Original Item: Only One Available. Now this is a lovely French memento from WWII. Its Aircraft and origin story is unknown to us, but it is still a lovely item nonetheless! It appears that this could have been torn from a downed aircraft or taken as a souvenir when the aircraft was decommissioned.

The first use of national insignia on military aircraft was before the First World War by the French Aéronautique Militaire, which mandated the application of roundels in 1912. The chosen design was the French national cockade, which consisted of a blue-white-red emblem, going outwards from center to rim, mirroring the colors of the French flag. In addition, aircraft rudders were painted the same colors in vertical stripes, with the blue vertical stripe of the tricolors forwardmost. Similar national cockades were designed and adopted for use as aircraft roundels by the air forces of other countries, including the U.S. Army Air Service.

The roundel features a lovely gold, red, white and blue circle with an anchor in the center for the Naval Air Arm. French Naval Aviation is the naval air arm of the French Navy. The long-form official designation is Force maritime de l'aéronautique navale. Born as a fusion of aircraft carrier squadrons and the naval patrol air force, the Aéronavale was created in 1912. The force is under the command of a flag officer officially titled Admiral of Naval Aviation (ALAVIA) with his headquarters at Toulon naval base. It has a strength of around 6,800 military and civilian personnel. It operates from four airbases in Metropolitan France and several detachments in foreign countries or French overseas territories. Carrier-borne pilots of the French Navy do their initial training at Salon-de-Provence Air Base after which they undergo their carrier qualification with the US Navy.

The condition is quite nice with nearly all of the original paint retained. The color of the skin itself is silver and could very well have come from a French used Consolidated PBY Catalina due to the same exact roundel with the gold trim. The frame measures approximately 49” x 47” and does not have a glass or plexiglass cover on the front.

A lovely example ready for further research and display.