War Spurs Sales of Maps, Flags : Retailing: Many specialty stores report selling out of some items as orders pour in.

America’s map and flag makers are selling out their stock as citizens rush to show their patriotism during the Persian Gulf War and figure out exactly where the action is taking place.

Antenna flags sold out within hours of the first U.S. strike against Iraq, according to flag merchants across the country. Three-by-five-foot American flags, the most popular size for homeowners, are also selling briskly from Massachusetts to San Diego.

“I’ve never seen anything like this, even around the Fourth of July,” said Jane Cushman, office manager at All the King’s Flags in downtown Phoenix. Stores in Phoenix and San Diego are giving free 12-by-18-inch American flags to spouses and parents of troops in the Middle East. Both stores have been teeming with customers since Thursday.

“We cannot print them fast enough,” said Conroy Erickson, public relations director for Rand McNally in Skokie, Ill. “I’ve been with Rand McNally 30 years and have not seen such an intense demand as with this Middle East situation.”

Rand McNally’s $5.95 Middle East map, issued in October, is in its fifth printing.

At the California Map Center on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, Middle East maps are all gone. “We are completely sold out of Middle East maps and taking names for a waiting list,” said employee James Schumacher, who was trying to keep one copy in the store for display purposes.

Last week, Maywood, N.J.-based Hammond updated its Middle East map and rushed it into a sixth printing, according to Dean Hammond, president of the firm. The company was running out of paper and scrambling to bring in new supplies, Hammond said.

“This map has been around about 20 years, but we have updated it regularly,” Hammond said. “Maps become very popular tools for understanding during times of crisis. Wars tend to bring geopolitics to the top of the mind.”

Allied Services, a seller of topographical maps in the city of Orange, created its own mini-best-seller by reproducing a map of Kuwait issued by that nation in 1980.

“We have sold and given away a few hundred to service personnel stationed at the El Toro Marine Base and at Camp Pendleton,” said Larry Winkleman, the owner.

He said the topographic map also features details of Kuwait City, including embassy locations. He is selling the copies for $9.

Ever Wave Flag and Banner in Reseda also reported keen interest in Iraqi flags. Late last week, owner Marin Filip sold a 4-by-6-foot Iraqi flag for $47. He made the sale even though he didn’t have the size the buyer wanted.

“He said, ‘Well, it doesn’t matter because I’m going to burn it anyway,’ ” said Filip.

American businesses are also in the market for flags, according to Bill Gallemore, vice president of National Banner Co. in Dallas. Gallemore said several oil companies, utilities and major corporations called to order American flags late last week.

“It’s like panic buying,” said Gallemore. “They say, ‘Do you have them and how fast can we get them?’ ”

Times Staff Writer Jesse Katz contributed to this story.