Vol
Encyclopedia
- Vol is also the abbreviation for the constellation VolansVolansVolans is a constellation in the southern sky. It represents a flying fish; its name is a shortened form of its original name, Piscis Volans...
. - Vol is also the colloquial term for volatility.
- VolVol (command)In some operating systems vol is a command within the command line interpreters such as COMMAND.COM and cmd.exe...
is also the name of a shell command.
A vol (French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
for "flight") is a once-obscure heraldic symbol consisting of a pair of outstretched, usually plumed bird's wings, which are connected together at their shoulders without having any bird's body in the middle.
All derivatives of this symbol in the twentieth century ultimately derive from its use by the French Armée de l'Air, one of the first Air force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
s in the world. A vol was selected for its cap badge, instead of the eagle which was selected by many of the world's other air forces. The reason why the French Air Force chose to differ is that the eagle in France is associated with the Napoleonic empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
.
Cap badges
Many European countries have an eagle as the main charge of the heraldic shields of their respective monarchies: Germany, Austria-HungaryAustria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, and pre-revolutionary Russia all used some derivative of this bird in their badge. Poland did too, and even kept its badge under Communist rule, because Poland did not have a king since the partition of Poland late in the eighteenth century, so the symbol was merely nominal. In America, the cap badge of the US Air Force is the Great Seal of the United States
Great Seal of the United States
The Great Seal of the United States is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the United States federal government. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself , and more generally for the design impressed upon it...
, which also includes an eagle. But its use for the US Air Force derives from that service's derivation from the US Army, which also had the same badge.
Another source for putting an eagle on the cap badge is that it stands for royalty in general. Thus the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
includes a complete eagle, even though the coat of arms of the United Kingdom does not. The air forces of various Arab countries do as well. And the air force of Egypt, although not a monarchy, uses "Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
's Eagle" as well; formerly, they used a hawk. During the Second World War, the air forces of Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, and Yugoslavia also used a bird of prey as their cap badge. Over a decade after the Second World War, Japan formed the Air Self-Defense Force
Japan Air Self-Defense Force
The , or JASDF, is the aviation branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace and other aerospace operations. The JASDF carries out combat air patrols around Japan, while also maintaining an extensive network of ground and air early warning radar systems...
. This too had a bird other than an eagle as an emblem; probably it's the sort of bird-of-prey called a "Kite" because this was a reference to a battle involving the Emperor during which a Kite was seen in a tree against the rising sun.
Other countries use the vol as their main emblem. Israel Air Force is notable in that its emblem, not being a complete bird, avoids idolatry. The countries of the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
generally rejected the use of the eagle in the list of state seals above. For example, the Soviet air force used a vol very similar to the French, but supporting a conventional, five-pointed star, so as to distinguish themselves from having anything to do with Imperial Russia. Hungary had nearly the same symbol, while Romania had a different one. The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte, or East German Air Force, used a particularly modernistic vol as its cap badge. This had extra significance, because the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany used an eagle carrying a swastika. Currently, the Russians have returned to their heraldic past, while the Germans use a symbol different from that of the Luftwaffe.
Insignia of branch of service
Air services which are not independent from their country's armies have used a vol as the insignia of their branch of service. The US Army Air Forces, during the Second World War, used a winged, two-bladed propeller on the lapels of their tunics. The same sort of insigne was used by the Soviets before they had an independent air force. Warsaw PactWarsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
armed forces often had a red, five-pointed star superimposed upon the juncture point of this symbol.
Pilot's insigne
It is as the symbol of "wings" given to trained aircraft operators for which the vol is primarily used. All of the pilot's badges of the USAFUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, as well as the various Naval Aviator's badges of the USN
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, employ vols with a shield standing for Congress in the middle. These are of different design, and the USAF used silver while the USN uses gold, and has an anchor behind the shield. The US Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
uses "wings" with an open parachute in the middle for paratroopers.
During the Second World War, the uniforms of Denmark, Norway, Belgium, France, Nationalist China, and even the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
used a form of the vol as their pilot's insigne. The air forces of Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Poland, and Yugoslavia used an entire bird. The Japanese had quite a different emblem; its wings are recognisably those of an aircraft.
Rank insigne
For the LuftwaffeLuftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, a vol was used to replace the chevron on the sleeves of enlisted men's uniforms. And the Romanian Air Force before 1945 used a vol for the shoulder rank insignia for warrant officers. UBS investment bank currently operates shoulder rank insignia amongst its Volatility Trading Department.
Collar tab insigne
The uniforms of British Army officers have "gorgetGorget
A gorget originally was a steel or leather collar designed to protect the throat. It was a feature of older types of armour and intended to protect against swords and other non-projectile weapons...
patches" of a color different from the rest of the uniform sewn on their lapels, and so did many arms of the German military. Specifically, the uniforms of both enlisted ranks and officers in the Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte (or East German Air Force) did too. These had embroidered symbols on them which were rather similar to the vols used for rank insignia.