# Are flagships still a thing in current navies? Does the US have a ship they designate as the flagship of the US Navy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 12, 2025, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892 "2025-10-12T14:03:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2025, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/21 "2025-10-12T17:02:37Z")
USS Constitution is unique in that its commanding officers come from the pool of officers screened for Commander (O-5) Command as CO-Special Mission, rather than CO-Afloat (special mission command almost exclusively involves shore-based command or command of so-called “expeditionary” and security forces like security boat teams or assault craft units, with less promising career prospects post-command), but instead of wearing the badge for Command Ashore (like I think every other CO-Special Mission billet), they wear the badge for Command at Sea (CO-Afloat). Because it’s USS Constitution (still technically a ship and technically afloat, even if it never goes anywhere except to turn around in the harbor every now and then). [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Navy_Command_Insignia.png/960px-Navy_Command_Insignia.png) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Navy_Command_Insignia.png/960px-Navy_Command_Insignia.png) ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2025, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/22 "2025-10-12T17:30:21Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > There are active duty sailors involved in the maintenance and sailing of the USS Constitution. That would indicate some officer must be designated the Captain, but that I would have to look into. And when not performing duties that call for modern working uniforms, the [officers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constitution#/media/File:US_Navy_050730-N-0335C-002_U.S._Navy_Cmdr._Thomas_C._Graves_and_Executive_Officer_Lt._Brad_Coletti_look_on_during_USS_Constitution_change_of_command_ceremony.jpg) and [enlisted](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Sailors_assigned_to_the_USS_Constitution#/media/File:Baltimore_Navy_Week_140911-N-AM350-068.jpg) crewmembers wear uniforms to match their ship. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2025, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/23 "2025-10-12T17:30:45Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > During Midway, Admiral Fletcher was forced to transfer his flag (ie his control party) from _Yorktown_ to a cruiser, _Astoria_, after _Yorktown_ was first hit by the Japanese. THAT’S the story I was thinking of. So then did the Astoria become the flagship? ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2025, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/24 "2025-10-12T17:47:29Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > My understanding is the flagship was what the admiral was on but the “flags” were used as communication. Admirals and generals have [flags](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_officer#United_States) to show their rank and presence – hence the term “flag officer”. When an admiral boards a ship, the appropriate flag is raised; it is then lowered when (s)he departs.. If there is more than one admiral on board, the flag for the senior officer is flown. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2025, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/25 "2025-10-12T18:03:19Z")
One of the more whimsical anecdotes about the Battle of Midway involves Admiral Nagumo (_Kidō Butai_’s commander) transferring from the _Akagi_ after it became obvious that it could not function as flagship. He boarded the light cruiser _Nagara_, but when his chief of staff went to raise his Vice Admiral’s flag — a Rising Sun with a broad red stripe across the top — he found that there was none aboard. So he took the screen commander’s Rear Admiral’s flag (a Rising Sun with red stripes across the top and bottom) and tore off the bottom stripe. As Walter Lord put it, “The effect was tattered, but certainly no worse than the fleet.” ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2025, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/26 "2025-10-12T19:59:44Z")
While Fletcher did hand over control to Spruance, it wasn’t because he was on a cruiser. It was because the loss of _Yorktown_ left his Carrier Task Force, TF17, with no carriers. In a carrier battle, it was toothless.He judged (correctly, in my opinion) that Spruance could better lead TF16 from _Enterprise_ than Fletcher could from a ship many miles away from TF16. Spruance chose _Enterprise_ as his flag because she’d been Halsey’s flagship when Spruance was given command on short notice. Later, when Spruance was given command of the enormous 5th Fleet, he led it from a cruiser, _Indianapolis._ ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2025, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/27 "2025-10-12T20:21:19Z")
Yes, _Astoria_ was then flagship of TF17. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2025, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/28 "2025-10-12T21:21:43Z")
NOAA and Public Health Service admirals are also flag officers with their own rank flags. ---
**Author:** ![Reindeer\_Flotilla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reindeer_flotilla/32/3024_2.png) [@Reindeer\_Flotilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reindeer_Flotilla)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2025, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/29 "2025-10-12T21:43:38Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > At this point, the Navy needs acronyms for their acronyms “Put all your fragments in your COMSERVPAC and smile, smile, smile”. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/30 "2025-10-13T00:39:23Z")
The flagship is the ship designated by an admiral commanding a group of ships (fleet, strike force, battle group, etc.) as the ship on which he with his supporting staff will be deploying. The commanding admiral is one person. The other people in tow (sorry) are his supporting staff. The United States Navy does not have a ship designated as the “Navy flagship” as the commanding officer of the Navy is the Chief of Naval Operations, an administrative positionbased in the Pentagon. His/her staff is offiially called Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (abbreviated OPNAV) but is also known as Navy Staff. The above refers to US Navy practice. Checking Wikipedia (sorry, I can’t link now), I see some other countries, for both their navy and coast guard, do have a designated flagship for the entire navy or coast guard. Some even have two designated flagships for the entire navy; one of those flagships is designated as a ceremonial flagship. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/31 "2025-10-13T10:10:49Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Then it morphed into more of a place of honor when flags were no longer used. This may be a source of confusion. Rather than “morph into”, it took additional meanings. As others note, a flagship is the ship where the commanding officer is. That meaning has not changed, and is still used. Because the command officer of the fleet traditionally took the largest and most prestigious ship, “flagship” took on the meaning of prestige as well. For example, “X9000 is the company’s flagship model.” At the beginning of WWII, ships didn’t have extensive Combat Information Centers and the command staff was much smaller than what it became later. At a minimum, a ship needed staterooms for the task force commander and staff, meeting rooms and such. Note that the ship will still have a captain which commands the ship while the admiral commands the group. > [@Capn\_Carl](#): > > He judged (correctly, in my opinion) that Spruance could better lead TF16 from _Enterprise_ than Fletcher could from a ship many miles away from TF16. Note that both Fletcher and Spruance were “black shoe” admirals, commanders coming up the ranks of traditional surface ships. The aggressive “brown shoe” aviator admiral Halsey was to command the operation, but as he was hospitalized just before the battle. The USN was developing carrier warfare doctrine on the fly at this stage of the war. Prewar doctrine called for carriers to act either independently or in groups of two rather than one large group. The idea was to minimize risk, but early Japanese success demonstrated the advantage of grouping carriers. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/32 "2025-10-13T22:54:13Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > In fiction a flagship often seems to just be the ship itself. In Star Trek the USS Enterprise is often referred to as the flagship of Starfleet even though there is (usually) no admiral aboard. Flagship or lead ship? [The _Star Trek_ Wiki says the _Enterprise_ is a _Constitution_-class heavy cruiser.] > **[Lead ship](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_ship)** > > The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. > Large ships are very complex and may take five to ten years to build. Improvements based on experience with building and operating the lead ship are likely to be incorporated into the design or construction of later ships in the class, so it is rare to have vessels that are identica... ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/33 "2025-10-13T23:19:52Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Flagship or lead ship? [The _Star Trek_ Wiki says the _Enterprise_ is a _Constitution_-class heavy cruiser.] Presumably the lead ship of the _Constitution_ class was the _Constitution_, just as USS _Iowa_ was the lead ship of the _Iowa_-class battleships and USS _Atlanta_ was the lead ship of the _Atlanta_-class light cruisers. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/34 "2025-10-14T01:08:40Z")
There’s a tendency for random civilians and military PR flacks & jingo-ey military boosters to loosely use flagship to mean “biggest, bestest, most ceremonially important ship” rather than “fleet command ship with an admiral aboard to command that fleet.” I can totally believe that ST:TOS’s _Enterprise_ is a “flagship” in that universe by the former definition. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/35 "2025-10-14T03:05:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I can totally believe that ST:TOS’s _Enterprise_ is a “flagship” in that universe by the former definition. The retcon on that is the first captain Robert April became an Admiral and kept the Enterprise NCC-1701 as his flagship although he never commanded from it except in one episode of TAS. Admiral Will Riker alluded to this in TNG in that Starfleet allows admirals to designate the ship they want as their flagship. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/36 "2025-10-14T03:05:10Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I can totally believe that ST:TOS’s _Enterprise_ is a “flagship” in that universe by the former definition. I don’t think TOS did that and [some dweebs on rredit](https://www.reddit.com/r/StarTrekStarships/comments/1cgaku0/enterprise_as_flagship/) agree. The Enterprise wasn’t even the lead ship of the class (in TOS, it was a [Constitution-class starship](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/USS_Enterprise_(NCC-1701))). ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/37 "2025-10-14T12:54:30Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I can totally believe that ST:TOS’s _Enterprise_ is a “flagship” in that universe by the former definition. The Enterprise is called the flagship a few times over the years. I know the Enterprise-D was and the TOS Enterprise\* is called a flagship in Strange New Worlds (\*so, not TOS but the same ship). Here is a video discussing this: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ktXN1a5aVwE/maxresdefault.jpg "What is 'THE Flagship of the Federation'?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktXN1a5aVwE) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/38 "2025-10-19T23:32:38Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > As others note, a flagship is the ship where the commanding officer is. That meaning has not changed, and is still used. > … > At the beginning of WWII, ships didn’t have extensive Combat Information Centers and the command staff was much smaller than what it became later. > > At a minimum, a ship needed staterooms for the task force commander and staff, meeting rooms and such. > > Note that the ship will still have a captain which commands the ship while the admiral commands the group. And in modern navies capital ships would be built already with accommodations available for taking on an admiral’s flag on relatively short notice (or even as mentioned earlier, while in action). As stated upthread the US Navy of this day has a number of designated “command ships” as well. USS Constitution as has been observed is not an _official_ flagship of anything. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/39 "2025-10-19T23:56:54Z")
Did they use smaller ships to ferry the admiral to the new flagship? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892/40 "2025-10-20T00:01:16Z")
No. It is a barge. IIRC my grandfather’s stories then the Captain rides in a launch and and admiral rides in a barge. But yeah it is the same boat everyone uses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flagships-still-a-thing-in-current-navies-does-the-us-have-a-ship-they-designate-as-the-flagship-of-the-us-navy/1023892.md?page=3)