Royal Australian Air Force Ensign
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Royal Australian Air Force Ensign is used by the Royal Australian Air Force in Australia and overseas. It is based on the Australian national flag, with the field changed to sky-blue, and the southern cross tilted clockwise to make room for the RAAF roundel inserted in the lower fly. The roundel is a red leaping kangaroo on white within a dark blue ring. The ensign was proclaimed as a Flag of Australia under section 5 of the Flags Act on 1982-05-06.
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 1/6th 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,[1] although the constellation as a whole is not simply rotated.
[edit] History
The RAAF was established in 1921. On 1922-07-24, the British Royal Air Force Ensign, a sky-blue British ensign 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 and tilted southern cross to match the Australian national flag, was given in 1949. The RAAF adopted a distinctive roundel on 1956-07-02; 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 has been granted to New Lambton Public School, NSW, to fly the RAAF ensign. This is due to the school's involvement with the RAAF during World War II; it is currently the only school in Australia with permission to fly the flag.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- Royal Australian Air Force Flags. Flags of the World. Retrieved on January 24, 2006.
- Air Force Ensign. Ausflag site. Retrieved on August 2, 2005.
- 1998 Special Article - The Australian Flag. Year Book Australia. ABS. Retrieved on August 2, 2005.
- RAAF Badge and Roundel. RAAF website. Retrieved on August 2, 2005.
| Flags in Australia | |
|---|---|
| National | National flag · Red Ensign · White Ensign · Air Force Ensign · Defence Force Ensign · Queen's Personal Australian Flag · Governor-General · Aboriginal · Torres Strait Islander · Civil Aviation Ensign · Customs Flag |
| Subnational | Australian Capital Territory · Christmas Island · New South Wales · Norfolk Island · Northern Territory · Queensland · South Australia · Tasmania · Victoria · Western Australia · Governors of the States |
| Historical | Anti-Transportation League Flag · Australian Federation Flag · Bowman Flag · Eureka Flag · National Colonial Flag |
