Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 3:34:36-3:38:20

The uncertain origin of the submarine Jolly Roger

HMS E9 and Max Horton receive credit for flying the Jolly Roger after a successful 1914 patrol, though the practice may already have been circulating among submariners.

HMS E9Jolly RogerMax HortonNaval TraditionsRoyal NavySubmarinesWorld War I
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Question

Who first flew the Jolly Roger from a British submarine, and was it a joke aimed at a specific critic?

Short answer

The usual credit goes to Max Horton's HMS E9 in 1914 and to Arthur Wilson's pirate insult, but the practice may have existed informally before E9 made it famous.

Notes

A Jolly Roger marks a successful wartime submarine patrol, while a broom specifically claims a clean sweep in which every attack achieved a result. The familiar origin story credits Lieutenant Commander Max Horton and HMS E9 after the sinking of the German cruiser Hela in 1914. Its connection between the pirate flag and Admiral Arthur Wilson's earlier denunciation of submariners is suspiciously neat. The symbol may have appeared informally in prewar exercises, with E9 becoming the first prominent wartime example and Horton accepting the credit later attached to him.