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Kingdom of Serbia (1882-1918)

Kraljevina Srbija

Flag of Serbia, 1882-1918 - Image by Jorge Candeias, 30 January 1998

National flag
- Erroneous representation of the flag
Coat of arms
Civil ensign
State flag
War flag
Army flags
Aircraft markings

See also:

National flag

The national flag remained the tricolour flag used by the Principality of Serbia until 1882.

Željko Heimer, 15 July 2006

Erroneous representation of the flag

Erroneous flag of Serbia - Image by Tomislav Todorović, 10 April 2013

A series of trading cards was produced by W. Duke Sons & Co. in 1888. Each of the cards shows rulers, arms and flags of four countries. Kingdom of Serbia is represented with an erroneous white-blue-red vertical tricolor.
The coat of arms is also incorrect: it is charged with four crescents instead of the firesteels, which was meant to represent the arms of the Principality of Serbia, but these were out of use since 1882, when Serbia became the Kingdom.

Tomislav Todorović, 10 April 2013

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Serbia was "Gules, two fleurs-de-lis or below a double-headed eagle argent, beaked, membered and langued or, bearing an escutcheon: gules, a cross argent between four firesteels or".

There are variants of the escutcheon: in some cases, the horizontal arms of the cross bear the dates "1389" and "1817", and there is a sword or per pale on the cross. 1389 is the date of the battle of Kosovo, when the Serbs lost their independence. 1817 is the date they regained their autonomy. Serbia emerged in 1817 as an autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire and became a full-fledged Kingdom in 1882. These arms were used from 1882 to 1918.

François Velde, 30 June 1995

Civil ensign

Serbian civil ensign - Image by Mario Fabretto, reconstructed after CISV archives, 30 September 1998

In 1882 the former civil ensign was modified, following the modification of the coat of arms: the shield was surmounted by a Royal crown (without mantle) and contained a white double-headed eagle with the former shield of arms in escutcheon and with two golden fleurs-de-lis in base. This flag remained in use until 1918.

Mario Fabretto, 30 September 1998

State flag

Serbian state flag - Image by Mario Fabretto, reconstructed after CISV archives, 30 September 1998

The state flag used between 1882 and 1918 differed from the civil ensign in having the greater national arms in the center.

Mario Fabretto, 30 September 1998

War flag

Serbian war flag - Image by Mario Fabretto, reconstructed after CISV archives, 30 September 1998

The war flag, adopted in 1904, following the coronation of Peter I Karađorđević, used the greater Royal arms instead of the state arms.

Mario Fabretto, 30 September 1998

Aircraft markings

1912-1915

"Roundel" and fin flash of the Serbian Air Force, 1912-1915 - Images by Tomislav Todorović, 3 January 2008

The first aircraft markings of the Serbian Air Force were officially adopted in 1913, but were actually used since its founding in 1912. As the roundel - or more precisely, instead of it - the outer half of the bottom side of the wing (from the midline to the wingtip) was completely painted as the Serbian flag, the width of each field being one third of the chord line, red being placed at the front edge of the wing. As the fin flash, the vertical stabilizer was completely painted as the flag.

1915

Roundel and fin flash of the Serbian Air Force, 1915 - Images by Tomislav Todorović, 3 January 2008

In 1915, a squadron was sent as the aid from the French Air Force. The French markings were modified by repainting white areas into blue, so the roundel was a blue disc with a red border, and the fin flash consisted of two vertical fields, blue occupying two thirds and red occupying one third of the width.

1916-1918

Aircraft marking of the Serbian Air Force, 1916-1918 - Image by Tomislav Todorović, 3 January 2008

The Serbian Air Force virtually ceased to exist in 1915, as all the planes were either destroyed during the withdrawal of Serbian Army to Greece or had to be withdrawn from use as too damaged for repair. In 1916, at the Salonica Front, it was renewed with the help of the French Air Force, which gave six squadrons as the aid. These planes bore French markings, with different additional unofficial markings painted on the fuselages by the Serbian pilots. A very popular one was repeating the design of the Serbian officers' cap badge, popularly called the "Cockade" (in Serbian, kokarda): a red oval, with inner blue and outer white borders, and charged with crowned royal cypher "P I" (Peter I) in gold colour. Another one was repeating the national flag; this one became official (mandatory for all aircraft) by 1918. This set of markings had remained in use until the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was founded, when new aircraft markings were designed.

Source: V. Vujović (Ed.). Srpska Avijatika: 1912-1918, Belgrade: Muzej jugoslovenskog vazduhoplovstva: Sky (1993).

Tomislav Todorović, 3 January 2008