Cross of Lorraine

, named after a corvette of the Free French Forces, flies the Cross of Lorraine on her unit flag
The Cross of Lorraine is a heraldic cross. The cross consists of a vertical line, crossed by two smaller horizontal bars. The lower bar is as close to the bottom of the vertical as the upper bar is to the top. In the ancient version, both bars were of the same length. In the 20th century use, the lower bar is longer than the upper, thus resembling a patriarchal cross, the crossbars of which, however, are both near the top.

The Cross of Lorraine has figured on the arms of Lorraine in France, and as such has become a symbol associated with French patriotism, particularly with regard to the conflict with Germany.

This cross was the official symbol of the Free French Forces (French: Forces Françaises Libres, or FFL) under Charles de Gaulle during World War II. The Free French flag was a red Cross of Lorraine added to the white central stripe of the French tricolor. This use of the symbol led Winston Churchill to quip that "the greatest cross I have ever had to bear was the Cross of Lorraine."

It was also carried on the fuselages of aircraft flying on behalf of the Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres (FAFL) from 1940 to 1943 to distinguish them from the aircraft of the Vichy French air force, which continued to sport the traditional French air force (Armée de l'Air) roundels, dating from World War I.

The Cross of Lorraine was later adopted by Gaullist movements such as the Rally for the Republic.

A similar cross is used as an emblem by the American Lung Association and as such is familiar from their Christmas Seals program. One explanation of this use of the symbol is that it was adopted during World War I on account of the victims of poison gas warfare in eastern France.

The "Cross of Lorraine" symbol figures in Unicode as U+2628 (☨).

Cross of Lorraine

Cross of Lorraine

See also: