Last modified: 2024-10-05 by martin karner
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Information about the early days of the Imperial Austrohungarian Air Service is quite hazy.
This quite small air force (1916: 35 planes and 1 airship) probably used few kinds of marking.
[cos98] reports that after its formation in 9 August 1914, the aircrafts were
marked in red-white-red stripes on the wingtips and (vertical) rudder. in 1915 the
German "cross pattée" was adopted alongside the former markings, later to become the sole marking of all planes but the naval machines. The only
difference with the German planes was the white border used by the Germans.
See http://www2.gol.com/users/ransell/PageMill_Resources/1.48.M.5L.00.13.gif
In 1918, the "German cross" was substituted with a thin plain cross (see http://www.cbrnp.com/profiles/quarter1/phonix/phonix_german-222126.jpg
). Sometimes a thin saltire cross was on the fin.
Imperial Naval planes kept the formation of the national colors wingtips, German cross (and later a thin cross) on wings and
fuselage and
red-white-red horizontal stripes on the fin and rudder with imperial arms on the rudder's
white stripe. A photo at http://www.cbrnp.com/profiles/quarter1/phonix/phonix_a-h_j41.jpg shows the
later version of the cross with only rudder stripes with the arms.
Dov Gutterman, 11 June 2004
![[1914–1915]](../images/a/at^f14.gif)
image by Nozomi Kariyasu, 12 April 2024
image located by Nozomi Kariyasu, 12 April 2024
![[1915–1918]](../images/a/at^f15.gif)
image by Nozomi Kariyasu, 12 April 2024
image located by Nozomi Kariyasu, 12 April 2024
Jaume: Why the R-W-R is supposed in vertical? It's depending from where you watch anyway, why can't it be the
national colours
in horizontal? That would be more logical.
Nozomi: The roundel used during 1919–1920 was also R-W-R vertical stripe. It could be better view
in the actual
operation then.
Jaume: Hmmm, certainly considering the flags world, the picture in airplane is vertical taking as
base the wing border,
but when I watch to the sky I don't see vertical or horizontal, I see only the older
Austrian colours. I believe that was
pictured on the airplanes as Austrian colors, and not as vertical or
horizontal. If we take the wing in vertical position,
the colors are horizontal; while flying, people
standing from land, they watch the normal and well-known horizontal
Austrian colors. Only we can say that
is vertical or horizontal from reference of the plane, but without this reference,
"horizontal"
or "vertical" lose sense.
Nozomi: I respect your opinion. Thus the round shaped roundels were increasing since then.
Jaume, your country Spain Air force used vertical stripes on the wings 1913–1918 before the round
shaped roundel
was introduced. Some European old air forces such as Bulgaria and Hungary used vertical
stripes on the wings.
Martin: Maybe airforces like the Austrian or Spanish turned their stripes from "horizontal"
to "vertical", because it
was a simple way to increase visibility. If you paint the stripes
"horizontally" along the wing, you have a maximum
stripe width of only 1/3 of the wing's width.
On the other hand, by painting it "vertically", you lose the impression of
a horizontally striped
flag. Maybe this dilemma caused the change to the roundels, but I have no sources for this.
Jaume Ollé, Nozomi Kariyasu, Martin Karner, 8 May 2024
![[1918–1919]](../images/a/at^f18.gif)
image by Nozomi Kariyasu, 12 April 2024
image located by Nozomi Kariyasu, 12 April 2024
![[1919–1920]](../images/a/at^f19a.gif)
image by Nozomi Kariyasu, 12 April 2024
image located by Nozomi Kariyasu, 12 April 2024
![[1936–1938]](../images/a/at^f36.gif)
image by Nozomi Kariyasu, 12 April 2024
image located by Nozomi Kariyasu, 12 April 2024
![[1938–]](../images/a/at^f38.gif)
image by Nozomi Kariyasu, 12 April 2024
image located by Nozomi Kariyasu, 12 April 2024
