Original Item: Only One Available. Now this is a fantastic display piece, perfect for the avid aviator collector! This 41 ½” x 22” cut piece of material is the roundel removed from a USMC used Stinson L-5 Sentinel while it was decommissioned at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. It is in fantastic condition with nearly all colors still easily discernible.

This roundel example is the one that was used from August 14th, 1943 to January 14th, 1947. The Insignia with a red outline was replaced with an Insignia with a blue outline through the amendment of Army-Navy aeronautical specification AN-I-9 on 14 August 1943. This was followed by an amendment to Technical Order 07-1-1, issued on 24 September 1943, for units in the field. On some US Navy aircraft in the Pacific the blue outline was lighter than the insignia blue.

It is nicely marked on an affixed label in handwriting:

FUSELAGE INSIGNIA
FROM A MARINE STINSON
OY-1 CHERRY POINT N.C. 194_

The Stinson L-5 Sentinel is a World War II-era liaison aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), U.S. Army Ground Forces, U.S. Marine Corps and the British Royal Air Force. It was produced by the Stinson Division of the Vultee Aircraft Company (Consolidated-Vultee from mid-1943). Along with the Stinson L-1 Vigilant, the L-5 was the only other USAAF liaison aircraft that was exclusively built for military use and had no civilian counterpart.

The US Army Air Corps began painting its roundel on only the top of the left wing and only the bottom of the right wing February 26, 1941, intended to help facilitate recognition of friend and foe if the United States became embroiled in the spreading conflict. The other reason was to “eliminate a balanced target” by presenting a somewhat asymmetrical effect — if you see two white stars (i.e., one on each wing), it is easier to aim your guns between them. The US Navy resisted this change and reverted to the roundel on each wing early in the war January 5, 1942. However, the US Navy finally adopted the asymmetrical single wing insignia February 1, 1943.

A lovely example that comes more than ready for further research and display.