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File:CU AF Insignia1961.svg|<center>[[Military of Cuba|Cuba]]</center> |
File:CU AF Insignia1961.svg|<center>[[Military of Cuba|Cuba]]</center> |
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File:Czech roundel.svg|<center>[[Military of the Czech Republic|Czech Republic]]</center> |
File:Czech roundel.svg|<center>[[Military of the Czech Republic|Czech Republic]]</center> |
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File:Czech Low Visiablity Roundel.svg|<center>[[Military of the Czech Republic|Czech Republic]]<br>(low visibility)</center> |
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File:Royal Danish Air Force Roundel.svg|<center>[[Military of Denmark|Denmark]]</center> |
File:Royal Danish Air Force Roundel.svg|<center>[[Military of Denmark|Denmark]]</center> |
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File:Djibouti Air Force roundel.svg|<center>[[Military of Djibouti|Djibouti]]</center> |
File:Djibouti Air Force roundel.svg|<center>[[Military of Djibouti|Djibouti]]</center> |
Revision as of 02:40, 9 January 2011
Military aircraft insignia are insignia applied to military aircraft to identify the nation or air force to which the aircraft belongs. Many insignia are in the form of a circular roundel or modified roundel; other shapes such as stars, crosses or triangles are also used.
Insignia are often displayed on the sides of the fuselage and the upper and lower surfaces of the wings of an aircraft, although considerable variation can be found amongst different air arms. Insignia may also be displayed on the fin or rudder of an aircraft in addition to, or in place of the fuselage markings.
History
First World War
The first use of national insignia on military aircraft was before the First World War by the French Aéronautique Militaire which mandated the application of roundels in 1912.[1] The chosen design was the French national cockade, which consisted of a blue-white-red emblem mirroring the colours of the flag of France. In addition, the rudders of the aircraft were painted the same colours in vertical stripes. Similar national cockades were designed and adopted for use as aircraft roundels by the air forces of other countries, including the U.S. Army Air Service.[1]
The British Royal Flying Corps (RFC) abandoned their original painted Union Flags because they looked too much like the Eisernes Kreuz (Iron Cross) used on German aircraft. Instead, after the Naval Wing of the RFC used a red-rimmed white circle (resembling the roundel used to this day by Denmark) for a short period. British armed forces then adoped a roundel that resembled the French one, but with the colours reversed, (red-white-blue from centre to rim). A design that has existed in one form or another to this very day.[1][2]
United States
The military aviation insignia of both the United States and Russia have had interesting "crossovers" early in the 20th century. The initial US Army Signal Corps aviation insignia, used during the Pancho Villa punitive expedition just before World War I, used on the vertical tail and wings (as seen on early Curtiss biplane two-seat observation aircraft), was essentially a red five-pointed star identical to that of the later Soviet Union, without a red or white outline border. A tricolor roundel, similar to that used by Imperial Russia but in more evenly spaced proportions, was also adopted by the US Army Air Service in World War I air combat in Europe, because the then-recently adopted "star-in-circle" insignia could possibly be mistaken for a German or Austro-Hungarian Iron Cross insignia at some distance. The US Navy initiated the use of a white star with a central red circle all inside a blue circle and the US Marines also adopted this roundel.[1] The US roundel added a pair of white bars during World War II, becoming the famous "Stars and Bars" insignia; a red bar bisecting the white was added in 1947 when the United States Air Force became a separate service.
United Kingdom and Commonwealth nations
From 1923 onwards, a variant of the British red-white-blue roundel with the white ring omitted has been used on camouflaged aircraft. During the Second World War, the red inner circle of roundels on aircraft based in the Asia-Pacific region was painted white or light blue, so they would not be confused with the Hinomaru markings on Japanese aircraft (still used by the Japan Self-Defense Forces to this day).
After the Second World War, the RAF roundel design was modified by Commonwealth air forces, with the central red disc replaced with a maple leaf (Royal Canadian Air Force), kangaroo (Royal Australian Air Force), kiwi (Royal New Zealand Air Force), and springbok (South African Air Force).
Low-visibility insignia
In recent decades, "low-visibility" insignia have increasingly been used on camouflaged aircraft. These have subdued, low-contrast colours (often shades of grey or black) or stencilled outlines, in order not to compromise the effectiveness of the camouflage.
Fin flashes
In addition to the insignia displayed on the wings and fuselage, a fin flash may also be displayed on the fin.[3] A fin flash often takes the form of vertical or slanted stripes in the same colours as the main insignia. Alternatively, a national flag may be used on the fin.
Current insignia of national air forces
-
Armenia
-
Australia
(low visibility) -
Australia (Army Aviation)
Australia
(Army Aviation) -
Bahrain
-
Brazil (Air Force)
(Low Visibility) -
Canada (low visibility)
Canada
(low visibility) -
Chile (low visibility)
Chile (low visibility) -
Republic of China (Taiwan) (low visibility)
Republic of China (Taiwan)
(low visibility) -
Colombia (low visibility)
Colombia
(low visibility) -
Colombia
(Naval Aviation) -
Croatia (low visibility) -
Czech Republic
(low visibility) -
Dominican Republic
(low visibility) -
Ecuador
(Naval Aviation) -
France
(Naval Aviation) -
France
(Naval Aviation, low visibility) -
Greece (Low Visibility)
Greece
(Low Visibility) -
Guinea
-
Honduras
-
Hungary
(Low Visibility) -
Indonesia
(Army Aviation) -
Indonesia
(Naval Aviation) -
Iraq
-
Korea, South (ROK) (Low Visibility)
Korea, South (ROK)
(Low Visibility) -
Lesotho
-
Mexico)
(Low Visibility) -
Mexican Naval Aviation
-
Morocco
(combat aircraft) -
Morocco
(non-combat aircraft) -
Netherlands (Low Visibility)
Netherlands
(Low Visibility) -
Netherlands
(Low Visibility, Alternate) -
New Zealand (Low Visibility)
New Zealand
(Low Visibility) -
Nigeria
(Naval Aviation) -
Norway
(Low Visibility) -
Peru (Naval Aviation)
Peru
(Naval Aviation) -
Philippines
(Low Visibility) -
Portugal
(Low Visibility) -
Saudi Arabia
-
Saudi Arabia
(Low Visibility) -
Serbia (Low Visibility)
Serbia
(Low Visibility) -
Singapore
-
Singapore (Low Visibility)
Singapore
(Low Visibility) -
Slovakia
(Low Visibility) -
South Africa
(Low Visibility) -
Sweden
(Low Visibility) -
Turkmenistan
-
Ukraine
(Naval Aviation) -
United Arab Emirates
(Low Visibility) -
United Kingdom
(Low Visibility) -
United Kingdom
(Low Visibility, light) -
United States (Low Visibility)
United States
(Low Visibility) -
United States (Low Visibility, Alternate)
United States
(Low Visibility, Alternate) -
Uruguay
(Naval Aviation) -
Venezuela
(Naval Aviation)
International / Government Insignia
-
European Union
(approved but not yet used) -
NATO
-
Latvia
(National Guard) -
Poland
(Border Guard) -
USCG (US Coast Guard)
USCG
(US Coast Guard)
Former insignia of national air forces
-
Abkhazia
(1992-2008) -
Kingdom of Afghanistan
(1924-1929) -
Kingdom of Afghanistan
(1929-1965) [nb 1][4] -
Afghanistan
(1967-1979) -
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
(1979-1983) -
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
(1983-1992) -
People's Socialist Republic of Albania
(pre-1958) -
People's Socialist Republic of Albania
(1958-1960) -
People's Socialist Republic of Albania[4]
(1960-1991) -
Angola
(1975-1980) -
Australia
(1942-1946) -
Austro-Hungarian Empire
(1914-1916)[nb 2][4] -
Austro-Hungarian Empire
(1918) -
Belgium
(1945-1948) -
Biafra
(1967–1970) -
Kingdom of Bulgaria
(1915-1918) -
Kingdom of Bulgaria
(1938-1941) -
Kingdom of Bulgaria
(1941-1944) -
Kingdom of Bulgaria
(1944-1946) -
Canada
(1946-1965) -
Chile
(1918-1930) -
Republic of China
(1916-1920) -
Republic of China
(1920-1921) -
Colombia
(1920-1924) -
Colombia
(1924-1927) -
Colombia
(1928-1953) -
Costa Rica
(1948-1949) -
Costa Rica
(1964-1994) -
Ustaše Croatia
(1941) -
Ustaše Croatia
(1941-1945) -
Croatia
(1991-1994) -
Cuba
(1955-1959) -
Cuba
(1959-1962) -
Czechoslovakia
(1918-1920) -
Kingdom of Egypt
(1939-1945) -
Kingdom of Egypt
(1945-1958) -
Finland
(1918-1944) -
Finland
(Late 1944) -
France
(Pre-1945) -
Free France
(alternative) -
Ghana
(1964-1966) -
Haiti
(1961–1964) -
Haiti
(1964–1986) -
Haiti
(1986–1994) -
Kingdom of Hungary
(1938–1941) -
Kingdom of Hungary
(1942–1945) -
People's Republic of Hungary
(1949–1951) -
People's Republic of Hungary
(1951–1990) -
Hungary
(1990–1991) -
India
(1947-1950) -
Indonesia
(1946-1949) -
Iraq
(1931-2003) -
Ireland
(1922-1923) -
Ireland
(1939-1954) -
Israel
(Early version) -
Italy
(1915) -
Laos
(Painted over RLAF insignia) -
Latvia
(Pre-1945) -
Lithuania
(1919-1920) -
Lithuania (1920-1921)
Lithuania
(1920-1921) -
Malaysia
(1963-1982) -
Malta
(1980-1988) -
Manchukuo
(Air Force) -
Manchukuo
(Air Transport) -
Netherlands
(1914-1921) -
Netherlands
(1939-1940) -
New Zealand
(1943-1946) -
Nicaragua
(1942-1962) -
Nicaragua
(1962-1979) -
Norway
(1937-1940) -
Poland
(1918-1921) -
Poland
(1921-1993) -
Portugal
(1915-1916) -
Kingdom of Romania
(1941-1944) -
Socialist Republic of Romania
(1947-1985) -
Serbia
(1912) -
Serbia
(1915) -
Singapore
(1968-1973) -
Singapore
(1973-1990) -
Slovenia
(1991-1996) -
Union of South Africa
(1920) -
Union of South Africa
(1927-1947) -
Union of South Africa
(1947-1957) -
South Africa
(1957-1994) -
South Africa
(1994-2003) -
South Korea
(1949-2005) -
Southern Rhodesia
(1939-1954) -
Southern Rhodesia
(1963-1965) -
Second Spanish Republic
(1931-1936) -
Second Spanish Republic
(1936-1939) -
Republika Srpska
(Variant 1) -
Republika Srpska
(Variant 2) -
Sudan
(1956-1970) -
Sweden
(1914-1915) -
Sweden
(1927-1937) -
Sweden
(1937-1940) -
Switzerland
(1914-1947) -
Syria
(1948-1958) -
Turkey
(1918-1972) -
Uganda
(Former) -
Ukraine
(1991) -
USSR
(1922-1943) -
United Kingdom
(1937-1942) -
United Kingdom
(1942-1947) -
United States
(Pre-1926) -
United States
(1921-1941) -
United States
(1942-1943) -
United States
(1943) -
United States
(1943-1947) -
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
(1923) -
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
(1929-1941)
See also
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d Kershaw, Andrew: The First War Planes, Friend Or Foe, National Aircraft Markings, pages 41-44. BCP Publishing, 1971.
- ^ "The Royal Air Force Roundel". Royal Air Force History. Royal Air Force. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
- ^ Nelson, Phil (2009-02-07). "Dictionary of Vexillology". www.fotw.net. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
- ^ a b c d Robertson 1967, p. 121
- Robertson (1967). Aircraft Markings of the World 1912-1967. Letchworth, England: Harleyford Publications.
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