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Kingdom of Serbia (1882-1918)

Kraljevina Srbija

Flag of Serbia, 1882-1918 - Image by Jorge Candeias, 30 January 1998

National flag
Coat of arms
Civil ensign
State flag
War flag
Aircraft markings
Army flags

See also:

National flag

The national flag remained the tricolour flag used by the Principality of Serbia until 1882.

Željko Heimer, 15 July 2006

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Serbia is:
Gules, two fleurs-de-lis or below a double-headed eagle argent, beaked, membered and langued or, bearing an escutcheon: gules, a cross argent between four ocila (or firesteels) or.

There are variants of the escutcheon: in some cases, the horizontal arms of the cross bear the dates 1389 and 1817, and there is a sword or per pale on the cross. 1389 is the date of the battle of Kosovo, when the Serbs lost their independence. 1817 is the date they regained their autonomy. Serbia emerged in 1817 as an autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire and became a full-fledged Kingdom in 1882. These arms were used from 1882 to 1918.

François Velde, 30 June 1995

Civil ensign

Serbian civil ensign - Image by Mario Fabretto, reconstructed after CISV archives, 30 September 1998

In 1882 the former civil ensign was modified, following the modification of the coat of arms: the shield was surmounted by a Royal crown (without mantle) and contained a white double-headed eagle with the former shiled of arms in escutcheon and with two golden fleurs-de-lis in base. This flag remained in use until 1918.

Mario Fabretto, 30 September 1998

State flag

Serbian state flag - Image by Mario Fabretto, reconstructed after CISV archives, 30 September 1998

The state flag used between 1882 and 1918 differed from the civil ensign in having the greater national arms in the center.

Mario Fabretto, 30 September 1998

War flag

Serbian war flag - Image by Mario Fabretto, reconstructed after CISV archives, 30 September 1998

The war flag, adopted in 1904, following the coronation of Peter I Karađorđević, used the greater Royal arms instead of the state arms.

Mario Fabretto, 30 September 1998

Aircraft markings

Serbian aircraft markings - Images by Ivan Sache, 25 February 2007
Left, roundel, 1912-1915
Middle, roundel, 1915-1918
Right, fin flash

The book Srpska Avijatika 1912-1918 (MJV, Sky, Eorosini, 1992) shows the aircraft markings of the Serbian Air Force. The roundel used in 1912-1915 was blue with a red border; it was superseded in 1915 by a red-blue-white roundel. The fin flash was similar to the national flag.

Milan Jovanović & Ivan Sache, 8 November 2006