Royal fanion of the 32nd Wolfhounds
The 20th anniversary in the Netherlands, 16 November 1974, marked the occasion for the presentation of what became the Wolfhounds proudest possession. The squadron became the only United States Air Force unit to be awarded a fanion. Royal Highness Prince Bernard of the Netherlands, Inspector General of the Armed Forces, presented it to the commander of the 32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron.
At the time the occasion was only the third time the House of Orange presented a fanion. The first time was in 1942 when Queen Wilhelmina presented a fanion to the Colonial Air Force, which was operated outside of the Netherlands during World War II. Queen Juliana presented the other one in1964 to the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The 32nd squadron fanion is green, representing the green country the squadron flies from, with crossed white stripes representing the two runways at Soesterberg Air Base. In the center are the Royal Netherlands Air Force crest and, in gold thread, "32nd TFS (USAF) 1954 - 1974". From that time the fanion served as the squadron's official flag and was used by parades and other important events like change of commands. In the meantime it hang in the commander's office.
 | Fanions were introduced during the Napoleonic wars as a marker for military forces who many times fought together without a common uniform. The forces of that period used the fanion to direct military movements and for identification of front lines. Originally fanions were just simple colored flags. However the years passed this type of banner or standard became more important and was only presented to special units, by royalty. Each fanion was designed to have a unique significance for the receiving unit. |