The RCAF Tartan - Air Defense Museum
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The RCAF Tartan - Air Defense Museum
Source : Canadian Armed Forces, Joanna Calder

The RCAF Tartan

World War II (1939 - 1945)

In 1942, the Royal Canadian Air Force adopted a tartan. Flight Colonel Elmer G. Fullerton, Commander of the 9th Military Flying Training School at RCAF Station Summerside, was responsible for the birth of this tradition. Fullerton, wishing to celebrate his Scottish origins, used color to dress the bagpipers at his station. That's how the RCAF tartan was born. 


Blue dominates, with brown and a little white. This tartan is used in a variety of forms, including curtains on Air Force transport aircraft, curtains in many messes and institutes, and as clothing decoration. For example, the tie worn with the well-known blue blaser and grey pants. The tartan was officially approved on 15 August 1942 by the Lord Lyon, King of Arms of Scotland in his court records.

Photo : National Ceremony of the Battle of Britain in 2017, Gatineau.