Was there an ANZAC Roundel?

When the 1940 game came out, I assumed (perhaps because I didn’t really like it) that the ANZAC roundel design was just something made up…but someone on the board soon dug up its source.  I can’t recall the details, but I think it’s a real design.  If I can track it down I’ll post the answer here, unless someone else finds it faster.

http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=16012.0

This thread?

Maybe FMG knows for sure if the symbol is under copyright since they use the symbol on dice.

@wheatbeer:

http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=16012.0

This thread?

Good catch – that’s the one I was thinking of.  Thanks.

I’ve done a quick bit of searching, and the impression I got (which could be completely wrong) is the following:

1. The basic concept of a stylized sunburst over a crown is a design that is definitely associated with the Australian armed forces (famously so, apparently), and which is called the Rising Sun.

2. The design’s association with Australia is clear-cut, but its association with New Zealand looks a lot more debatable.  There may not actually be any such association officially, or the association may just be a side-effect of Australia’s and New Zealand’s participation in the ANZAC formations of WWI, whose role at Gallipoli is considered a defining event in the history of both countries.

3. The Rising Sun emblem has gone through many versions over the years, so it’s possible that no particular version can be singled out as “the” real one (as opposed to all the others), except perhaps that a particular version was the standard one at a particular period of time.

4. The Rising Sun has definitely been used as a badge, but whether it was ever used as an actual roundel (specifically an aircraft roundel) is unclear.

5. It’s quite possible that the specific artwork for what’s called the ANZAC roundel in A&A is proprietary, even though the general design of the Rising Sun badge has been around in many forms for a long time.

I haven’t been able to find it anywhere except A&A. When I was using roundels for my planes I ended up using the Kangaroo

HBG makes the ANZAC roundel though in wood or fiber board.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Australian_Air_Force#Roundel

"Originally, the air force used the existing red, white and blue roundel of the Royal Air Force. However, during the Second World War the inner red circle, which was visually similar to the Japanese Hinomaru, was removed after a No. 11 Squadron Catalina was mistaken for a Japanese aircraft by a US Navy Wildcat in the Pacific Theatre.[52]

After the war, a range of options for the RAAF roundel were proposed, including the Southern Cross, a boomerang, a sprig of wattle, and the red kangaroo. On 2 July 1956, the current version of the roundel was formally adopted. This consists of a white inner circle with a red kangaroo surrounded by a royal blue circle. The kangaroo faces left, except when used on aircraft or vehicles, when the kangaroo should always face in the direction of travel.[52] Low visibility versions of the roundel exist, with the white omitted and the red and blue replaced with light or dark grey.[53]"

I hate to break this to you but the term ANZAC actually doesn’t apply to WWII era Australia and New Zealand. It goes for the term in WWI, however to somewhat contradict this statement; there was an ANZAC corp giving by the UK to a combine unit in Greece. So it did exist in small numbers but as far as the strategic use of it, Australia and New Zealand never combined their arms into one military in WWII. With that said, I don’t think you can find an ANZAC roundel for WWII as I am guessing each nation would use whatever their roundel would be.