Romeo (R)
maritime signalsmaritimesignal flagnavigation
The Romeo flag features a red cross on a yellow background. It signals 'Reverse course' or can indicate that the vessel has received and understood a message. In convoy operations, Romeo was historically used to coordinate simultaneous course changes among multiple vessels.
During World War II, the Romeo flag was used extensively in Allied convoy operations across the Atlantic. A single Romeo hoisted by the convoy commodore could cause dozens of ships to reverse course simultaneously to evade U-boat wolfpacks.
Adopted: 1857
