Fin flashes – reason & origin

It is perhaps worthy of note that all the western allies carried tricolor rudder flashes, UK, France, Belgium, Italy and the USA, so there must be a nod to convention somewhere.

John

Further to me posting this I have in my book collection, Owen Thetford’s own copy of Camouflage ’14-’18 Aircraft ( a very slim A5 size volume) and in this he quotes “On Dec 11th 1914 an official order to the effect that all British aeroplanes were to carry Red, White and Blue cockades on the wings with a small Union Jack under the tips. The Union Jacks were dispensed with in early 1915. The tri-colour vertical rudder markings were introduced in May 1915 in the manner of the French.

John

British aircraft were required to carry Union Flags from 2nd October 1914 to which were added roundels (or more properly the French “cockade” -which was introduced in 1912 along with requirement for the tail to be painted in the same colours) from 11th December 1914. The French national cockade had been seen on French uniforms since revolutionary times. The British cockades were of course in the reverse order to the French colours. The fin flash was adopted by British aircraft in June 1915. Presumably the British adopted the French practice to give a common appearance across the allies and avoid what has come to be known as “friendly fire”

I would have thought that the French fin flash started simply as a representation of the French flag on the only vertical surfaces of the plane and simply grew to cover the whole surface. We saw similar with the Britain’s initial use of the Union Flag on the vertical tail surfaces. The French initially only used the cockades on the wings and not the fuselage

I can’t find any comment in Robertson that specifically offers any reason for the rudder stripes: the examples you give above are for the duplication of the underwing markings on the fuselage and tail, initially the Union Jack. This may be taken to include markings on the fin and rudder but not tricolour stripes in particular. I think linking 1914 and 1915 in a single scenario is potentially misleading. What was needed in May 1915 was rather different from that of 1914, but I suspect by this time standardisation with the French was more important than any single operational reason. At this stage it was the French who were leading in mounting forward-firing machineguns, so being identified by your Ally was perhaps considered important? If word had gone around quite that quickly – I suspect it did. However, I’ve not seen any reference to the kind of documentation you are looking for, and look forward to what the better informed may suggest.

Thanks Jack, but the question wasn’t what they were, but why.

Perhaps I wasn’t explicit enough; I’m interested in the origin, which means French (unless someone beat them to them) as well as the related, subsequent British adaptation.

The fin flash was introduced on May 1st 1940. I suspect you mean the 3-colour rudder stripes…

I did say ‘or rudder’! 🙂

These had been adopted by the French as a means of easily identifying their own machines in combat, and it made sense to use the same marking.

Maybe, but have you any references or documentation of either the French or British adaptation? The copy of the French makes sense, but the form of combat they were for isn’t what we see with hindsight; also I reckon this is going to need some documentation – please!

The reason for them was that most successful attacks were from the rear, where roundels would be less visible.

Really? I’m unconvinced, given the greatest risk in 1914-15 was from (friendly) ground fire or attack by (allied) soldiers after a forced landing. Again, evidence would be much appreciated.

See Bombing Colours by Bruce Robertson,…

Yes, one of the few good refs I’ve found so far, and it contradicts the ‘rear attack’ scenario with alternate explanations as above.

Thanks again!

As mentioned in Harleyford Aircraft Camouflage and Markings 1907-1954,

fin flshes 1940-1954= non standard June-Dec 1940, no set dimentions, but equal divisions of red, white, blue. variations on position.

Dec 1940- June 1942- 24″x 27″ high,equal divisions of red/white/blue, positioned both sides of fin normally just above tail-plane. ( re-introduced 1947).

July 1942- 1947. both sides of fin above tail-plane red leading, sizes as below,

small– 24high x 18wide = 8″red 2″white 8″red – single eng. a/c. excluding fighters.

medium–24high x 24wide= 11″red 2″white 11″red – twin eng. a/c + all fighters

large– 24high x 36wide= 17″red 2″white 17″red – all 4eng. a/c plus Manchesters.

The fin flash was introduced on May 1st 1940. I suspect you mean the 3-colour rudder stripes that were adopted in May 1915 and carried during WW1 and up to the autumn of 1934. These had been adopted by the French as a means of easily identifying their own machines in combat, and it made sense to use the same marking. The reason for them was that most successful attacks were from the rear, where roundels would be less visible. The RAF changed the order of these colours in 1930. They were not carried in WW2, except for the two fighter squadrons in the Advanced Air Striking Force in France 1939/40, 1 and 73 Squadrons. The need for identification from the rear was belatedly recognised but the fin flash was adopted because of the weight of the on the rudder paint, if not very carefully applied, could have upset the delicate balance of the controls.

See Bombing Colours by Bruce Robertson, but I suspect the information will be in the old Harleyford references, and I’m sure the Cross&Cockade people will be able to provide much more detail of their adoption.