 To distinguish the FNFL from the Vichist forces, Vice-Admiral Émile Muselier created the bow flag displaying the French colours with a red Cross of Lorraine, and a cocarde also featuring the Cross of Lorraine for aircraft of the Free French Naval Air Service ("Aéronavale Française Libre") and the Free French Air Force ("Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres").A number of ships were leased from the British to compensate for the lack of warships in the FNFL, among them, the and the .The FNFL suffered their first loss when the patrol boat hit a mine and sank on 7 November 1940 off Plymouth.