Royal Australian Air Force - Roundel

Roundel

Originally, the air force used the existing red, white and blue roundel of the Royal Air Force. However, during World War II, the inner red circle was removed after a No. 11 Squadron Catalina was mistaken for a Japanese aircraft by a US Navy Wildcat in the Pacific Theatre. After the war, a range of options were proposed, including the Southern Cross, a boomerang, a sprig of wattle and the red kangaroo.

The current version of the RAAF roundel was formally adopted on 2 July 1956. The roundel exists of a white inner circle with a Red Kangaroo surrounded by a royal blue circle. The kangaroo faces left, except when used on aircraft or vehicles, when the kangaroo should always face the front. Low visibility versions exist of the roundel, with the white omitted and the red and blue replaced with light or dark grey. Australian Army helicopters sometimes use just the Kangaroo, either in black or in one of the camouflage colours.