[Larry Hayward]

Perhaps someone can say when the white star officially became THE recognition sign for all Allied Forces?

However a look through my collection has shown that for Sicily & Italy at least, the white star hardly ever appears on wheeled & tracked armour used by British & Commonwealth forces, as the red/white/red flash continued to be used - perhaps years after its use was cancelled. Some Shermans had the RAF roundel painted on the rear deck or turret top but most seem to have had none. From photo evidence the white star started to appear more often on British & Commonwealth armour & halftracks in Italy only in late 1944.

For softskins in Italy the RAF roundel was very common on cab roofs above the driver or on the bonnet / hood - as the use of this for air recognition had been in use in North Africa (as had the red/white/red flash on armour). The roundel was occasionally seen on the top of the canvas tilt (which I understand was prohibited).

As Italy was not high priority for new equippment old vehicles retained the RAF roundel well into the campaign and many have both a faded roundel on the hood & a white star on the cab roof or vice versa. Photo evidence shows that for Anzio landings the white star was more commonly used for British softskins than before but the RAF roundel was still used. These white stars at first were painted freehand without a template, so they look very roughly applied.