Royal Australian Air Force Ensign
Encyclopedia
Ensign
An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
is used by the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and overseas. It is based on the Australian national flag
Flag of Australia
The flag of Australia is a defaced Blue Ensign: a blue field with the Union Flag in the canton , and a large white seven-pointed star known as the Commonwealth Star in the lower hoist quarter...
, with the field changed to Air Force blue
Air Force blue
Air Force blue is a variety of colours that are a form of blue. These colours are used by airforces for colour identification.-RAF blue:Air Force blue or RAF blue is a medium shade of the colour azure...
, and the southern cross
Crux
Crux is the smallest of the 88 modern constellations, but is one of the most distinctive. Its name is Latin for cross, and it is dominated by a cross-shaped asterism that is commonly known as the Southern Cross.-Visibility:...
tilted clockwise to make room for the RAAF roundel
Roundel
A roundel in heraldry is a disc; the term is also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of different colours.-Heraldry:...
inserted in the lower fly quarter. The roundel is a red leaping kangaroo on white within a dark blue ring. The ensign
Ensign
An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
was proclaimed as a Flag of Australia under section 5 of the Flags Act on 6 May 1982.
The southern cross is tilted so that Gamma Crucis stays in the same position as for the Australian National Flag and that Alpha Crucis is moved along the x-axis towards the hoist by one-sixth of the width of the flag. This results in the axis being rotated 14.036° clockwise around Gamma Crucis and each star is rotated in this way, although the constellation as a whole is not simply rotated.
History
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Ensign
Royal Air Force Ensign
The Royal Air Force Ensign is the official flag which is used to represent the Royal Air Force. The Ensign has a field of air force blue with the Union Flag in the canton and the Royal Air Force roundel in the middle of the fly....
, a sky-blue British ensign
British ensigns
This article concerns the ensigns flown by vessels and aircraft of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, and by certain nations of the Commonwealth....
with the RAF roundel in the fly, was approved as the ensign of the RAAF. This flag was used until 1948, when the RAAF asked to change the flag to avoid confusion. A warrant for the new flag, which had the roundel in the lower fly of sky-blue ensign with Commonwealth Star
Commonwealth Star
The Commonwealth Star is a seven-pointed star symbolising the Federation of Australia which came into force on 1 January 1901....
and tilted southern cross to match the Australian national flag, was given in 1949. The RAAF adopted a distinctive roundel on 2 July 1956; a red kangaroo replacing the red circle of the British version. The old roundel remained on the ensign, however, until 1981, when the Queen approved the change to the current flag.
Although the flag is only flown by the RAAF, dispensation was granted to New Lambton
New Lambton, New South Wales
New Lambton is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, located west of the city centre. Its eastern boundary is the Great Northern Railway, where it is served by Adamstown railway station...
Public School, NSW on 1995-05-18 to fly the RAAF ensign. This was in recognition of the school's involvement with the RAAF during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when it was requestioned by the government and used as No. 2 Fighter Sector Headquarters. New Lambton Public School is currently the only school in Australia with permission to fly the RAAF ensign.