page_title: Victory marking
hierarchical_section_title: Victory marking
caption_attribution_description: English: An F-4D Phantom II assigned to the 507th Tactical Fighter Wing, Air Force Reserves, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, shown on the flight line during a training deployment during the 1980s. This jet wears a Vietnam-era MiG-kill marking in the form of a red and yellow star on the intake splitter-plate.
context_page_description: A victory marking 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.
  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 stenciled inside the star in white lettering.
  Several examples of victory markings being applied to aircraft for reasons other than aerial victories exist. 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. Meanwhile, in 2012, a Luftwaffe Eurofighter was spotted with a kill mark denoting a victory over a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor achieved in a simulated dogfight during a training exercise.
context_section_description: 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.
  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 stenciled inside the star in white lettering.
  Several examples of victory markings being applied to aircraft for reasons other than aerial victories exist. 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. Meanwhile, in 2012, a Luftwaffe Eurofighter was spotted with a kill mark denoting a victory over a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor achieved in a simulated dogfight during a training exercise.
caption: A U.S. Air Force F-4 Phantom 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.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "An F-4D Phantom II assigned to the 507th Tactical Fighter Wing, Air Force Reserves, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, shown on the flight line during a training deployment during the 1980s. This jet wears a Vietnam-era MiG-kill marking in the form of a red and yellow star on the intake splitter-plate. Photo courtesy Don Jay.", "Image Copyright": "Public Domain"}