Where does the stork on the Hispano-Suiza emblem come from?

Short answer

From a French squadron emblem: the mascot that topped Hispano-Suiza radiators after World War I was shaped like a stork, the symbol of the French province of Alsace, taken from the emblem painted on the side of a Hispano-Suiza-engined fighter flown by ace Georges Guynemer.

Published: November 5, 2026 · Updated: November 5, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Where does the stork on the Hispano-Suiza emblem come from?

Hispano Suiza WappenWolfgangS at German Wikipedia (Original text: WolfgangS) (CC BY SA), vía commons

From the squadron to the radiator

After the First World War, the mascot crowning the radiator of Hispano-Suiza cars was shaped like a stork. The figure is the symbol of the French province of Alsace and was taken from a squadron emblem painted on the side of a fighter powered by a Hispano-Suiza engine and flown by the French World War I ace Georges Guynemer.

Les Cigognes

Escadrille 3, nicknamed Les Cigognes ("the storks"), was a famous French aviation unit during the First World War. It was often referred to as "Stork Escadrille N3" precisely because of its insignia. Captain Felix Brocard took command of it on 28 April 1915. The unit was later re-equipped with SPADs and renamed Escadrille Spa3. On 1 November 1916, the temporary grouping of the four original units was formalised as Groupe de Combat 12, better known as les Cigognes.

The pilot behind the emblem

Guynemer was officially credited with 54 victories at the time of his death. He is also at the origin of the SPAD S.XII: he proposed designing a manoeuvrable single-seat fighter capable of carrying a 37 mm cannon.