Astral crown
{{Short description|Heraldic crown made up of wings and stars}}
{{More footnotes|date=December 2018}}
The astral crown is a gold crown surmounted with eight low points. The centrals and laterals points are topped with a star, with an unspecified number of points, between two wings.
In heraldry, an astral crown is mounted atop the shields of coats of arms of units belonging to some air forces or the personal arms of its distinguished commanders.
Its creation became necessary after the founding of the Royal Air Force in the UK, because there was no Roman military award device for aerial warfare equivalent to the naval crown for navies and the camp crown for armies.
Some air forces in other countries have adopted variants of the astral crown.
Gallery
File:Coat of arms of the Chilean Air Force.svg|An astral crown in the coat of arms of the Chilean Air Force
File:207sqnatc.jpg|Astral crown in the crest of No. 207 (Cranfield) Squadron Air Training Corps
File:Brasao ba1.png|The Portuguese Air Force variant of the astral crown in the coat of arms of the Sintra Air Base
File:Armorial Bearings of British Airways.svg|An astral crown in the coat of arms of British Airways
File:Coat of Arms of Cranfield University.svg|An astral crown in crest in the coat of arms of Cranfield University
See also
{{commons category|Astral crowns}}
References
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20131217030352/http://www.americanheraldry.org/pages/index.php?n=Primer.Page4 Heraldic Headgear, American Heraldry Society].
- [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/astral%20crown Astral Crown definition]. Merrian Webster.
- Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1909) [http://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~bprince/hr/foxdavies/fdguide23.htm A Complete Guide to Heraldry], Chapter XXIII: Crest, Coronets and Chapeaux.
{{Types of Crowns}}
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