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Houseflags of Norwegian maritime companies (U-Z)

Last modified: 2005-03-19 by phil nelson
Keywords: vesteraalens dampskibsselskab | vilheim torkildsen | w. gilbert | w. hansen | w. jebsen | western bulk shipping | westfal-larsen & co. | wiel & amundsen | wilhelmsen lines | wilson |
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Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskap

[flag of Vesteraalens dampskibsselskab] by James Dignan
Source: The dumpy book of ships and the sea

This was a Norwegian shipping company. As a result of a merger with Ofotens Dampskibsselskap, the company is now a part of OVDS - Ofotens og Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab. These companies are mainly known for their involvement in Hurtigruten, the Costal Express route along the Norwegian coast between Bergen and Kirkenes.
Jan Oskar Engene, 16 October, 2003

Vilhelm Torkildsen

[Vilhelm Torkildsen flag] by Jarig Bakker
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies, compiled by F.J.N. Wedge, Glasgow, 1926 [wed26]

Bergen - five horizontal stripes of red, white, blue, white, blue, proportioned c. 1:1:6:1:1; in center "VT".
Jarig Bakker, 22 February 2005

W. Gilbert

[W. Gilbert flag] by Jarig Bakker
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies, compiled by F.J.N. Wedge, Glasgow, 1926 [wed26]

Bergen - white flag, top and bottom thin red stripes; blue "G".
Jarig Bakker, 22 February 2005

W. Hansen

[W. Hansen flag] by Jarig Bakker
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies, compiled by F.J.N. Wedge, Glasgow, 1926 [wed26]

Bergen - red flag, white "WJ"
Jarig Bakker, 22 February 2005

W. Jebsen

[W. Jebsen, Bergen flag] by Jarig Bakker
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies, compiled by F.J.N. Wedge, Glasgow, 1926 [wed26]

Bergen - Red flag, white "WJ" Jarig Bakker, 22 February 2005

Westfal-Larsen & Co

[Westfal-Larsen & Co.] by Jan Oskar Engene

[Westfal-Larsen & Co.] by James Dignan
Source: The dumpy book of ships and the sea

This is also a Norwegian company, based in Bergen. Accordig to the plates of Norwegian houseflags dating from 1953 the letters in this flag should be red and from personal observation I believe this is still the case.
Jan Oskar Engene, 16 October, 2003

Formed in 1905 they changed name 1996 to Westfal-Larsen Management A/S. According to Loughrsn and Talbot-Booth the initial flag was a red swallowtailed pennant with a narrow blue horizontal band edged with narrower white bands [see W62 attached] which was, according to Loughran, replaced by the end of WW1. As the design, if not the proportions, was the same as the naval Commodore's broad pennant adopted 7.6.1906 (Kannik 1958) a change is not to be wondered at. If anything I am surprised that it took so long. All the main sources only show red lettering with the Brown and Talbot-Booth series and Loughran 1979 differing by not having any dot after the "L", Stewart 1963 has no dots at all and US Navy 1961 only has a dot under "o". Loughran differs by having a wider white band.

There is no indication by any of these publications that there was a flag with blue letters and I regard this as being very suspect with the source not being in my "authoritative" publications list. It is suspect like Brown 1926 which replaces the "W" with a "P" for no reason which is apparent, the likely error then being perpetuated by The 1933 Lloyds Reedereiflaggen cigarette card collection.

According to Loughran the lettering was changed in 1963 to the plain red "WL".
Neale Rosanoski, 11 December 2003

Western Bulk Shipping

[Western Bulk Shipping houseflag] by Jorge Candeias

Wiel & Amundsen

[Wiel & Amundsen flag] by Jarig Bakker
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies, compiled by F.J.N. Wedge, Glasgow, 1926 [wed26]

Fredrikshald - swallowtail red over blue; white "W&A".
Jarig Bakker, 17 September 2005

Wilhelmsen Lines

[Houseflag of Wilhelmsen Lines] by Al Fisher

[Houseflag of Wilhelmsen Lines] contributed by Neale Rosanoski

To be more exact it is Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA (to differentiate from Anders Wilhelmsen & Co. A/S) and the flag as sighted 1986 and 1998 has a dark blue letter. This contrasts with the light blue of the funnel bands and sources tend to show them both the same shade. Griffin 1895 and Reed 1912 actually show a red "W" but nobody else mentions such a use. They Merged 1.7.1999 with Wallenius Lines to form Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines. A subsidiary, Wilhelmsen Lines A/S, was formed in 1989 and continued to operate under its own name with a white flag bearing in the hoist a large black "W" slightly angled towards the fly and broken a 3 very narrow light blue lines, two at the top and one at the bottom. Next to this at the bottom in small black lettering also angled is the legend "WILHELMSEN" over "LINES" with a clearer example available on the Josef Nüsse site. Although shown by Brown 1995 it may not have been an actual sea flag as their vessel "Armacup Patricia" was sighted in 1998 with the plain Wilhelmsen flag.
Neale Rosanoski, 11 December 2003

[W. Wilhelmsen flag] by Jarig Bakker
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies, compiled by F.J.N. Wedge, Glasgow, 1926 [wed26]

Oslo - white flag, blue "W"> - the W is serifed.
Jarig Bakker, 11 February 2005

Wilson

[Wilson] by Ivan Sache
Source: http://www.wilsonship.no/

The company was founded in 1942 in Bergen by Paal Wilson. It was sold out of the Wilson family in 1988. The flag is horizontally divided red-white-blue-white-red. The blue stripe is modified in its central part so that it makes a W.
Ivan Sache, 1 December 2003