Last modified: 2025-09-06 by ian macdonald
Keywords: air force | roundel | fin flash |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
See also:
Al Quwwat Al Jawwiya Il Misriya was established in May 1932.
Cochrane & Elliott (1998) reported the first
marking (on the first machine) as Egyptian Army Air Force as a "waving" flag on
the fuselage, square version of national flag on wing tips and vertical 2:2:3
green white green stripes on the rudder. See
http://www.skytamer.com/roundels/egypt/01.htm. In the book the wing tips
have 2 stars but the text is as shown in the website.
Same year - 1932 - a more conventional roundel was adopted - green-white-green
with crescent and three stars inside. According to
Cochrane & Elliott (1998) the crown on the outer ring was added in 1939. The
previous rudder stripes became fin flash (see
http://www.skytamer.com/roundels/egypt/02.htm (1922-1939) with a mistake
since the crown shouldn't be there, and its replica in
http://www.skytamer.com/roundels/egypt/03.htm (1939-1945)) Jane's 1945 show
this roundel (with a crown) but a blank tail.
Photos show both possibilities even on the same type of plane:
http://www.acig.org/artman/uploads/eb4.jpg with no tail stripes while
http://www.acig.org/artman/uploads/eb3.jpg shows them. I figured out the the
roundels are NOT mirrored as usual, but the same on both sides, crescent points
to the right.
Cochrane & Elliott (1998) reported that in
1945, the crescent, stars and crown were removed from the roundel making it
plain green-white-green as appear also on Air
Force ensign. See
http://www.skytamer.com/roundels/egypt/04.htm, which also reports that in
1953 the crescent and stars were brought back into the roundel and a
green-white-green fin flash was adopted.
Dov Gutterman, 15 June 2004
Fuselage roundel, wing roundel and fin flash:![[Aircraft marking]](../images/e/eg^f32f.gif)
![[Aircraft marking]](../images/e/eg^f32w.gif)
images by Nozomi Kariyasu, 28 May 2024
Sources: Military Aircraft Insignia of the World 1998 & 2014 [c2e98]
![[Aircraft marking]](../images/e/eg^f32v.gif)
![[Aircraft marking]](../images/e/eg^f32ve.jpg)
images by Nozomi Kariyasu, 28 May 2024
![[Aircraft marking]](../images/e/eg^f45.gif)
images by Nozomi Kariyasu, 28 May 2024
Sources: Military Aircraft Insignia of the World 1998 & 2014 [c2e98]
Egypt Air Force (1948/49) - a green-white-green roundel, as shown in a
Hollywood film entitled in Germany: “Der Schatten des Giganten” (Eng.: Cast a
Giant Shadow - 1966). One scene shows an Egypt raid with planes and tanks, both
carrying that roundel above.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 March 2009
This roundel appears on an
air force flag. It's
pretty clear it is a simplification of the roundels displayed in the section
below it, but as to whether this simplification also happened on planes, in
records, in the making of the film or even other possibilities, I have nothing
to add.
Jonathan Dixon, 20 March 2009
![[Aircraft marking]](../images/e/eg^f52.gif)
![[Aircraft marking]](../images/e/eg^f52e.jpg)
images by Nozomi Kariyasu, 28 May 2024
The only change with the revolution in 1952, was only to remove the crown and
changing the tail insignia. Nevertheless, here is a Mig-15 with those marking
http://www.acig.org/artman/uploads/suez006.jpg as well a photo of recovered
ditched Mig-15 at
http://www.acig.org/artman/uploads/suez016.jpg (this plane is now at Israel
AF museum). See also
http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_257.shtml.
Dov Gutterman, 15 June 2004
![[Aircraft marking]](../images/e/eg^f58.gif)
![[Aircraft marking]](../images/e/eg^f58e.jpg)
images by Nozomi Kariyasu, 28 May 2024
Forming the first UAR in 1958 brought to adoption
on a new flag and new insignia, the black-white-red roundel charged with two
green stars. The UAR flag was the fin flash (http://www.skytamer.com/roundels/egypt/06.htm).
See
http://www.acig.org/artman/uploads/eaf_mig-21pfm_6155.jpg and
http://www.acig.org/artman/uploads/eaf_mig-21pfm_5072.jpg.
Dov Gutterman, 15 June 2004
![[Aircraft marking]](../images/e/eg^f72.gif)
![[Aircraft marking]](../images/e/eg^f72e.jpg)
images by Nozomi Kariyasu, 28 May 2024
Adopting a new flag in 1972 changed the markings
by omitting the stars from the roundel (and, of course, changing the flag used
as fin flash) . See
http://www.skytamer.com/roundels/egypt/07.htm with a mistake (the flag is
the 1984 flag).
Dov Gutterman, 15 June 2004
![[Aircraft marking]](../images/e/eg^f84.gif)
![[Aircraft marking]](../images/e/eg^f84e.jpg)
images by Nozomi Kariyasu, 28 May 2024
Changing the hawk into the Saladin eagle in 1984 brought the same change in
the fin flash. This time
http://www.skytamer.com/roundels/egypt/08.htm is correct.
Dov Gutterman, 15 June 2004
