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France: Surveillance frigates' pennants

Frigate Floréal
Frigate Germinal
Frigate Nivôse
Frigate Prairial
Frigate Vendémiaire
Frigate Ventôse

See also:

Frigate Floréal

Pennant of Floréal, reverse - Image by Ivan Sache, 19 March 2009

The frigate Floréal, launched on 6 October 1990, was the first of a series of six surveillance frigates named for months of the Republican calendar.
Floréal is the eighth month of the Republican calendar, which was adopted by the Convention on 21 October and 24 November 1795 and suppressed by Napoléon I on 9 September 1805, with effet on 1 January 1806.

Based at Port-de-Galets (Reunion), the Floréal is involved in fishery inspection, as a support to the austral patrol-boat Austral. She was also involved in the Azalée operation that ended the coup set up by Bob Denard in the Comoros in 1995.
The Floréal, painted by the Navy painter Serge Markó, is depicted on a TAAF postage stamp released in 1999 (also showing the ship's badge).

The pennant of the Floréal is a blue rectangular flag with a golden fringe.
The obverse of the flag is charged with the name of the ship, as FREGATE / FLOREAL, surrounded by four fouled anchors pointing to the corners of the flag, all in gold.
The reverse of the flag is charged with the badge of the ship.

The badge of the Floréal is a golden disk surrounded by a rope with a Tricolor ribbon shown in eight points of the rope and charged with goddess Flora, in gold, wearing a white antique toga and headband. Sitting in left profile, the head facing the viewer and slightly bending downwards, the goddess holds in her hands a fouled anchor. Flora was a goddess of flowers and the season of srping, known in ancient Greece as Chloris.

Source: Net-Marine website

Ivan Sache, 20 May 2009

Frigate Germinal

Pennant of Germinal, reverse - Image by Ivan Sache, 21 May 2009

The frigate Germinal, launched on 6 October 1990, was the last of a series of six surveillance frigates named for months of the Republican calendar.
Germinal is the seventh month of the Republican calendar, which was adopted by the Convention on 21 October and 24 November 1795 and suppressed by Napoléon I on 9 September 1805, with effet on 1 January 1806.

Based at Toulon, the Germinal mostly operates in the Mediterranean Sea, being the only of the six surveillance frigates stationed in Europe. However, she can be involved in overseas missions; in November 2007, she inspected a sailing ship transporting 1.3 ton of cocain in the Caribbean Sea.

The pennant of the Germinal is a blue rectangular flag with a golden fringe.
The obverse of the flag is charged with the name of the ship, as FREGATE / GERMINAL, in a slightly arched pattern, surrounded by four fouled anchors pointing to the corners of the flag, all in gold.
The reverse of the flag, with the FNFL ensign pattern, is charged with the badge of the ship.

The badge of the Germinal is a golden disk surrounded by a rope with a Tricolor ribbon shown in eight points of the rope and charged with a standing woman dressed with an antique toga. The woman shows her right profile, has the left hand placed on her heart and the right hand placed on the rope. She wears a floral head-band. A budding plant emerging from a circular vase is shown in the left foreground of the badge; in the background, a fouled anchor planted in the soil, symbolizing plowed fields, is surmonted by a sea bird flying to the rising sun. The woman is flanked on top by the writing FREGATE (left) / GERMINAL (right) in black letters.

Source: Net-Marine website

Ivan Sache, 21 May 2009

Frigate Nivôse

Pennant of Nivôse, reverse - Image by Ivan Sache, 23 May 2009

The frigate Nivôse, launched on 11 August 1991, is the third of a series of six surveillance frigates named for months of the Republican calendar.
Nivôse (after Latin niva, "snow") is the fourth month of the Republican calendar, which was adopted by the Convention on 21 October and 24 November 1795 and suppressed by Napoléon I on 9 September 1805, with effect on 1 January 1806.

Originally based at Nouméa (New Caledonia) and based at Port-des- Galets (Reunion) since January 2001, the Nivôse was the first French vessel to join the Atalante operation set up by the Eruopean Union to secure navigation in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.

The pennant of the Nivôse is a rectangular flag with a golden fringe.
The obverse of the flag is charged with the name of the ship, as FREGATE / NIVOSE, surrounded by four fouled anchors pointing to the corners of the flag, all in gold.
The reverse of the flag, with the FNFL ensign pattern, is charged with the badge of the ship.

The badge of the Nivôse is a golden disk surrounded by a rope with a Tricolor ribbon shown in eight points of the rope and charged with the right profile of a woman looking to right, wearing a fur collar and a (sort of) Phrygian cap. In the background appears an anchor and a winter landscape with a bare tree and a snowy field.

Source: Net-Marine website

Ivan Sache, 23 May 2009

Frigate Prairial

Pennant of Prairial, reverse - Image by Ivan Sache, 22 May 2009

The frigate Prairial, launched on 16 March 199, is the second of a series of six surveillance frigates named for months of the Republican calendar.
Prairial (from prairie, "a meadow") is the ninth month of the Republican calendar, which was adopted by the Convention on 21 October and 24 November 1795 and suppressed by Napoléon I on 9 September 1805, with effect on 1 January 1806.

Based at Papeete (Tahiti) since June 1992, the Prairial is locally known as "the Polynesia frigate".

The pennant of the Prairial is a blue rectangular flag with a golden fringe.
The obverse of the flag is charged with the name of the ship, as FREGATE / PRAIRIAL, surrounded by four fouled anchors pointing to the corners of the flag, all in gold.
The reverse of the flag is charged with the badge of the ship.

The badge of the Prairial is a golden disk surrounded by a rope with a Tricolor ribbon shown in eight points of the rope and charged with a standing goddess wearing an antique white cloth, holding in her left hand a garb of wheat and in her right hand a scythe. A fouled anchor is placed behind the goddess.

Source: Net-Marine website

Ivan Sache, 22 May 2009

Frigate Vendémiaire

Pennant of Vendémiaire, reverse - Image by Ivan Sache, 31 May 2009

The frigate Vendémiaire, launched on 23 August 1992, is the fifth of a series of six surveillance frigates named for months of the Republican calendar.
Vendémiaire (recalling the vendange(s), "grape harvest")is the first month of the Republican calendar, which was adopted by the Convention on 21 October and 24 November 1795 and suppressed by Napoléon I on 9 September 1805, with effect on 1 January 1806.

Originally based at Papeete (Tahiti) and subsequently stationed at Nouméa (New Caledonia) since January 2001, the Vendémiaire moored in December 2000 at Nago, Okinawa Islands, being the first warship (including Japanese) to moor there since 1945. In October 2007, the Vendémiaire moored at Wakkanai, the northernmost point of Japan, located on the La Pérouse strait, to commemorate the expedition led by La Pérouse 220 years earlier.

The pennant of the Vendémiaire is rectangular with a golden fringe.
The obverse of the flag is blue, charged with the name of the ship, as FREGATE / VENDEMIAIRE, surrounded by four fouled anchors pointing to the corners of the flag, all in gold.
The reverse of the flag, with the FNFL ensign pattern, is charged with the badge of the ship.

The badge of the Vendémiaire is a golden disk surrounded by a rope with a Tricolor ribbon shown in eight points of the rope and charged with sitting goddess Pomona on right profile, dressed with a white antique toga and wearing a headband. The goddess holds in her right hand a big veil sticking to her chest and filled in the bottom with grapes. There is a brown anchor behind the goddess and a stylized sun in the upper right part of the emblem.
Pomona was the Roman goddess of fruit trees, gardens and orchards, without any known Greek counterpart.

Source: Net-Marine website

Ivan Sache, 31 May 2009

Frigate Ventôse

Pennant of Ventôse, reverse - Image by Ivan Sache, 24 May 2009

The frigate Ventôse, launched on 14 March 1992, is the fourth of a series of six surveillance frigates named for months of the Republican calendar.
Ventôse (after vent, "wind") is the sixth month of the Republican calendar, which was adopted by the Convention on 21 October and 24 November 1795 and suppressed by Napoléon I on 9 September 1805, with effect on 1 January 1806.

Based at Fort-de-France (Martinique), the Ventôse is involved in fighting drug traffic in the Caribbean Sea.

The pennant of the Ventôse is rectangular with a golden fringe.
The obverse of the flag is blue, charged with the name of the ship, as FREGATE / VENTOSE, surrounded by four fouled anchors pointing to the corners of the flag, all in gold.
The reverse of the flag, with the FNFL ensign pattern, is charged with the badge of the ship.

The badge of the Ventôse is a golden disk surrounded by a rope with a Tricolor ribbon shown in eight points of the rope and charged with a sitting goddess on left profile, with a dress clasp on the left shoulder by a rose. The goddess holds in her right raised hand a veil covering her back and maintained on her lap by her left hand. A windrose with the north marked by a fleur-de-lis and and an anchor are placed behind the goddess.

Source: Net-Marine website

Ivan Sache, 24 May 2009