Editing Flare (section)

===Maritime distress signal===
'''''Distress rockets''''' (aka "rocket-propelled parachute flares"<ref name="US1979">{{Code of Federal Regulations |46 |156–165 |title=Subpart: 160.036 Hand–Held Rocket–Propelled Parachute Red Flare Distress Signals |date=2010 }}</ref>) have been mentioned in the modern era for civilian maritime emergencies since at least 1856. The ''[[U.S. Nautical Magazine]]'' of that year mentions the use of "rocket stations" for ship related emergencies.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KpwAAAAAMAAJ&dq=distress+rocket+red+color&pg=PA128 |title=Night Signals at Sea |magazine=Monthly Nautical Magazine, and Quarterly Review (1856) |first=Robert |last=Postans |publisher=Griffiths & Bates |volume=5 |pages=125–132 |date=1856 }}</ref> White rockets were solely used until 1873, when commander [[John Yorke, 7th Earl of Hardwicke|John Yorke]] of the [[Royal Navy]] suggested that rockets for distress should have a distinctive color. The request was made to help ease confusion between ships in distress and rockets used by [[Pilot boat|pilot ship]]s.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=htpQGmDVHsEC&dq=distress+rocket+ship&pg=PA96 |chapter=To the Editor of the 'Times.' |title=The Loss of the "Northfleet" |publisher=Waterlow & Sons |page=96 |date=1873 }}</ref> By 1875, the [[Board of Trade]] (UK) had issued regulations for Captains in regards to night signals. Rockets containing at least 16oz of [[Chemical composition|composition]] were only to be used as a sign for a ship in distress. Passenger ships at the time were required to carry 12 of these rockets.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iDnJBAAAQBAJ&dq=Distress+rocket&pg=PA956 |title=Rockets for Distress Signals |magazine=The Nautical Magazine |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=956–957 |date=1875 |isbn=9781108056540 }}</ref> The [[Merchant Shipping Act]] of 1894 further stated that these rockets were to be fired one at a time in short intervals of approximately one minute apart.<ref name="TitanicRockets">{{cite book |last=Leavy |first=Patricia |date=2007 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cc4AWyOMESwC&dq=distress+rocket&pg=PA44 |chapter=Historical Sketches of the Events |title=Iconic Events: Media, Politics, and Power in Retelling History |publisher=Lexington Books |pages=44–45 |isbn=9780739115206 }}</ref> Distress rockets continued to be used in different colors, as was the case with [[Sinking of the Titanic|RMS ''Titanic'']]. At the time shipping companies had "a particular kind of distress rocket (that differed by color)". Each ship was also given a guide of colors to use depending on what signal was to be sent.<ref name="TitanicRockets" /><ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iKouAAAAYAAJ&dq=Distress+rocket&pg=PA49 |chapter=General Remarks |title=British Islands Pilot: The west coast of England and Wales |author=[[United States Hydrographic Office]] |publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office]] |page=47 |date=1917 }}</ref>

Modern red distress signals are mentioned by the [[United States Bureau of Mines]] as early as 1959, where they state "12 handheld rocket-propelled parachute red flare distress signals" are to be used by ocean going ships.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schreck |first1=Albert E. |last2=Arundale |first2=Joseph C. |year=1959 |chapter=Uses, Properties, and Substitutes |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HOckAQAAIAAJ&dq=distress+rocket+red&pg=RA5-PA5 |title=Strontium: A Materials Survey |series=Information Circular |volume=7933 |publisher=[[United States Bureau of Mines]] |pages=4–6}}</ref> The color red was eventually incorporated for use in the United States on 17 December 1979 as part of a "Universal color language".<ref name="US1979" /> Red distress rockets and/or flares are now internationally recognized symbols that indicate a ship in distress.<ref name="IRSymbol">{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SusABAAAQBAJ&dq=distress+rocket+red&pg=PA197 |chapter=Internationally Recognized Distress Signals |title=Marine Emergencies For Masters and Mates |first=David |last=House |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=197 |date=2014 |isbn=9781317673163 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Merchant Shipping (Distress Signals and Prevention of Collisions) Regulations 1996 |url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/mca/msn_1781-2.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.dft.gov.uk/mca/msn_1781-2.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |date=1996 |publisher=UK Maritime and Coast Guard Agency }}</ref> The [[International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea]] (SOLAS) has standards for visual signals, including both handheld and aerial flares. Handheld flares must burn for at least one minute at an average [[luminosity]] of 15,000 [[candela]]s, while aerial flares must burn for at least 40 seconds with a 30,000-candela average luminosity.<ref>{{cite conference |title=International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code |conference=International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea [SOLAS] of 1 November 1974 |location=London |date=4 June 1996 |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1998/31.html |website=Austlii.edu.au |access-date=6 March 2022 }}</ref>

While rockets and flares are still an option for signaling distress, they have since been surpassed by improved technology. Distress signals can now be sent using automated radio signals from a [[search and rescue transponder]]. Other internationally recognized methods include the radio message [[SOS]], which was used during the 1912 [[Sinking of the Titanic|sinking]] of the ''[[Titanic]]'', and the emergency procedure word "[[Mayday]]", which dates to the 1920s.<ref name="IRSymbol" /><ref>{{cite web |title=It's MayDay – But That Means Trouble for Aviators |date=May 2017 |url=http://yorkshireairmuseum.org/journal/its-mayday-but-that-means-trouble-for-aviators/ |archive-date=24 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324195512/http://yorkshireairmuseum.org/journal/its-mayday-but-that-means-trouble-for-aviators/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Learmonth |first1=Bob |last2=Nash |first2=Joanna |last3=Cluett |first3=Douglas |date=1977 |title=The First Croydon Airport 1915–1928 |publisher=London Borough of Sutton Libraries and Arts Services |place=Sutton |isbn=978-0-9503224-3-8 |page=55 }}</ref>