House Flags of U.S. Shipping Companies: A

Admiral Line

Admiral Line, Tacoma (1910-38)
From 1920 to 1938, Admiral Line was the largest company in the coastwise trade on the US Pacific Coast. It also conducted a trans-Pacific service from 1917-1922. Admiral Line was a trade name given by Hubbard F. Alexander to various steamship companies he owned and operated out of Tacoma. The Admiral Line flag was based on that of the rival Pacific Coast SS Co, which Alexander bought and merged into the Admiral Line in 1916. To the Pacific Coast SS Co's red cross on a white lozenge, Alexander added an admiral's four white stars on a blue field.
Sources: Wedge (1926), National Geographic (1934)
Joe McMillan, 19 August 2001

According to Talbot-Booth (1936) the 1916 merger produced the company Pacific Steamship Co., reorganized 1933 as Pacific Steamship Lines Ltd., which was known as the Admiral Line. Sources generally noted it under both the Pacific and Admiral names although Talbot-Booth usually used the official title and his flag portrayals show a much narrower cross paty, indeed looking more like a cross couped.
Neale Rosanoski, 21 January 2004

Admiral Towing and Barge Company

  by Ivan Sache

Admiral Towing and Barge Company (part of the Great Lakes Group) - blue-red-blue horizontal (1:2:1) charged with four stars in the shape of a diamond on the red stripe. Based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Source: http://www.thegreatlakesgroup.com/admiral.htm
Dov Gutterman, 11 October 2003

Alaska Pacific Steamship Co.

  by Joe McMillan

Alaska Pacific Steamship Co., Seattle
Flag blue with a white anchor bendwise sinister on a red shield.
Source: Lloyds 1912)

Joe McMillan, 23 September 2001

Alaska Packers Association

  by Joe McMillan

Alaska Packers Association (Source: [ruh09])
Swallowtail with a blue border and diagonal stripes dividing the field into a black hoist and red upper and lower triangles, with a white "A" in the hoist triangle. Talbot-Booth (1937) shows this without the letter A.
Source: 1909 update to Flaggenbuch 1905
Joe McMillan, 23 September 2001

located by Neale Rosanoski

Other sources vary the basic design in that the two red triangles are divided by strips of the field so that with the black triangle in the hoist there are three triangles all bordered by equal widths of blue. Talbot-Booth (1936) is the only one found that does not show the "A" on the black triangle and he does make the comment in his Merchant Ships series that some vessels did show a white "A" on the black of the flag appearing on the white funnel band but he makes no such comment in respect of the actual flag.
Neale Rosanoski, 21 January 2004

Alaska SS Co

  by Joe McMillan

Alaska SS Co (1895-1970), Seattle
Principal line within Alaska and between Alaska and rest of US west coast. Subsidiary of Guggenheim copper conglomerate after 1907.
Flag red with a white-bordered black disk bearing a white letter "A."
Sources: Wedge (1926), National Geographic (1934),  US Navy's 1961 H.O., Stewart & Styring (1963)

Joe McMillan, 19 August 2001

Alaska Transportation Co.

  by Joe McMillan

Alaska Transportation Co.
Flag per saltire, white in the hoist and fly, red at the top and blue at the bottom, with the company initials in black acros