USS Francis Scott Key, 7 star US Commissioning Pennant, Nuclear Submarine, used at launch, 1966
There are 7 white stars on the blue canton plus one red and one white stripe in the Navy's "commission pennant." In the great age of sailing vessels, all navy ships had a "suite of flags" -- jack, ensign, and pennant. The tradition continues to the present day, although all three flags are only rarely displayed simultaneously.

The US Navy commission pennant has always had a blue area with stars (corresponding to the canton of the ensign) near the heading. The remainder of the length has been divided into red and white stripes. The earliest versions, however, sometimes added a horizontal blue stripe or had red and white vertical stripes between the "union" and the elongated red over white stripes of the pennant's fly.

Today this pennant is displayed to indicate that a particular vessel is in active service but not under the command of a flag officer. If such an officer is on board his rank flag replaces the commission pennant. The ZFC0077 pennant carries only 7 stars instead of the traditional 13, a design which has been standard since the 1930s. Previously, both 7-star and 13-star pennants

An significant flag from the Star Spangled Banner Flag House Collection. coexisted for decades.

ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed

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