Balkenkreuz
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The straight-armed Balkenkreuz, which is a stylized version of the Iron Cross, was the emblem of World War II Wehrmacht- Heer, Luftwaffe, and Kriegsmarine. The Iron Cross used by today's German Bundeswehr unified defense forces inherits the four white, or lighter-colored, "flanks" of the older Balkenkreuz, but with the "flanks" following the flared arms of the Iron Cross instead.
It was first adopted in mid-April 1918 by the Luftstreitkräfte of World War I Germany, only about a week before the death of Manfred von Richthofen, and used from that time to the end of World War I,[1] and its use resumed from the beginning of the Third Reich's Luftwaffe in 1935, to the end of World War II in Europe.
[edit] References
- ^ In the IdFlieg directive of 20 March 1918 to all manufacturers state in the first sentence, translated to English: "To improve the recognition of our aircraft, the following is ordered:"-... IN PARAGRAPH 2., second sentence: "This alteration is to be carried out by 15 April 1918." The closing sentence reads: "Order 41390 is to be speedily executed."
