More WWII Nose Art | B-24 Diamond Lil This B-24 Liberator was the 25th plane out of almost 20,000 built. After a long and varied history, it found it way to the Commemorative Air Force in 1968. In 1972, the CAF painted the Liberator the colors of the 98th BG and renamed it Diamond Lil. For the whole story with all images, see More WWII Nose Art | a 7 Image Story.
More WWII Nose Art | a 7 Image Story During WWII, nose art could be found on many fighters, bombers, and sometimes on other planes like transport and observation planes. The most popular were the bombers since they had more space around the nose to paint. This post only contains images of the B-24 Liberator, the B-25 Mitchell, B-29 Superfortress, and the C-47 Skytrain. More planes with nose art are posted in my portfolios. Also, see WWII Nose Art | a 7 Image Story for history and more information on the practice of painting art work on the noses of WWII aircraft. For more nose art see B-25 WWII Nose Art | a 7 Image Story and More B-25 WWII Nose Art | a 7 Image Story.
B-25 Miss Hap Miss Hap, a North American B-25 Mitchell bomber, is the oldest B-25 still in existence. It was one of the first B-25s delivered to the USAAF in February of 1941, where it was assigned to the 17th Bomb Group, 34th Bomb Squadron. Throughout WWII it served as an administrative and training aircraft as well as a VIP transport including the personal transport for General Henry “Hap” Arnold, Commander of the USAAF during WWII. Since 1989 the American Airpower Museum has been flying it to air shows throughout the country.
B-29 FiFi During WWII, 3,970 Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers were built. The B-29 began active service in 1944. It was needed in the World War II Pacific theater due to its long range and large bomb loads. Later, it was also used in the Korean War and remained in service until the late 1950s. Today, only two B-29s, “FIFI” & “Doc“, are airworthy. “FiFi” is maintained and operated by the Commemorative Air Force.
B-25 Barbie III Barbie III is a B-25H Mitchell bomber operated by History Flight. It’s one of the rarest B-25s still flying. The B-25H was designed mainly for strafing with a 75 mm cannon in the nose, four .50-caliber guns in the nose, four .50-caliber blister guns on the forward fuselage, two .50-caliber guns in the top turret, two .50-caliber guns at the waist stations, and two .50-caliber guns in the tail turret.
C-47 “That’s All Brother” On 6th of June 1944, “That’s All Brother”, a Douglas C-47 Skytrain, led the airborne invasion of Normandy. It led over 800 C-47s that dropped over 13,000 paratroopers into Normandy the night before the D-Day invasion. The Commemorative Air Force restored “That’s All Brother” to its 1944 flying condition both inside and out.
B-25 Lady Luck This B-25J Mitchell was built by North American at Kansas City, Kansas, USA in 1945. It was immediately declared surplus and changed hands many times. After finding its way to C and P Aviation at Anoka County Airport, it was renamed Lady Luck, polished, and restored to military standards.
B-24 Diamond Lil This B-24 Liberator was the 25th plane out of almost 20,000 built. After a long and varied history, it found it way to the Commemorative Air Force in 1968. In 1972, the CAF painted the Liberator the colors of the 98th BG and renamed it Diamond Lil.
B-25 Berlin Express This B-25H Mitchell bomber was completed in late December of 1943. It was flown mostly in training and administrative roles during and after WWII. Finally in 1972, after changing hands many times and after being used in filming the movie “Catch 22”, it was donated to the EAA Air Museum Foundation. After a full restoration in 1975, it flew as “The City of Burlington” with a B-25J nose, but was put on display after a landing gear collapse. Then, after another complete restoration by the EAA, it was renamed Berlin Express. Its first flight as Berlin Express was on April 20, 2019.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category More WWII Nose Art.
Click any image below for a slide show.
