The Rhodesian Air Force Ensign was used as the flag of the

Rhodesian Air Force The Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) was an air force based in Salisbury (now Harare) which represented several entities under various names between 1935 and 1980: originally serving the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia, it was th ...

. The first flag was created in 1954 under the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation (CAF), was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southern ...

, being updated following

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

exiting the Federation in 1963. It was updated further in 1970 when

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

unilaterally declared themselves a republic.

History

Originally, Rhodesian aircraft had borne the

Royal Air Force Ensign The Royal Air Force Ensign is the official flag that is used to represent the Royal Air Force. The ensign has a field of air force blue, with the United Kingdom's flag in the canton and the Royal Air Force's roundel in the middle of the fl ...

. In 1954, following the establishment of the Federation, the Rhodesian Air Force ensign was raised. In keeping with

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

air forces using local versions of the RAF roundel, the Rhodesian Air Force defaced theirs with three

assegai An assegai or assagai is a polearm used for throwing, usually a light spear or javelin made up of a wooden handle with an iron tip. Area of use The use of various types of the assegai was widespread all over Africa and it was the most common we ...

s. A year later, they were granted a Royal title. Following the breakup of the Federation in 1963, Southern Rhodesia amended the ensign so that it only bore a single assegai. The ensign remained unchanged, even after Rhodesia breaking away from the British Empire. In 1968, despite a new

Flag of Rhodesia The flag of Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe) changed with political developments in the country. At Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence, independence in 1965 the recently adopted Flag of Southern Rhodesia#Rhodesia, flag of Southe ...

being raised to replace the old Rhodesian flag, it was announced by the

Rhodesia Herald ''The Herald'' is a state-owned daily newspaper published in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. History Origins The newspaper's origins date back to the 19th century. Its forerunner was launched on 27 June 1891 by William Fairbridge for the Cap ...

that the Royal Rhodesian Air Force would retain their ensign. Following the declaration of the republic, where

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

formally revoked the force's royal title, it was felt inappropriate for the ensign to retain the

Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

in canton. Accordingly, a new ensign was created with the flag of Rhodesia replacing the Union Jack and a new green and white roundel with a Lion and Tusk to replace the RAF and assegai roundel. The new ensign was first used on 5 March 1970, three days after the declaration of the republic. After the

Internal Settlement The Internal Settlement (also called the Salisbury Agreement HC Deb 04 May 1978 vol 949 cc 455–592) was an agreement which was signed on 3 March 1978 between Prime Minister of Rhodesia Ian Smith and the moderate African nationalist leaders comp ...

and the establishment of

Zimbabwe Rhodesia Zimbabwe Rhodesia (), alternatively known as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, also informally known as Zimbabwe or Rhodesia, was a short-lived unrecognised sovereign state that existed from 1 June 1979 to 18 April 1980, though it lacked international recog ...

, the Rhodesian Air Force ensign was changed. This was the only military flag to change during this time, with the new flag of Zimbabwe Rhodesia replacing the flag of Rhodesia in the ensign's canton.

References

{{Reflist Air Force ensigns Rhodesian Air Force Blue Ensigns 1954 establishments in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland 1979 disestablishments in Rhodesia Flags displaying animals