Coast Guard History
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Coast Guard adopt the “slash” for its cutters, boats, and aircraft?
The design consists of a wide red bar forward of a narrow blue bar both canted at 64 degrees above the horizontal with the Coast Guard emblem superimposed. It was originally recommended in 1964 by the industrial design firm of Raymond Loewy/William Snaith, Incorporated and was adopted service-wide on 6 April 1967.
The color red used in the slash is Pantone 179.
The color blue used in the slash is Pantone 307.
For more information see:
"The History of the 'Racing Stripe' Emblem and Brand Identity for World Sea Services and Coast Guards: The History of the 'Racing Stripe' Emblem and Brand: Part I: The United States Coast Guard," by William H. Thiesen & "Part II: The Rest of the World" by Christian Ostersehlte. Published in Sea History 139 (Summer 2012), pp. 28-33.
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