Also known as Signaling Flags, the International Code Flags are used to signal from one ship to another and between ship and shore. The Signaling Flags consists of 26 flags that represent the letters of the alphabet, 10 numerical flags, 1 answering flag, and 3 repeaters. Currently, the signals flags are rarely displayed except during parades, in naval instalations and where there is heavy international traffic.       Some flags have special meanings by themselves. For example, the Alpha flag means and is displayed when "a diver is below", while the Quebec flag means Quarantine and is displayed when in foreign waters wating to be cleared by customs. Some flag combinations also have special meanings, like CD which means "requiere assistance" and SO which stands for "stop your vessel instantly".

The International Code Flags

Flag	Letter	Phonetic		Flag	Letter	Phonetic
	A	ALFA			B	BRAVO
	C	CHARLIE			D	DELTA
	E	ECHO			F	FOXTROT
	G	GOLF			H	HOTEL
	I	INDIA			J	JULIETT
	K	KILO			L	LIMA
	M	MIKE			N	NOVEMBER
	O	OSCAR			P	PAPA
	Q	QUEBEC			R	ROMEO
	S	SIERRA			T	TANGO
	U	UNIFORM			V	VICTOR
	W	WHISKEY			X	X-RAY
	Y	YANKEE			Z	ZULU

Numbers
1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	0

Special Flags
Answering Flag	1st Repeater	2nd Repeater	3rd Repeater