Currently it is flown from the flagstaff of every Royal Air Force station during daylight hours and has been permanently displayed on the Cenotaph in London since 1943.

The Air Council did not welcome the Admiralty's condition, as they wished to use the White Ensign with the St George's Cross removed.

Whilst the War Office had no objections to this proposed design, the Admiralty certainly did, and they rejected the Air Council's suggestion on the basis that the White Ensign was exclusively reserved for Royal Navy use.

The Air Council then submitted a design featuring a jack with a white border, but the Admiralty rejected this submission, as it was the already in use as the signal to summon a ship's pilot.

Air Vice Marshal Sir John Salmond suggested that the Union Flag be placed in the canton in order that the design carry the mark of British authority.

The official design code for the RAF Ensign is "UNKG0018" and the azure blue used is "NATO stock no.8305-99-130-4578, Polyester Bunting in Pantone 549C".

However, when this request was passed to the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, he rejected the proposal, stating his opposition to any change.

To make a second attempt at gaining the approval of the Prime Minister, the agreement of the First Lord of the Admiralty and the Secretary of State for War to the substitution of only one flag was secured.

The RAF Ensign is flown from the flagstaff of every Royal Air Force station during daylight hours.