III/JG52-Sony a écrit :Au risque de me répéter, cette croix noire est bien représentative, pas du régime, mais de l'époque nazie, et donc de l'aviation qui bombardait nos villes et mitraillait nos colonnes de réfugiés.
C'est pas en France ou l'aviation alliée à tuer plus de civils que l'occupant?
Passons...
Et quand je dis que les gens ne maîtrisent pas les tenants et aboutissants, je ne me trompe pas. Mais à nouveau, il faut éviter les amalgames pour la populace qui ne fait pas la différence encore aujourd'hui entre l'Allemagne nazie de 33 et celle de 2006!
BALKENKREUZ (en anglais)
ORIGINE TEUTONIQUE DE LA BALKENKREUZ
HISTOIRE DE L'ORDRE TEUTONIQUE (en anglais)
Et, ci-dessous, attestant de l'origine, tardive, soit, mais de l'origine déjà en 18 des marques angulaires.
German national markings 1914-1918
Part 3: Army aircraft, March 1918 to November 1918
by Harry Woodman
ON MARCH 20 1918 the first of what was to be a series of instructions was
issued regarding the national markings of Army aircraft. This stated that
all aircraft were to be marked with a straight lined cross on the same
positions as before, but that the rudder was to be painted white with the
cross painted against this background.
The order specifically stated that the cross was to be straight lined and
should not have curved sides as in the case of the old cross. On the wings
and fuselage the cross was to have white stripes 15 cm (about six inches)
wide all around the edges. The order also stated that alterations to
existing crosses were to be carried out by April 15 1918, but manufacturers
and home depots were instructed that the carrying out of this order was not
to delay the despatch of aircraft to the Front. Machines already prepared
for despatch were to be altered at the Front. The order also contained the
rider that the instructions were to be speedily executed.
Accompanying the order was a diagram showing the type of cross to be used
(see sketch 2). Like its predecessor this cross has been described in many
ways, some writers have called it a Latin Cross, which is wrong for a Latin
Cross is straight but the lower vertical bar is longer than the others
(like a crucifix). The correct term in heraldic language is a Greek Cross
but the Germans described it simply as a 'Balkenkreuz' (not Balkankreuz).
The word 'balken' merely means girder, bar or beam and is self explanatory.
As the order of March 20 was to be carried out speedily and completed by
April 15 at the latest, it is obvious from a study of photographs that the
conversion was indeed carried out in some haste which led to many
variations. Most units merely converted their existing Iron Crosses to
Greek Crosses by drawing lines from the tips of the cross and its existing
surround and painting straight across and up and down, the result being a
large number of fairly thick crosses and generous white borders (see sketch
1). ,
On May 13 1918 further guidance was given on the size and form of the cross
on the wing surfaces. The vertical bars were to stretch from leading edge
to trailing edge and the white stripes surrounding the cross were to be
painted alongside the longer sides so that they would appear as four right
angles, the ends of the cross remaining free from any edging whatsoever.
The ratios of the cross were to be as follows:
Length of vertical bar to horizontal bar 5 : 4
Width of horizontal bar to vertical bar 1 : 1
Width of bar to length: 1:8
Width of white stripe to width of bar of cross: 1:4
In fact, the dimensions of the cross as stated above would have resulted in
a format which was not a Greek Cross at all but something which had long
vertical arms and short horizontal ones. A survey of a large number of
photographs by the writer suggests that in fact this kind of cross was
applied to only a very few aircraft, probably those just leaving the
production lines when the order was received. In any case a further
instruction was issued on June 4 stating specifically that 'the black cross
was square' (ie, that the arms were to be of equal length). It further
qualified the size of the cross and the position by stating that the width
and height of the cross were to be equal and equivalent to the chord of the
wing (they would be as large as possible), the width of the black stripe
was to be 1/8 of the length and the white border was to be 1/4 of the width
of the black stripe. The crosses were to be placed as far out on the wing
tip as possible and on the fuselage they were to extend from the top
decking to the bottom and as large as possible on the rudder and/or fin.
A further order on June 25 1918 merely confirmed the above stating that
alterations to machines at the Front was to be carried out forthwith and
that machines for the Home Command could be delivered in the original form
of cross.
This final form of cross (see sketch 3) is most commonly seen on aircraft
delivered to the Front in the closing months of the war, but during the
period between the introduction of the 'balkenkreuz' in March 1918 and the
end in November a fair variety of crosses can be seen. It is obvious that
during the period covered by the various orders and instructions mentioned
above, front line units were under increasing pressure and could devote
little time and energy to careful application of the orders. It was only at
Home units and those in the rear and at factories where the alterations
could be carried out in some degree of comfort, and even then a few
machines still sported the old Iron Crosses until the Armistice.
Une fois encore. Croix gammée (HakenKreuz) = symbole POLITIQUE du NSDAP, de l'Allemagne Nazie. La croix noire anguleuse (Balkenkreuz) = symbole militaire.
Maintenant, évidemment que l'un est le bras armé de l'autre, mais si on commence comme çà... Moi, perso, ce sont les étoiles rouges qui me filent des boutons!