Skull and crossbones
variations have been used by several
military forces
. The "
Jolly Roger
", traditionally used by
pirates
, has been
used by submarines
.
Usage
[
edit
]
Naval warfare
[
edit
]
The Jolly Roger is the name given to any of various flags flown to identify a ship's crew as pirates. Since the decline of piracy, various military units have used the Jolly Roger, usually in skull-and-crossbones design, as a unit identification insignia or a victory flag to ascribe to themselves the proverbial ferocity and toughness of pirates.
Members of the crew of
HMS
Utmost
with their "Jolly Roger" success flag, photographed alongside the submarine depot ship
HMS
Forth
in
Holy Loch
, on their return from a year's service in the Mediterranean on 6 February 1942
Admiral Sir
Arthur Wilson
VC
, the Controller of the
Royal Navy
, summed up the opinion of the many in the
Admiralty
at the time when in 1901 he said submarines were "underhand, unfair, and damned un-English. ... treat all submarines as pirates in wartime ... and hang all crews."
[1]
[2]
In response, Lieutenant Commander (later Admiral Sir)
Max Horton
first flew the Jolly Roger on return to port after sinking the German cruiser
SMS
Hela
and the destroyer
SMS
S116
in 1914 while in command of the
E-class submarine
HMS
E9
.
[3]
[4]
In World War II it became common practice for the submarines of the Royal Navy to fly the Jolly Roger on completion of a successful combat mission where some action had taken place, but as an indicator of bravado and stealth rather than of lawlessness. The Jolly Roger is now the emblem of the
Royal Navy Submarine Service
.
A US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft assigned to the "Jolly Rogers" of Strike Fighter Squadron 103 (VFA-103), prepares to launch from the flight deck of the
Nimitz
-class aircraft carrier USS
Dwight D. Eisenhower
in 2006
Three distinct U.S. Naval Aviation squadrons have used the name and insignia of the Jolly Roger:
VF-61
(originally VF-17),
VF-84
, and VFA-103. While these are distinctly different squadrons that have no lineal linkage, they all share the same "Jolly Roger" name, the skull and crossbones insignia and traditions.
[5]
The first incarnation of the "Jolly Rogers" was established on 1 January 1943 at
NAS Norfolk
, as VF-17, flying the
F4U Corsair
. Inspired by the
piratical
theme of the aircraft's name, VF-17's commanding officer
Tommy Blackburn
selected the Jolly Roger as the squadron's insignia.
[6]
The current squadron to hold the name is the
VFA-103
, Strike Fighter Squadron 103 (the "Jolly Rogers"), the skull and crossbones on all-black tails makes them easily identifiable.
[
citation needed
]
The
United States Marine Corps Reconnaissance Battalions
use
skull and crossbones
on their emblems, and so do several aviation squadrons in the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.
[7]
Land warfare
[
edit
]
The Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army
flag, the inscription reads: "For king and fatherland; freedom or death"
Hussars
,
lancers
[8]
and
dragoons
[9]
became established types of military units, with their typical uniform patterns (and weapons and tactics) maintained in many armies.
[10]
Since the mid-18th century, skull and crossbones symbols have been officially used in European militaries as badges on uniforms. One of the first regiments to adopt them was the friderizian Hussars in 1741, also known as the "Totenkopfhusaren." From this tradition, the skull became an important symbol in German and later international militaries. It was utilized in the Prussian army, after World War I by Freikorps, and in Nazi Germany by the Wehrmacht and the SS (see below). Due to its usage in military contexts and its connotations of uncompromising strength and avant-garde, the skull symbol also became a significant emblem of rebellion in subcultures and youth cultures.
[11]
In
Chile
, during the independence battles, a paramilitary guerrilla group against the royal Spanish army composed mainly by bandits and civilians, called
Los husares de la muerte
(
The Death Hussars
) wore a Skull with two crossed femurs on the neck of their jackets.
[12]
In the
Estonian War of Independence
the skull and crossbones were symbols of
Kuperjanov's Partisan Battalion
. The badge is still used in the Estonian Army by the
Kuperjanov Battalion
, for example 2007 in Iraq.
[13]
Though not employing a black uniform, the skull and crossbones has been used by a succession of
lancer
regiments in the
British Army
. This origin dates back to the
17th Light Dragoons
, a unit raised in 1759 following
General Wolfe
's death at Quebec, with an emblem of a death's head and the motto 'Or Glory' in commemoration of him.
[14]
It was later used by the
17th/21st Lancers
, the
Queen's Royal Lancers
, and now the
Royal Lancers
, who use the skull and crossbones as their Motto. They have also inherited the nickname of the 'Death or Glory Boys'.
[15]
In 1792, a regiment of
Hussards de la Mort
(Death Hussars) was formed during the
French Revolution
by the
French National Assembly
and were organized and named by
Kellerman
. The group of 200 volunteers were from wealthy families and their horses were supplied from the King's Stables. They were formed to defend against various other European states in the wake of the revolution. They participated in the
Battle of Valmy
and its members also participated in the
Battle of Fleurus (1794)
. They had the following mottos:
Vaincre ou mourir
,
La liberte ou la mort
and
Vivre libre ou mourir
- Victory or death; Freedom or death; and Live free or die.
[16]
[17]
[18]
The
2nd Lancers Regiment
of the
Portuguese Army
also use the skull and crossbones as symbol and "Death or Glory" as motto, as the regiment was raised by a former colonel of the British 17th Lancers.
[15]
During the
Russian Civil War
, the troops of the White
Kornilov Division
wore patches emblazoned with a skull and crossbones above a pair of crossed swords.
[15]
When Hitler gained power, there were still uniforms that were black and with a rather large (?10 cm) skull and crossbones on a black cap, but the pattern was adapted for the
Nazi SS
service, with a "peaked cap" and a tiny skull and crossbones for the cap (?2.5 cm). And in World War II,
Nazi SS
troops made use of the "
Totenkopf
" (
German
word for "dead man's head") as an insignia for another part of the uniform as well (in particular, the
3rd SS Division
, which was a part of the larger
Waffen SS
), and also by the similarly named World War II-era Luftwaffe's 54th Bomber Wing (
Kampfgeschwader 54
).
In the former
Yugoslavia
, and especially
Serbia
, the skull and crossbones was a prominent symbol used by the Serbian royalist and nationalist paramilitaries known as the
Chetniks
during the Second World War and the
Yugoslav Wars
.
[19]
The Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, commonly known as the Chetniks (Serbo-Croatian: ?etnici, Четници, pronounced [t???tniːtsi]; Slovene: ?etniki), was a World War II movement in Yugoslavia led by Dra?a Mihailovi?.
The
3rd Infantry Division
of the
Republic of Korea Army
used skull and crossbones symbol on their division symbol patch.
Aerial warfare
[
edit
]
Charles Nungesser
with his insignia.
Fighter aircraft of both the
Allied Powers
and the
Central Powers
occasionally made use of the a
skull and crossbones
emblem in
World War I
, either by itself or as part of a more complex insignia, more often by individual pilots, and in rare instances, by entire aviation units, for example, No 100 Sqn Royal Air Force.
[20]
The most memorable of these insignia were on the series of French fighter aircraft flown by French 43-victory
flying ace
Charles Nungesser
. All of his aircraft featured his personal "black heart" insignia on the sides of the aircraft's fuselage. The Nungesser insignia centered on a skull and crossbones accompanied by a coffin directly above the skull, and flanked with single candlesticks, all within the black heart-shaped field.
[21]
Death symbol bans
[
edit
]
In 2018 the incoming Australian Defence Force chief
Lt. Gen. Angus Campbell
banned the use of so-called death symbols because they are "at odds with Army's values and the ethical force we seek to build and sustain." The death symbols that were banned in
Australia
include the
skull and crossbones
, the comic book characters
Phantom
and
Punisher
, as well as the
Grim Reaper
.
[7]
Image gallery
[
edit
]
-
-
-
-
Field Marshal
August von Mackensen
with Deaths Head Hussars insignia
-
17th Brunswick Hussar Regiment, Prussia.
-
Officer's of Alexandrya Hussars Regiment Emblem
-
Polish Storm Detachment during Silesian Risings
-
The "death's head" was the sign of
Polish
Death
Hussar
Divisions
from 1920 (
Polish?Soviet War
)
-
-
-
-
-
The traditional
"Danziger" Totenkopf
worn by the SS 1923-34
-
-
SS Death's Head Patch
-
Kornilov Shock Regiment insignia
-
4th Commando Brigade, Biafra.
-
Special Police Operations Battalion, Brazil.
-
No. 428 Squadron, Canada.
-
Death's Hussars, Chile.
-
4th Light Detachment, Finland.
-
Death's Hussars, France.
-
14F Squadron, France.
-
2/2 Fighter Squadron, France.
-
Charlie Company,
36th Commando Battalion
, Iraq.
-
The Duce's Musketeers, Italy.
-
Black Brigades, Italy.
-
Blackshirts, Italy
-
Death's Regiment, Mexico.
-
General Llanera personal flag, Philippines.
-
Special Forces, Philippines.
-
2nd Lancers Regiment, Portugal.
-
Kornilov Assault Regiment, Russia.
-
Varyag Battalion, Donetsk People's Republic.
-
3rd Infantry Division, South Korea.
-
8th Lusitania Cavalry Regiment, Spain.
-
Republican Guard, Syria.
-
Military Assistance Command Vietnam - Studies and Observation Group, United States.
-
2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment, United States.
-
1st Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
4th Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
6th Night Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
13th Bomb Squadron, USAF ? inherited from
13th Aero Squadron
.
-
15th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, United States.
-
16th Airlift Squadron, United States.
-
16th Special Operations Squadron, United States.
-
24th Intelligence Squadron, United States.
-
31st Test and Evaluation Squadron, United States.
-
71st Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
85th Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
85th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
89th Flying Training Squadron, United States.
-
90th Tactical Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
92nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
95th Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
128th Bomb Squadron, United States.
-
132nd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, United States.
-
164th Airlift Squadron, United States.
-
190th Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
310th Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
319th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
320th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
321st Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
328th Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
348th Night Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
351st Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
359th Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
363rd Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
365th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
366th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
367th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
375th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
392nd Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
399th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
400th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
-
402nd Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
416th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
416th Night Fighter Squadron, United States
-
423rd Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
428th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
428th Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
447th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
490th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
493rd Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
508th Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
509th Tactical Fighter Squadron, United States.
-
512th Rescue Squadron, United States.
-
522nd Fighter-Bomber Squadron, United States.
-
527th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
533rd Training Squadron, United States.
-
552nd Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
561st Fighter-Day Squadron, United States.
-
587th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
640th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
716th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
766th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, United States.
-
828th Bombardment Squadron, United States.
-
2872nd Test Squadron, United States.
-
5th Bomb Wing, United States.
-
90th Bomb Group, United States.
-
400th Bombardment Group, United States.
-
VMAQ-1, United States.
-
VMAQ-2, United States.
-
VMU-2, United States..
-
VFA-2, United States.
-
VFAW-3, United States.
-
VMO-4, United States
-
VA-12, United States.
-
VF-20, United States.
-
VFA-34, United States.
-
VF-61, United States.
-
VA-93, United States.
-
VA-94, United States.
-
VF-101, United States.
-
VFA-103, United States.
-
VF-142, United States.
-
VFA-151, United States.
-
VF-171, United States.
-
VA-133, United States.
-
VA-155, United States.
-
VA-175, United States.
-
VA-304, United States.
-
VP-26, United States.
-
VQ-11, United States.
-
VS-32, United States.
-
VT-11, United States.
-
1st Battalion, 9th Marines, United States.
-
2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, United States.
-
Marine Raider
, United States.
-
MCSOCOM, United States.
-
-
-
-
-
-
5th Reconnaissance Battalion, United States.
-
Marine Amphibious Reconnaissance, United States.
-
1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, United States.
-
2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, United States.
-
D Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, United States.
-
3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, United States.
-
6th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, United States.
-
VMF-113, United States.
-
VMF(AW)-114, United States.
-
VMA-124, United States.
-
HMM-164, United States.
-
VMF-225, United States.
-
VMSB-233, United States.
-
VMSB-244, United States.
-
MWSS-274
-
HMLA-369, United States.
-
VMF-471, United States.
-
VMF-514, United States.
-
VMF-524, United States.
-
VMFA-531, United States.
-
VMTB-621, United States.
-
MALS-40, United States.
-
No. 100 Squadron RAF
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"underhand, unfair, and damned un-English."(Stephen Wentworth Roskill (1968).
Naval Policy Between the Wars
, Walker,
ISBN
0-87021-848-4
p. 231. cites A. J. Marder,
Fear God and Dread Nought
, vol. I (Oxford UP, 1961), p. 333 and also Williams Jameson, The
Most Formidable Thing
(Hart-Davis, 1965) pp. 75-76.)
- ^
"underhand, ... and damned Un-English. ... treat all submarines as pirates in wartime ... and hang all crews." (J. R. Hill (1989).
Arms Control at Sea
, Routledge,
ISBN
0-415-01280-5
. p. 35 cites Marder, From the Dreadnoughts to Scapa Flow p. 332).
- ^
Staff,
The Jolly Roger
Archived
13 November 2006 at the
Wayback Machine
on a webpage of the
National Museum of the Royal Navy
Archived
1 November 2007 at the
Wayback Machine
.
- ^
HMS Triumph and HMS Superb
.
- ^
"Lineage Listing for VA, VA(AW), VAH, VA(HM), VAK, VAL, VAP, and VFA Designated Squadrons"
(PDF)
. United States Navy. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 31 March 2010
. Retrieved
27 August
2009
.
- ^
Blackburn, Tom (1988).
The Jolly Rogers: The Story of Tom Blackburn and Navy Fighting Squadron VF-17
. Crown. p. 41.
ISBN
0-517-57075-0
.
- ^
a
b
Cook, Leon (April 2018).
"Australian Army Chief Orders Ban on So-Called 'Death Symbols'
"
.
military.com
.
- ^
"WEARING THE SKULL AND CROSSBONES WITH PRIDE"
.
The British Army
.
- ^
Thomas, Nigel (2012).
The German Army in World War I (1): 1914?15
. Bloomsbury Publishing.
ISBN
9781780965512
.
- ^
Colburn's United Service Magazine and Naval and Military Journal, Volumen 32
. National Library of the Netherlands. 1867. p. 321.
- ^
Ruda, Adrian (2023).
Der Totenkopf als Motiv. Eine historisch-kulturanthropologische Analyse zwischen Militar und Moden (The Skull as Motif: A Historical-Cultural Anthropological Analysis between Military and Fashion)
(in German). Koln: Bohlau/Brill.
ISBN
9783412528904
.
- ^
Hølscher, Joost (2013).
Death's Head - Volumen 1 de The History of Uniform
. Editions Chamerelle. p. 33.
ISBN
9789082032604
.
- ^
overview (in Estonian)
[
permanent dead link
]
[
need quotation to verify
]
- ^
"QRL - History Home"
.
www.qrl.uk.com
. Archived from
the original
on 26 December 2008.
- ^
a
b
c
Joost Hølscher (Author, Illustrator): Death's Head, The History of the Military Skull & Crossbones Badge (The History of Uniform). 1st edition: Editions Chamerelle 2013,
ISBN
978-90-820326-0-4
.
- ^
Historique du 14e Chasseurs
. Service Historique de la Defense.
- ^
La Cavalerie pendant la Revolution
. Desbrieres et Sautai. 1907.
- ^
Les Hussards francais, Tome 1, De l'Ancien regime a l'Empire edition Histoire et collection
.
- ^
Miku?, Marek (2018).
Frontiers of Civil Society: Government and Hegemony in Serbia
. Berghahn Books. p. 120.
ISBN
9781785338915
.
- ^
Read, Fergus (January 2018).
"BRITISH FIRST WORLD WAR SERVICE MEDALS"
.
Imperial War Museums
.
- ^
Smithsonian NASM's online article "Knight of Death" Airplane Insignia", focusing on Nungesser