Nose art
Nose art is a decorative painting or design on the fuselage of an aircraft, usually on the front fuselage.
While begun for practical reasons of identifying friendly units, the practice evolved to express the individuality often constrained by the uniformity of the military, to evoke memories of home and peacetime life, and as a kind of psychological protection against the stresses of war and the probability of death. The appeal, in part, came from nose art not being officially approved, even when the regulations against it were not enforced.[2][3]
Because of its individual and unofficial nature, it is considered
Nose art is largely a military tradition, but civilian airliners operated by the
History
Placing personalized decorations on fighting aircraft began with
World War I
World War I nose art was usually embellished or extravagant
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Eddie Rickenbacker with SPAD XIII (note the "Hat in the Ring" 94th Aero Squadron insignia), France, 1918
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Spad XIII pursuit aircraft of the 95th Aero Squadron with the "Kicking Mule" insignia, France, 1918
World War II
True nose art appeared during
Perhaps the most enduring nose art of World War II was the shark-face
Similarly, when in 1943 the
The largest known work of nose art ever depicted on a World War II-era American combat aircraft was on a
Contemporary research demonstrates that bomber crews, who suffered high casualty rates during World War II, often developed strong bonds with the planes they were flying, and affectionately decorated them with nose art.[17][18] It was also believed by the flight crews that the nose art was bringing luck to the planes.[19]
The artistic work of Alberto Vargas and George Petty's pin-up girls from Esquire Magazine were often duplicated, or adapted, by air force crews and painted on the nose of American and allied aircraft during World War II.
Some nose art was commemorative or intended to honor certain people, such as the Boeing B-29 Superfortress "The Ernie Pyle".[20]
Post-World War II
In the
During the
Nose art underwent a revival during the Gulf War and has become more common since Operation Enduring Freedom and the Iraq War began. A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft ladder doors are frequently painted while many fixed and rotary air crews are merging artwork as part of camouflage patterns. The United States Air Force had unofficially sanctioned the return of the pin-up (albeit fully clothed) with the Strategic Air Command permitting nose art on its bomber force in the Command's last years. The continuation of historic names such as "Memphis Belle" was encouraged.
In many other cases at airfields throughout the Middle East during the War on terror, aviation units instead painted the reinforced concrete T-walls and Bremer barriers that protected the aircrews and aircraft with elaborate murals and graffiti.
Regional variation
Source material for American nose art was varied, ranging from
The farther the planes and crew were from headquarters or from the public eye, the racier the art tended to be.
Luftwaffe aircraft did not often display nose art, but there were exceptions.
The Soviet Air Forces decorated their planes with historical images, mythical beasts, and patriotic slogans.
The attitude of the
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force has decorated fighter aircraft with Valkyrie-themed characters under the names Mystic Eagle and Shooting Eagle.[26]
Beginning in 2011, the
Famous examples
- Pierre Clostermann's Hawker Tempest Le Grand Charles featured the Cross of Lorraine.
- Brendan Finucane's Spitfires wore a shamrock with a "B" within it. Ireland's top ace in World War Two also was the youngest wing commanderin Royal Air Force history.
- Adolf Galland was famous for painting Mickey Mouse on his aircraft, and the mascot was adopted by his Gruppe during the early airwar phase of World War II.
- Don Gentile's North American P-51 Mustangnamed "Shangri-La", with an eagle sporting boxing gloves.
- Ian Gleed's Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfire featured Figaro the Cat, from the 1940 Disney animated movie Pinocchio.
- Erich Hartmann's Bf 109s featured a distinctive "black tulip" design on the very front of the cowling, immediately behind the spinner.
- Johnny Johnson's Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX featured the Canadian maple leaf.
- John D. Landers' P-51D, which sported a distinctive black-and-white checkerboard with red trim.
- Ted W. Lawson, who (along with journalist Bob Considine) famously wrote about the 1942 Doolittle Raid in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, piloted a North American B-25 Mitchell bomber nicknamed The Ruptured Duck, after a minor training accident in which the aircraft tail scraped the ground during takeoff; this was decorated by a caricature of an angry Donald Duck figure with crutches and wearing a pilot's headphones.
- James MacLachlan, who flew with an artificial arm, had his Hawker Hurricane adorned with a picture of his amputated arm giving a V sign
- JG 51during June 1941.
- Chuck Yeager's series of aircraft named "Glamorous Glennis", with bright letter art.
The markings of aces were often adopted by their squadrons, such as Galland's Mickey Mouse and Hartmann's black tulip (still in use until recently on the aircraft of JG 71 "Richthofen" – not known to be in use on the unit's new Eurofighter Typhoons).
Similar art
Designs similar to aviation nose art could be found during World War II on some British torpedo boats, and German and US submarines. Similar designs can also be found on some HIMARS-equipped FMTVs in the service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the Russian invasion.
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Royal NavyMotor Torpedo Boatsdecorated with shark mouths, June 1944
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A captured German Biber midget submarine with a shark-mouth design
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USS Torsk, a World War II submarine, now one of the Historic Ships in Baltimore
Regulation
In 1993 the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command ordered that all nose art should be gender-neutral.[31]
A 2015 US Air Force memorandum stated that nose art must be "distinctive, symbolic, gender neutral, intended to enhance unit pride, designed in good taste." Furthermore, it must not contravene copyright and trademark laws.[32]
See also
- Aircraft livery
- Victory marking, a similar practice often applied on the aircraft's nose
References
- ^ "Flying high for 34 years – 10 facts about our flying lady nose art | Stories | Virgin Atlantic". flywith.virginatlantic.com. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ^ a b c d e "Military Aircraft Nose Art". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ^ Ethell, Jeffrey L. (1991). The History of Aircraft Nose Art: World War I to Today. Osceola, Wisconsin: Motorbooks International, p. 14.
- ISBN 0-913194-04-2, p. 219.
- ^ Ward, Richard. Sharkmouth, 1916–1945. New York: Arco, 1979.
- ^ a b "Air Force Historical Research Agency". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ^ "Nose Art – The Most Unique Art by Pilots During WWII". DailyArt Magazine. 2022-02-08. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
- ^ a b "Military Flying, CHOCKIE 39th History". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ^ Rossi, Dick (1980s). "A Flying Tigers Story". The Flying Tigers – American Volunteer Group – Chinese Air Force.
- ^ Ford, Daniel. Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and His American Volunteers, 1941–1942. Washington, DC: Harper Collins–Smithsonian Books, 2007, pp. 82–83.
- ^ Eisel, Braxton. The Flying Tigers: Chennault's American Volunteer Group in China. Washington, DC: Air Force History and Museums Program, 2009.
- ^ "From the 64th Squadron Briefing Room". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ^ "From the 64th Squadron Briefing Room". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ^ "Tony Starcer – Nose Artist – 91st BG". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ^ Mark Bowden. "USAAF Nose Art Research Project – Named planes of the USAAF during WWII". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ^ Valant, Gary M. Classic Vintage Nose Art. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Lowe and B. Hould, 1997, pp. 13–15.
- ^ Pfau, Ann Elizabeth. Miss Yourlovin: GIs, Gender and Domesticity During World War II. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. Available at Gutenberg-e, a program of the American Historical Association and Columbia University Press: [1]
- ^ Banker, Franklin (June 11, 1944). "U.S. bombers stripped of captivating nudes". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. p. 7.
- ^ Polmar, Norman, and Thomas B. Allen. World War II: The Encyclopedia of the War Years, 1941–1945. New York: Random House, 1996, p. 595.
- ^ Superfort "Ernie Pyle", Gift of Plane Plane Workers, Here En Route to Japan PDF Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Thompson, Warren E. Heavy Hauler. Wings of Fame, The Journal of Classic Combat Aircraft, Volume 20. London: Aerospace Publishing Ltd., 2000, p. 107.
- ^ Olausson, Lars. Lockheed Hercules Production List – 1954–2011, 27th ed. Såtenäs, Sweden, 2009. (Self-published.)
- OCLC 1002121376.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ Cohan, Phil. "Risque Business." Air and Space, 5 (Apr.–May 1990), p. 65.
- ^ Ketley, Barry. Luftwaffe emblems. Manchester: Flight Recorder Publications, 2012.
- ^ "Noseart – Works". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ^ "The Four Sisters of the Fourth Anti-Tank Helicopter Squad are Celebrated One Last Time!". 14 June 2013.
- ^ "The Japanese Military Is Getting Offensively Cute". 13 April 2015.
- ^ "Japan's Armed Forces Show Their Playful Side: Moé-Style Attack Helicopter Wows Crowds". 19 October 2012.
- ^ "Canadian chopper crews revive nose-art tradition in Afghanistan". Asian Defence. 7 April 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ^ Military Airplanes Get New Gender-neutral Look, Steve Fide, Deseret News, July 19, 1993.
- ^ "Aircraft Nose Art Makes Quiet Comeback, Reviving Air Force Tradition". Military.com. 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
Bibliography
- Bloomfield, Gary L., Stacie L. Shain, & Arlen C. Davidson. Duty, honor, applause : America's entertainers in World War II. Guilford, CN: Lyon's Press, 2004. ISBN 1-59228-550-3. (pp. 400–405 discuss pin-up girl and nose art.)
- Bredau, Robert (1989). The Meaning of Nose Art: An Anthropological Perspective (Thesis). California State University.
- Campbell, John M. & Campbell, Donna. War paint : fighter nose art from WWII & Korea. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks International, 1990.
- Chinnery, Philip. 50 years of the desert boneyard : Davis MonthanA.F.B., Arizona. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks, International, 1995.
- Cohan, Phil. "Risque Business." Air and Space 5 (Apr.–May 1990): 62–71.
- Davis, Larry. Planes, Names and Dames: 1940–1945. Vol. 1. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1990.
- Davis, Larry. Planes, Names and Dames: 1946–1960. Vol. 2. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1990.
- Davis, Larry. Planes, Names and Dames: 1955–1975. Vol. 3. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1990.
- Dorr, Robert F. Fighting Colors: Glory Days of U.S. Aircraft Markings. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks International, 1990.
- Ethell, Jeffrey L. The History of Aircraft Nose Art: World War I to Today. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks International, 1991.
- Ford, Daniel. Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and His American Volunteers, 1941–1942. Washington, DC: HarperCollins–Smithsonian Books, 2007. ISBN 0-06-124655-7.
- Fugere, Jerry. Desert Storm B-52 Nose Art. Tucson, AZ: J. Fugere, 1999.
- Ketley, Barry. Luftwaffe emblems. Manchester: Flight Recorder Publications, 2012.
- Logan, Ian. Classy Chassy. New York: W. W. Visual Library, 1977.
- March, Peter R. Desert Warpaint. London: Osprey Aerospace, 1992.
- McDowell, Ernest R. The P-40 Kittyhawk at War. New York: Arco Publishing, 1968.
- O'Leary, Michael D. "Disney Goes to War!" Air Classics 32, no. 5 (1996): 40–42, 45–51.
- Schellinger, Andretta F. "Aircraft Nose Art: American, French, and British Imagery and its influence from World War I through the Vietnam War", Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2015 ISBN 9780786497713.
- Schellinger, Andretta F. From Knights to Skulls: The Cultural Evolution of Nose Artwork. The Dalles, OR: Schellinger Research Publishing, 2013. ISBN 978-1493606375.
- Tullis, Thomas A. Tigers over China : camouflage, markings, and squadron insignia of the American Volunteer Group's aircraft in China, 1941–42. Hamilton, MT: Eagle Editions, 2001.
- Valant, Gary M. Classic Vintage Nose Art. Ann Arbor, MI: Lowe and B. Hould (an imprint of Borders, Inc.), 1997. ISBN 0-681-22744-3.
- Velasco, Gary. Fighting Colors: The Creation of Military Aircraft Nose Art. Turner Publishing, 2004.
- Walker, Randy. Painted Ladies. West Chester, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 1992.
- Walker, Randy. More painted ladies : modern military aircraft nose-art & unusual markings. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 1994.
- Ward, Richard. Sharkmouth, 1916–1945. New York: Arco, 1979.
- Wayland, Kent (2014). ""It's Not an Airplane, It's My Baby": Using a Gender Metaphor to Make Sense of Old Warplanes in North America". In Lipset, David; Handler, Richard (eds.). Vehicles: Cars, Canoes, and Other Metaphors of Moral Imagination (First Paperback ed.). New York: Berghahn Books. pp. 69–87. ISBN 9781782383765. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- Wesemann, Terri (2019). Metal Storytellers: Reflections of War Culture in Silverplate B-29 Nose Art from the 509th Composite Group (Thesis). Utah State University. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
External links
- Don Allen's Art[dead link]
- USAAF Nose Art Research Project
- Nose art history and replica panels
- Nose art gallery Archived 2016-04-22 at the Wayback Machine
- Nose art of World War II airplanes.
- nose art at the International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive.