Victory marking

Decoration applied to military aircraft

A victory marking (also called a victory mark, kill marking, or kill mark) is a symbol applied in stencil or decal to the side of a military aircraft to denote an aerial victory achieved by the aircraft's pilot or crew. The use of victory markings originated during World War I, burgeoned during World War II and frequently took the form of the roundel or national flag of the nationality of the aircraft defeated.^[1]

In the United States Air Force, as of 2010, victory markings are applied in the form of six inch green stars set within a black border with the type of aircraft defeated stencilled inside the star in white lettering.^[2]

Victory marks have been applied to aircraft for reasons other than aerial victories. During the period of its use for astronaut recovery, the U.S. Navy's Helicopter 66 bore victory marks showing a space capsule silhouette, with one mark added for each recovery in which it participated.^[3] In 2012, a German Eurofighter was spotted with a kill mark denoting a simulated victory over a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor, achieved in a dogfight during a training exercise.^[4]

Gallery

Photograph of Lt Col James H. Howard's P-51 Mustang showing 12 kill marks for aerial victories over German and Japanese pilots
Nose section of Martin B-26 Marauder Flak-Bait (serial no. 41-31773), showing the large number of victory marks from its 207 missions over Europe during World War II.
An F-16BM (serial no. 84606) from the No. 11 Squadron 'Arrows' of the Pakistan Air Force with an Indian flag on its nose as a kill mark after it shot down one of the Indian Air Force jets during Operation Swift Retort in 2019.
McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle of the Israel Air Force showing 4 kill marks for aerial victories over Syrian pilots in 1982 Lebanon War.
This is a F-16A Netz number 107 of the Israeli Air Force. The Netz 107 has an unmatched combat record in the IDF: it bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981, and in 1982 it shot down 7 enemy fighter jets (one was a joint interception with another Israeli fighter).
IAF McDonnell Douglas F-15D 'Yad Ha Nefetz' (Shatterhand) with Operation Wooden Leg success marking
A U.S. Air Force F-4 Phantom II pictured at Tinker Air Force Base. On its intake splitter-plate is a kill mark in the form of a red star, signifying an aerial victory achieved during the Vietnam War.
A Thunder demo team JF-17 with an Iranian drone kill mark on the nose which it shot down in 2017.

References

^ Herman, Bruce (16 February 2005). "Painted Warbirds". PBS. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
^ "Air Combat Command 21-105". AF.mil. United States Air Force. Retrieved 31 August 2021.^{[dead link]}
^ "Helicopter Unit Changes Command". Chula Vista Star-News. newspapers.com. 26 September 1971. p. 20. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
^ Cenciotti, David (23 July 2012). "F-22 Raptor kill markings shown off by German Eurofighter Typhoons". The Aviationist. Retrieved 11 May 2018.