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Namibia

by Željko Heimer, 3 Jul 2002

Namibian flag 1990 -
Flag construction sheet
Unidentified Flying Ensign or Flags (UFEs)
Air Force markings

See also:

Namibian flag 1990 -

On 21 March 1990 South West Africa gained its independence as the Republic of Namibia and adopted a new flag. The design was chosen by a committee which had been established to investigate and provide technical advice on new national symbols for Namibia. The public has been requested to submit designs and 835 designs were received. The official description of the flag is as follows:

The National Flag of Namibia shall be rectangular, in the proportion of three in the length to two in width, tirced per bend reversed, blue, white and green; the white bend reversed, which shall be one third of the width of the flag, is charged with another of red, one quarter of the width of the flag. In the upper hoist there shall be a gold sun with twelve straight rays, the diameter of which shall be one third of the width of the flag, with its vertical axis one fifth of the distance from the hoist, positioned equidistant from the top edge and from the reversed bend. The rays, which shall each be two-fifths of the radius of the sun, issue from the outer edge of a blue ring, which shall be one tenth the radius of the sun.

Although no colour has a specific meaning, the symbolism attributed to the national flag by the Chairman of the National Symbols Sub-committee at a press conference on 2 February 1990 is as follows:

Red - represents Namibia's most important resource, its people. It refers to their heroism and their determination to build a future of equal opportunity for all;
White - refers to peace and unity
Green - symbolises vegetation and agricultural resources
Blue - represents the clear Namibian sky and the Atlantic Ocean, the country's precious water resources and rain;
and the golden-yellow sun represents life and energy.

Source: Coats of Arms and Flags in Namibia by FG Brownell - a series of 8 articles appearing in Archives News from April - December 1990.
Bruce Berry 13 Feb 1998

The main colours were taken from the flag of SWAPO (South West African People's Organization), the most important liberation movement. This flag was adopted in 1971 and comprises horizontal stripes of blue-red-green, the most important colours of the Ovambo's, the county's largest ethnic population.
Source: Jos Poels, "Prisma Vlaggenboek", 1990.
Mark Sensen, 10 Aug 1999

National Flag. CSW/CSW 2:3
The flag is described in details from official source. All the dimensions are provided for. The distance of the sun emblem from the upper edge and the diagonal is only stated to have to be equal. I designated them the letter d to indicate that. While drawing the flag this size came (on three digits) as 3.175 (or if you want from the center of the sun d+5=8.175) but I haven't tried to prove this mathematically.
Željko Heimer, 3 Jul 2002

I have done mathematical research and my answer is 3,170740241 (from bend to border of sun-circle). <(24-5/cosA)/(1+1/cosA)-5A=arctan(30/45)> But if we use only two-digital ciphers the answer shall be 3,18
We can say that 3.175 is correct too.
Victor Lomantsov, 3 Jul 2002

Flag construction sheet

by Željko Heimer, 3 Jul 2002

The specification we show, particularly the position of the sun, is correct according to the official diagram which accompanied "The National Flag of Namibia, General Policy for use of the flag by the public" issued by the Ministry of Information in 1990. This last also contains the full text of Chapter One, Schedule 6 of the Constitution dated 9 February 1990 (effective 12 March 1990) that established the flag, and which reads as follows:

THE NATIONAL FLAG OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA
The National Flag of the Republic of Namibia shall be rectangular in the proportion of three in the length to two in the width, tierced per bend reversed, blue, white and green; the white bend reversed, which shall be one-third of the width of the flag, is charged with another of red, one-quarter the width of the flag. In the upper hoist there shall be a gold sun with twelve straight rays, the diameter of which shall be one-third the width of the flag, with its vertical axis one-fifth the distance from the hoist, positioned equidistant from the top edge and from the reversed bend. The rays, which shall each be two-fifths of the radius of the sun, issue from a blue ring, which shall be one-tenth the radius of the sun.
Christopher Southworth, 14 Mar 2004

Unidentified Flying Ensign or Flags (UFEs)

Probably related to a drawing of a flag with a gazelle in center, arc and arrow (right to gazelle) and boy and head of a human figure (probably a black woman). Inscription in upper fly: M.P.S.M; and in upper fly: Windhoe (k is not visible but probably is in the original flag). Colours not quoted.
Source: Flagge Mitteilungen S 3 $ 11
Jaume Ollé, 9 Oct 1999

by Ivan Sache, 23 Jan 2005

The website of the Jean-Jaures primary school in Marseilles shows a weird flag of Namibia. The flag is horizontally divided dark blue-red-green!
On the same page, the languages spoken in Namibia are given as "Afrikaans, dialects...", whereas the official language of Namibia is English!
Ivan Sache, 24 Jan 2005

Air Force markings

A photograph of a Namibia Defence Force Air Squadron aircraft can be seen at:
http://www.afavia-fotos.co.za/mil7/images/M708.jpg and
http://www.afavia-fotos.co.za/mil7/images/M707.jpg

The fin flash is the national flag with a roundel in light blue with white and dark blue device (reminding one of a UN agency!)
Dov Gutterman, 20 June 2004