View in complete FOTW edition

HECTOR WHALING CO. LTD.

H1
H22
image by Al Fisher, 6 Feb 1999
image by Ivan Sache, 8 March 2004
H23

H1 reverses the version Brown 1951 gives for A/S Hektor and is probably connected with Bugge & Krogh-Hansen. The pre-war Bugge flag was diagonally blue over white, divided from lower hoist to upper fly; after the war the dividing line appears to have changed to upper hoist–lower fly, although Brown still shows A/S Hektor with the earlier version. Rosanoski suggests that the management connection explains the US Navy’s blue-and-white flag for Hector, despite reports that Hector used red and white from its inception. A photograph of Hektoria agrees with none of the illustrated versions.

H22, shown by FOTW under United Whalers, is supported by Stewart’s 1953–57 edition. Loughran’s H23 instead reverses the colours to white over red, divided from upper hoist to lower fly, and also assigns this to Hector Trawlers. Rosanoski regards the latter attribution as apparently incorrect: photographs of Bransfield and Thule support H22, with Thule’s starboard funnel appearing as a mirror image. A drawing of Bransfield agrees, whereas a Thule drawing suggests U78.

Rosanoski warns that apparent changes may partly reflect reporting errors. Bugge, and apparently Hector, used mirror-image designs on the starboard funnel face; deriving a flag from that side alone can reverse a diagonal design. He considers the FOTW version correct, but explicitly qualifies that judgement.