Castle Stalker at sunset, Scotland. Photo by Gil Cavalcanti

To celebrate St Andrew’s day (the feast of St Andrew) on the 30th of November, The Scottish Saltire will be introduced in the game and will be available for Golden Eagles for limited time (from 30th November till 4th December). To many of us this will be a nice little addition to allow us to fly the flag for Scotland and commemorate the occasion to celebrate Scottish culture, food and dance. 

Scottish Saltire available in War Thunder

According to legend, the Christian apostle and martyr Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, was crucified on an X-shaped cross at Patras.

The Saltire Cross of Scotland was allegedly first used in battle in the 9th Century. King Angus of the Picts, facing a larger army of Saxons at Athelstaneford in what is now East Lothian in Scotland, was surrounded by light on the night before the battle and went on to have a dream. He was given a message that he would see a Cross in the sky and would conquer his enemies in its name.

The following morning, King Angus looked into the rising sun and saw the Saltire Cross in its blinding light. This filled him and his men with courage and they were victorious. From that time on the fledgling nation that was Scotland, Saint Andrew and his Saltire Cross were adopted as its national symbols.

The Saltire Cross became the heraldic arms that every Scot is entitled to fly and wear. However, its colour was not white at first but silver (Argent), as in heraldry white stands for silver.

The Acts of Parliament of King Robert II first mention the background colour of the Saltire in July of 1385 where every Scottish soldier was ordered to wear a white Saltire. If the uniform was white, then the Saltire was to be worn with a black background. It wasn't until 1542 that it was given its traditional blue background and adopted as the flag of Scotland.

The War Thunder Team