USS Boy Scout
No, really.
Maybe the Boy Scouts of American should lobby the U.S. Navy for a new USS Boy Scout, in time for the BSA centennial.
Readers—help me out here—and identify the three flags flying on the boat. One on the bow, one on the stern, and one up top that is hard to see. I know the one on the stern is a form of the U.S. flag, but I don’t know the nomenclature for maritime flags.
This fast (26.2 mph) craft was ordered delivered to the Navy on 5 May 1917, and became USS Boy Scout (SP-53). She was subsequently sent overseas for “aviation service.” Underway, circa 1916-1917.
Photographed by George N. Harden, Rockland, Maine.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
The flag on the stern is the U.S. Flag. The one on the bow appears to be either the flag with the Navy Seal or a Single Star indicating a Rear Admiral is on board. I have not been able to determine the flag on the mast at mid-ship.
Robert, thank you. It’s great to think that the USS Boy Scout might had had a Rear Admiral on board, huh.
[...] I wrote about Boy Scout last May, having found the name and photograph while researching at the Department of Navy—Naval Historical Center, looking for old photographs that showed the Stars and Stripes. [...]