air force within the armed forces.
<gallery>
File:Battle flag of Romania (1966-1989, obverse).svg|Military colors of the RSR (front)
File:Battle flag of Romania (1966-1989, reverse).svg|back
File:Steag de Luptã RSR.jpg|Photograph showing the pole and ogive on top
</gallery>

The new design was a return to the Naval Forces and Air Force of the national flag design as the basis for unit colors, which were retained by the Land Forces.

Article 2 of the decree provided that “the military colors are granted by the Council of State of the Romanian Socialist Republic to units and large units from all military branches from the Armed Forces Ministry, as well as to units from the Internal Affairs Ministry, at their founding. The flag is granted, depending on the case, at the initiative of the armed forces minister or the internal affairs minister. The granting of the flag is done in the name of the Council of State of the Romanian Socialist Republic by a representative of the armed forces, respectively of the internal affairs minister”. The first clause of this article was modified thus by Decree nr. 150 of 19 June 1974 regarding the modification of certain laws and decrees:<ref>Decree published in ''Buletinul Oficial'' nr. 83 of 19 June 1974</ref> “the flag is granted by presidential decree to units and large units of all military branches from the Armed Forces Ministry, as well as to units from the Internal Affairs Ministry, at their founding”.

Ensigns of navy and Coast Guard vessels consisted of the military colors of the respective units.

The pennant was the device that indicated a ship was armed and commanded by a navy officer. It consisted of an “ordinary canvas, in the shape of an isosceles triangle, with the base toward the attaching mechanism and with the flag colors and coat of arms of the Romanian Socialist Republic printed on both sides”.

The jack was “an ordinary square canvas, having printed on both sides the flag colors and coat of arms of the Romanian Socialist Republic. Two crossed white anchors of the same size as the coat of arms are affixed to the blue area”.

The distinctive ensign of Coast Guard vessels consisted of “an ordinary white rectangular canvas, with the half near the attaching mechanism green, upon which is affixed a white anchor”.
<gallery>
File:Masthead pennant of Romania (1966-1989).svg|Ships' pennant
File:Naval jack of Romania (1966-1989).svg|Navy jack
File:Flag of Coast Guard of Romania (1966-1989).svg|Ensign of Coast Guard ships
</gallery>
The dimensions of these insignia, as well as their manner of use, were left to the Armed Forces Ministry to decide by regulation.

===Naval rank flags===
Decree nr. 1016 of 1966 created a legal framework for the establishment of distinctive rank flags and commanders’ rank flags, which were raised on Navy and Coast Guard ships, in accordance with the services’ sailing regulations.

A distinctive rank flag was raised when “the general secretary of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party, the president of the Council of State of the Romanian Socialist Republic or the president of the Council of Ministers of the Romanian Socialist Republic [was] on an official visit” aboard ship.

The commanders’ rank flag was flown in similar situations for: “the minister of the armed forces of the Romanian Socialist Republic, the commander of the navy, the commander of a large unit of ships of the commander of a group of ships temporarily constituted”.

The form, colors and dimensions of the flags remained to be fixed by regulation.

===Patriotic Guards===
Decree nr. 90 of 27 April 1977 regarding the establishment of military colors for the patriotic guards and the regulation of its bestowment<ref>Decree published in ''Buletinul Oficial'' nr. 36 of 27 April 1977</ref> created a special symbol for units of the [[Patriotic Guards (Romania)|Patriotic Guards]]. This was similar to military colors of military units, with the exception of the inscription on the flag's reverse side — “Gărzile patriotice” — in an arched line above the coat of arms, and the administrative unit in which the formation was located (the municipality or county), in a straight line beneath the coat of arms. Its dimensions were indicated in the annex: the canvas was 100&nbsp;centimeter long and 66&nbsp;centimeter wide, the text was 6&nbsp;centimeter high, the fringes 5&nbsp;centimeter long, the flagpole 240&nbsp;centimeter long and 4&nbsp;centimeter wide, while the ogive at the end of the flagpole was 15&nbsp;centimeter high. According to the Decree, the flag was granted to a unit by commanders of county-level or Bucharest-level Patriotic Guards, or by representatives of the General Staff of the Patriotic Guards from the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party, following a presidential decree for this purpose. Patriotic Guards that distinguished themselves in training exercises for national defense and that comprised at least 2000 fighters were eligible to receive their unit flags.
<gallery>
File:Flag of Patriotic Guards of Romania (1977-1989, obverse).svg|Flag of the Patriotic Guards (front)
File:Flag of Patriotic Guards of Romania (1977-1989, reverse).svg|Flag of the Patriotic Guards (back)
</gallery>{{clear}}