World War II Japanese pilot’s bail-out survival meatball float flag

This is a rare World War II Japanese pilot’s bail-out survival meatball float flag. The flag is constructed of silk with a stitched and stuffed buoyant border to assist in the flotation of the flag .Used as a marker for downed airmen, these light weight, thin silk flags required almost no space to store, and were normally carried in the special pocket found to the lower right front panel of most life-jackets. Still has the very rare bamboo telescoping flag pole!