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History of Roundel

Aug 8, 2012 | 2:24 PM

History of the Roundel

During the beginning months of the First World War, the need for national markings had not been anticipated .With the risk of ground troops mistaking friendly aircraft flying overhead as enemies, the need to adapt an easy way to recognize one’s own planes became essential. Thus, the idea of a roundel was born.

France was the first country to use roundels fleet-wide in 1912. The idea was inspired by the French Cockade; a knot of ribbons, that uses colors to show the allegiance of its wearer, often pinned to a hat or a lapel.

The circular representation of their tri-coloured flag was placed on the bottom of both plane’s wings, a three layered circle consisting of a red exterior, white interior, and blue dot at its center. When flying overhead, ground troops would recognize the color and avoid shooting down friendly aircraft.
In the following years, other countries began to mark their own aircraft with similar roundels, with the colors corresponding to their national flag.