German Iron Cross insignia on the rudder and wing of a modern replica of a German World War I Fokker Triplane fighter

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The Iron Cross was instituted by King Freidrich Wilhelm III of Prussia in 1813 during the Napoleonic Wars, based on a symbol worn by the Teutonic Knights in the 13th and 14th Centuries. The Iron Cross was used as the symbol of the German Army from 1871 to March/April 1918, when it was replaced by a simpler Greek cross. In 1956, the Iron Cross resumed its German military usage, as it became the symbol of the Bundeswehr, the modern German armed forces.

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Size: 2543px × 3823px
Location: Sywell Airfield, Sywell, Northamptonshire, England, UK
Photo credit: © Roger Goodwin / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 12-08-18, airworthy, copy, dreidecker, modern, preservation, preserved, sywell, warbird, wwi