Polish Air Force checkerboard

The four-field, red-white checkerboard, was first used as a personal insignia of the Polish fighter pilot Stefan Stec.

According to current regulations, an additional gray border can be added, 1:6 the size of the field, if the insignia is displayed on a white or red background.

Between the 1960s and 1980s the checkerboard (usually rotated 45 degrees) was also painted on turrets and hulls of Polish Army tanks and APCs.

In 1993 the color order was changed from red-dominant (red in the upper left) to white-dominant, to conform to heraldic rules, though ignoring the 70-year-old tradition.

Note that this rule applies to the main color squares, not to the thin border, which is considered decoration.