2020
HELSINKI. The Finnish Air Force has removed the last swastika symbols from its aircraft and uniforms. The swastika was officially used from the founding of the armed forces in 1918 until the end of World War II in 1945. Foreigners often associated the swastika with German Nazism, although it had "a completely different background," Army spokesman Henrik Gahmberg told the AFP news agency.
Swedish aristocrat Eric von Rosen supported the White Army in the Finnish Civil War by sending them an aircraft decorated with swastikas. This became the first aircraft of the Finnish Air Force in 1918.
The armed forces had not officially announced the final removals of the symbol. However, a politics professor at the University of Helsinki had noticed the change. The Air Force had already decided in 2002 to use a golden eagle as its official symbol in the future.