Japanese Militaria at Castle-Thunder.com

[gwsiii]

A gentleman brought this by this weekend, he indicated if was sold to him as a pilot's survival flag. It appears to be a standard size flag with re-informed stitching and edges. The construction is pretty neat with the flag (silk) attached to a telescoping rod (bamboo?) with coarse thread. The edges are rather wide with some extra material of some sort sewed into the seams. I don't think this is a survival flag for a Naval pilot as it does not appear to be enough extra material for the flag to float. Can anyone confirm, deny, or add more to the description? Pictures below.




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[Rick]

Trey,

It is indeed a pilot's survival and identification marker flag. They were used by both Army and Naval pilots -- both flew over water. The extra material sewn into the edges is Kapoc so that the flag will float when in the water. Hope this helps.

Rick

[gwsiii]

Thanks much Rick, it sure doesn't seem like it would float when wet, bring one to the next shootout and let me 'field test' it, I'll bring the pool. Trey
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Subscribe to BANZAI!
Fill out a Japanese Rifle Datasheet.
I didn't pay to much for that old Arisaka, I just bought it a little bit too soon!