Imperial Germany Pilot's Drop Flag taken by USN Bluejacket from U-124.
This World War I German Pilots Flag was formerly part of the collection of the M.H. de Young Museum. Founded in 1895 in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the de Young Museum was the city's first museum. It was an immediate success and has remained an integral part of the cultural fabric of the city as well as a cherished destination for millions of residents and visitors for over 100 years.

Michael Henry de Young (1849 -1925) was an American journalist and businessman who owned and published the San Francisco Chronicle. De Young used his wealth to further his eclectic tastes, amassing a widely varied collection including diverse objects such as sculptures, paintings, flags, polished tree slabs, paintings, objet d'art, jewelry, a door reputedly from Newgate Prison, birds' eggs, handcuffs and thumbscrews, and a number of particular knives and forks.

As San Francisco's premier museum, the de Young Museum also became a repository for house a number of flags associated with the American acquisition of the Philippines after the Spanish American War.

Due to the nature of its acquisition, this flag is a war trophy. War trophies have their beginnings in ancient Greece and Rome, where military victories were often formally commemorated with a display of captured arms, standards and cultural objects, collectively dubbed war trophies. In the Middle Ages, the European wars of the 17th and 18th centuries, and the Napoleonic Wars, variations of this practice were continued, with armies returning home often publicly displaying flags captured from the enemy. In a public space these war trophies were used to build morale, act as an overt symbol of victory, or merely as a reminder of a past martial or naval accomplishment. War trophies present in churches or other places of worship acted as a homage to the Divinity for granting victory, or as a symbol of the power of the providence of God for their cause. 

In the American Civil War official protocols were evolved for the handling of captured colors. The acquisition of war trophies was applauded, and often considered worthy of decoration or promotion. More recently, during World Wars I and II the wholesale confiscation of enemy property, including flags, was commonly practiced. Additionally, in the 20th century it became common for individual soldiers to return home with trophies and souvenirs, such as enemy flags. 


Little is known about the history of this flag. It was donated to Michael Henry de Young on Sunday, June 12th, 1921 by W.M. Josephi of 3049 Fell St. San Francisco, CA. According to the accession documents the flag was originally acquired from the German submarine V-124 in 1918 by an American Blue Jacket (sailor), who then carried it with him in his blouse for the next ten days. However, as there was no submarine designated with 'V-124' in the Imperial German Navy, it is likely that this flag was actually acquired from the U-124, a type UE ocean mine laying submarine commanded by Kapitnleutnant Rolf Carls, commissioned on July 12th, 1918 and surrendered on December 1st, 1918.

When the Second Reich (empire) was established in 1870, the flag that had been used by the North German Confederation became the national flag of Germany. This flag had equal horizontal stripes of black, white and red, corresponding to the "blood and iron" policy of the Chancellor who designed it, Otto von Bismarck. These continued to be the national colors of Germany until 1919 and were thus featured in most German flags of that era.

Interestingly, for many years this flag was mistaken as a German Submarines Pilot Signal or Flag, but in actuality bears no resemblance to this artifact. After careful review it is more likely that this is actually a pilots flag or weighted pouch with a streamer attached. These pouches were used by aviators to drop messages to either ground troops or ships and contained an internal weight in addition to a snap closure used to secure the message. Similar items exist for the allied side and have red, white and blue tails.

It is likely that this flag was dropped to a German vessel, possibly the submarine, where presumably it was found by and American Bluejacket who, along with British tars, looted the interred vessels of the Imperial German Navy.

ZFC Significant Flag

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