Airborne Posted August 1, 2000 Share Posted August 1, 2000 I didn't see this in a search, but I've noticed in 2 battles with British Cromwells there is a white star on the back of the turret. Anybody know what this means? Just curious.... ------Chris ------------------ Land Soft--Kill Quiet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Hofbauer Posted August 1, 2000 Share Posted August 1, 2000 it was rather usual common practice for western allies to have the white star as a universal identification of allied forces. British units would either have no national insignia or the white star, but never the red-dot-white-circle-blue-circle "hitmehere" kokarde (the one they had on their planes) on their tanks in WWII. so, nothing wrong with the cromwells. hope this helps, M.Hofbauer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airborne Posted August 1, 2000 Author Share Posted August 1, 2000 M. Hofbauer, THanks for the reply. That answers my question. I have long studied WWII armor and never ran across this. Take care, Chris ------------------ Land Soft--Kill Quiet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccooper Posted August 1, 2000 Share Posted August 1, 2000 Stars were painted on allied vehicles to aid identification especially from the air (although friendly fire from the air was still a major problem). One of the biggest problems with large bright markings painted on the sides of front line vehicles was that they aided enemy gunners - the Germans learnt this in Poland and the Americans learnt it in Africa and Italy. Over time they were used more as air recogintion symbols and thus painted on the upper surfaces of the vehicle. The other air recognition method involved the use of various flouresent colored panels (orange, redish and a light blue if I remember correctly) especially when stowage covered the star. As for the use of roundels by the British they were used in Africa, sicily and Italy as air rec symbols. The brit changed over to the universal star in 44 but may troops rejected the idea as it was seen as an american symbol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Michael emrys Posted August 1, 2000 Share Posted August 1, 2000 The white star on vehicles was well-nigh universal from D-Day on. All the photos I've seen (must be hundreds by now) the stars on British vehicles looks identical to the ones on American vehicles. They were painted on the sides, the front, and whatever skyward-facing surface was handy, such as the hoods of jeeps and trucks. Although it did indeed give an aiming point for the Germans, I guess the greater concern was for blue on blue. Miichael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Aitken Posted August 1, 2000 Share Posted August 1, 2000 It was very common for stars on the sides of tanks to be painted out, or painted in a dull colour, so as not to be such good targets. I've seen plenty of pictures of both British and American tanks without any stars at all. The most common one was, as Michael says, on a vertical surface for the purposes of airborne recognition. The only standardised British symbol I've found is a flag-shape with white-red-white stripes, but I think this was only used much in the desert. Most later vehicles have symbols for their units, but not their nationality, unless they opt for a star. When I first saw the RAF roundels in Combat Mission (unit spotting markers) I thought it a bit strange, as these are essentially aircraft markings - but there aren't really any other symbols you could use, besides a Union Jack flag, which is a bit detailed for this purpose. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airborne Posted August 4, 2000 Author Share Posted August 4, 2000 I just ran across an interesting photo of a Pz IV with a white star on the rear hull.. Apparently, the Herman Goering Panzer Divison used the star as their division tactical symbol. ------Chris ------------------ Land Soft--Kill Quiet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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