The duty 'bunting tosser' on the Ark Royal made such a blunder that it's hard to believe it's true. But it is. This surely is the stuff that 'naval dits' are made of.

The Chinese admiral and his staff, on a visit to the Ark Royal, were stunned when the bunting broke out the ensign. Instead of the red ensign with five yellow stars, China's flag,

they were shocked to see their enemies ensign, the red flag adorned with a white sun on a blue background. The ensign of Taiwan! 

And this was no small ensign, measuring 8ft by 5ft.

The Flag Officers had to quickly make an apology.

Taiwan had broken away from China more than fifty years ago and since then they have been on a war footing with each other.

As soon as this error had been pointed out the ensigns were changed. The Chinese accepted the apology and the remainder of the visit went well.

What happened to the duty "bunting tosser" isn't known. Good job hanging from the yardarm has been abolished.