Techmod 72162 Polish National Insignia 1920-39

The Polish air force began to use the red and white checkerboard as its hallmark from the end of 1918. In the first days of regaining independence, the white-and-red coat of arms or the Polish flag pointing downwards (with a red field on the right) were used as hallmarks. It is worth adding that the white and red checkerboard was initially the personal emblem of the pilot Stefan Stec, which was noticed on his plane by Lt. Hipolit Łossowski and recommended to the General Staff as a sign of nationality. From December 1, 1918, this chess game became the official hallmark of Polish aviation. In the years 1918-1921, a relatively simple chessboard with two white and two red squares without a dust jacket was used. In 1921, red dust covers were added to the white fields, and white ones to the red fields. Interestingly, this distinctive mark survived until 1993, when only the order of the squares in the chessboard was changed, keeping the general arrangement of the mark. It is worth adding that after the defeat of the September campaign, Polish airmen continued to use the white and red checkerboard to emphasize the nationality of their planes. In the case of machines used in France in 1939-1940, the checkerboard was painted in the middle of the fuselage, while in Great Britain (1940-1945) the checkerboard was much smaller and painted in the nose of the machine.