- Yes
- No
As became common among combat units, the 287th Squadron also chose to represent itself in a daring, humorous, and above all spontaneous way. It therefore adopted Donald Duck as its emblem, which Pagliano described as: “copied directly from Disney… amusing and perfectly suited to the attitude.”
That is an accurate observation, because the duck is portrayed glaring threateningly at an unsuspecting little boat flying the British flag, while holding a barely concealed wooden plank meant for punishment. It was a clear and effective allegory of the surveillance and interdiction missions entrusted to the Squadron’s crews against enemy fleets.
On a CANTZ 506B of the squadron:
As a sign of historical continuity, the Donald Duck emblem is still used today by the 287th Squadron, now serving in the Combat SAR role and belonging to the 15º Stormo’s 84th Center.
In 1999, when the 84th celebrated the 75th anniversary of its foundation, it was decided to revive the emblems of the Group’s two Squadrons. In the case of the 287th Squadron’s emblem, however, the little boat’s British flag was replaced with a neutral black one, for obvious reasons of appropriateness given the changed circumstances compared to the period when the original insignia had been created.
