WWII Nose Art | a 7 Image Story

Dec 8, 2019 | 1 VR 10-30mm f/3.4-5.6 PD-Zoom, 1 VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6, 7 Image Stories, AF 80-400mm f4.5-5.6D ED VR, AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Aviation, B-17 Flying Fortress, B-25 Mitchell, B-29 Superfortress, C-47 Skytrain, Nikon 1 V3, Nikon D300, WWII Nose Art

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-17 Flying Fortress, the B-25 Mitchell, B-29 Superfortress, and the C-47 Skytrain.  More planes with nose art are posted in my portfolios.

The practice of painting the noses of military planes actually began in WWI.  After the Great War, new regulations ban the practice.  However, during WWII the regulations mostly ignored and nose artistry flourished.  The nose art made each aircraft unique; helping to unify the flight crews and ground crews of each plane.  Nose art became a matter of great pride to the pilots and crew.  It evoked memories of peacetime life at home and helped relieve the stress of war.  It also boosted the morale of combat flight crews.  Its appeal partially came from nose art not being officially approved, even when the regulations against it were not enforced.

Today, nose art tends to be stenciled to the airframe.  Back in the day however, it was painted onto the airframe by both professional civilian artists and talented amateur artists serving in the squadrons. Some were good; others not so much. Still some servicemen became famous by the quality of their nose art.  At the height of the war, nose art artists were in such high demand, some were paid for their services.

Much of the nose art was based upon Vargas style “fantasy girl” pinup girls for the image as well as the aircraft name.  Aircraft names like Heavenly Body, Yellow Rose, Miss Behavin, Double Exposure and Pacific Princess were based on pinup girl art; just to name a few.  Cartoon characters were also popular; such as Super Wabbit, Ruptured Duck, and Doc.  Some nose art themes tried to intimidate the enemy on planes such as Surprise Attack and Axis Nightmare.  Sometimes hometowns, wives, and girlfriends inspired the nose artists.

B-25 Yellow Rose  The “Yellow Rose” is the name of a vintage B-25J Mitchell WWII bomber which is again flying in American skies. The bomber was restored to its original wartime flying condition by the Commemorative Air Force Central Texas Wing. It now flies regularly as part of the “Ghost Squadron” collection.

B-17 Thunder Bird  This restored B-17 bears the markings of Thunder Bird.  The original Thunderbird was based at Molesworth, England during WWII.  Attached to the 359th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force, it flew 112 bombing missions over Europe.

B-25 Executive Sweet   Built late in the war, Executive Sweet saw stateside service during the remainder of WWII as a crew trainer.  Then, in 1948, it became a VIP transport.  After several years in military service at the School of Aviation Medicine, it was sold as surplus.  It changed hands several times while appearing in films and TV shows.  Eventually, it was sold to a private owner who restored it back to a wartime B-25 J model appearance.  Finally, it made its way to the American Aeronautical Foundation, who operates it today.

B-25 Axis Nightmare   Sometimes, the nose art tried to send a message to the enemy on planes like Axis Nightmare.  Or, perhaps the message was for the flight crews.

B-25 Pacific Princess   This B-25 flying as Pacific Princess has risen to celebrity status.  It was used in the filming of “Catch 22” and as a static prop during the filming of  “1941”.  It took off from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the 50th anniversary commemoration of the end of World War II.  It also took off from carriers USS Lexington and the USS Constellation for filming “Pearl Harbor”.  Perhaps, the nose helped it get those parts.

B-29 “Doc”   During WWII 3,970 B-29 Superfortress bombers were built.  Today, a few Superfortresses have been preserved, restored, and put on static display, but only two B-29s, “FIFI” & “Doc“, are airworthy.  “FiFi” is maintained and operated by the Commemorative Air Force.  “Doc” is maintained and operated by Doc’s Friends.  It was part of an eight plane squadron.  Each plane was named for one of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs . “Doc” required extensive restoration which was done over 15+ years by volunteers in Wichita, Kansas, where it was originally built.  It’s first flight after restoration occurred on 17 Jul 2016.

C-47 Tico Belle   On the 5 Jun 44 just before midnight, this C-47 Skytrain, now named Tico Belle, was boarding soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division for their historic mission.  After flying over the English Channel, at 0407 on 6 Jun 44, flying at 500 feet AGL through heavy flack, she dropped 82nd Airborne soldiers into Normandy near St. Mere-Eglise.  St. Mere-Eglise was one of the first towns in Normandy liberated by the Allies on D-Day.  She flew three daring missions on D-Day and had a distinguished combat record serving in six major campaigns.  After the war, she participated in the Berlin Airlift from 1948-49..  After serving in the Royal Norwegan Air Force and the Royal Danish Air Force, Tico Belle came home to the Valiant Air Command in 1988.  Recently, she flew supplies into the Bahamas after Category 5 hurricane Dorian.

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.

Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category WWII Nose Art.

Click any image below for a slide show.