Nose art is a decorative

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

or design on the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

of an

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

, 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. Because of its individual and unofficial nature, it is considered

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...

, inseparable from work as well as representative of a group. It can also be compared to sophisticated

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

. In both cases, the artist is often anonymous, and the art itself is

ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...

. In addition, it relies on materials immediately available. Nose art is largely a military tradition, but civilian airliners operated by the

Virgin Group Virgin Group Ltd. is a British multinational venture capital conglomerate founded by Richard Branson and Nik Powell in February 1970. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by the Companies House, who class it as a holding c ...

feature "Virgin Girls" on the nose as part of their

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

. In a broad sense, the tail art of several airlines such as the

Eskimo Eskimo () is an exonym used to refer to two closely related Indigenous peoples: the Inuit (including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Greenlandic Inuit, and the Canadian Inuit) and the Yupik peoples, Yupik (or Siberian Yupik, Yuit) of eastern Si ...

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest airline in North America when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and the numb ...

can be called "nose art", as are the tail markings of present-day

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

squadrons. There were exceptions, including the

VIII Bomber Command 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

, 301st Bomb Group B-17F "Whizzer", which had its girl-riding-a-bomb on the dorsal fin.

History

Placing personalized decorations on fighting aircraft began with

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

pilots. The first recorded example was a sea monster painted on an Italian

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

in 1913. This was followed by the popular practice of painting a mouth beneath the

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

spinner Technology *Spinner (aeronautics), the aerodynamic cone at the hub of an aircraft propeller * Spinner (cell culture), laboratory equipment for cultivating plant or mammalian cells * Spinner (computing), a graphical widget in a GUI * Spinner (MIT Med ...

begun by German pilots in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. What is perhaps the most famous of all nose art, the shark-face insignia later made famous by the First American Volunteer Group (AVG)

Flying Tigers The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States Ar ...

, first appeared in World War I on a British

Sopwith Dolphin The Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin was a British fighter aircraft manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was used by the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force, during the World War I, First World War. The Dolphin entered se ...

and a German Roland C.II, though often with an effect more comical than menacing. The ("prancing horse") of the Italian

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

Francesco Baracca Count Francesco Baracca (9 May 1888 – 19 June 1918) was Italy's top fighter ace of World War I. He was credited with 34 aerial victories. The emblem he wore side by side on his plane of a black horse prancing on its two rear hooves in ...

was another well-known image.

World War I

World War I nose art was usually embellished or extravagant

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

insignia. This followed the official policy established by the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

' Chief of the Air Service,

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Benjamin Foulois Benjamin Delahauf Foulois (December 9, 1879 – April 25, 1967) was a United States Army general who learned to fly the first military planes purchased from the Wright brothers. He became the first military aviator as an airship pilot, and achi ...

, on 6 May 1918, requiring the creation of distinct, readily identifiable squadron insignia. World War I examples include the "Hat in the Ring" of the American

94th Aero Squadron The 94th Aero Squadron was the United States Army Air Service designation for the current 94th Fighter Squadron that fought on the Western Front during World War I.. The squadron was assigned as a Day Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron as part of th ...

(attributed to Lt. Johnny Wentworth) and the "Kicking Mule" of the 95th Aero Squadron. Nose art of that era was often conceived and produced not by the pilots, but rather by ground crews. File:FBaracca 1.jpg, Count

and his

SPAD S.VII The SPAD S.VII was the first of a series of highly successful biplane fighter aircraft produced by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) during the First World War. Like its successors, the S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and r ...

, with the that inspired the

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

emblem File:94th Aero Squadron - Capt Edward V Rickenbacker.jpg,

Eddie Rickenbacker Edward Vernon Rickenbacker or Eddie Rickenbacker (October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient.

World War II

True nose art appeared during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, which is considered by many observers to be the

golden age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

of the genre, with both

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

and

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

pilots taking part. At the height of the war, nose artists were in very high demand in the

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

and were paid quite well for their services, while AAF commanders tolerated nose art in an effort to boost aircrew morale. The U.S. Navy, by contrast, prohibited nose art, the most extravagant being limited to a few simply-lettered names, while nose art was uncommon in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

. The work was done by professional civilian artists as well as talented amateur servicemen. In 1941, for instance, the 39th Pursuit Squadron commissioned a

Bell Aircraft The Bell Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer, a builder of several types of fighter aircraft for World War II but most famous for the Bell X-1, the first supersonic aircraft, and for the development and production of many ...

artist to design and paint the " Cobra in the Clouds"

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

on their aircraft. Perhaps the most enduring nose art of World War II was the shark-face motif, which first appeared on the

Messerschmitt Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engine (Des ...

s of

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

("76th Destroyer Wing") over

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

, where the twin-engined Messerschmitts outmatched the

Gloster Gladiator The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. Developed private ...

biplanes of No. 112 Squadron RAF. The Commonwealth pilots were withdrawn to Egypt and refitted with Curtiss Tomahawks (P-40) off the same assembly line building fighter aircraft for the American Volunteer Group (AVG)

being recruited for service in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. In November 1941, AVG pilots saw a color photo in a newspaper of a shark mouth painted on a 112 Squadron P-40 fighter in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and immediately adopted the shark-face motif for their own P-40Bs. The British version itself was inspired by "sharkmouth" nose art (without any eyes) on the Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters of . This work was done by the pilots and ground crew in the field. However, the insignia for the "Flying Tigers" – a winged

Bengal Tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...

jumping through a stylized

V for Victory ''V for Victory'', or ''V4V'' for short, is a series of turn-based strategy games set during World War II. They were the first releases for Atomic Games who went on to have a long career in the wargame industry. Like earlier computer adaptions ...

symbol – was developed by graphic artists from the

Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

.Eisel, Braxton
''The Flying Tigers: Chennault's American Volunteer Group in China''
Washington, DC: Air Force History and Museums Program, 2009. Similarly, when in 1943 the 39th Fighter Squadron became the first American

in their

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

with 100 kills, they adopted the shark-face for their

Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...

s. The shark-face is still used to this day, most commonly seen on the

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republ ...

(with its gaping maw leading up to the muzzle of the aircraft's GAU-8 Avenger 30mm cannon), especially those of the 23d Fighter Group, the AVG's descendent unit, and a testament to its popularity as a form of nose art. B-24 The Dragon And His Tail

The largest known work of nose art ever depicted on a World War II-era American combat aircraft was on a

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

, tail number ''44-40973'', which had been named "The Dragon and his Tail" of the USAAF

Fifth Air Force The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organiza ...

64th Bomb Squadron, 43d Bomb Group, in the

Southwest Pacific The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east ...

, flown by a crew led by Joseph Pagoni, with Staff Sergeant Sarkis Bartigian as the artist. The dragon artwork ran from the nose just forward of the cockpit, down the entire length of the fuselage's sides, with the dragon's body depicted directly below and just aft of the cockpit, with the dragon holding a nude woman in its forefeet. Tony Starcer was the resident artist for the 91st Bomb Group (Heavy), one of the initial six groups fielded by the

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...

. Starcer painted over a hundred pieces of renowned B-17 nose art, including "Memphis Belle". A commercial artist named Brinkman, from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

was responsible for the

zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...

-themed nose art of the

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

-equipped 834th Bomb Squadron, based at

RAF Sudbury Royal Air Force station Sudbury or more simply RAF Sudbury is a former Royal Air Force station located north-east of Sudbury, Suffolk, England. History USAAF use RAF Sudbury was opened in 1944 and was built to the standard Class A heavy bom ...

, England.Valant, Gary M. Classic Vintage Nose Art. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Lowe and B. Hould, 1997, pp. 13–15. 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. It was also believed by the flight crews that the nose art was bringing luck to the planes. The artistic work of

Alberto Vargas Joaquin Alberto Vargas y Chávez (9 February 1896 – 30 December 1982) was a Peruvian-American painter of pin-up girls. He is often considered one of the most famous of the pin-up artists. Numerous Vargas paintings have sold and continue to se ...

and

George Petty George Brown Petty IV (April 27, 1894 – July 21, 1975) was an American pin-up artist. His pin-up art appeared primarily in ''Esquire'' and Fawcett Publications's ''True'' but was also in calendars marketed by ''Esquire'', ''True'' and Ridgid T ...

'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 Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

"The

Ernie Pyle Ernest Taylor Pyle (August 3, 1900 – April 18, 1945) was a Pulitzer Prize–winning American journalist and war correspondent who is best known for his stories about ordinary American soldiers during World War II. Pyle is also notable for the ...

Post-World War II

KC-135E Stratotanker with patriotic nose art-1447cropped

In the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, nose art was popular with units operating A-26 Invader and B-29 bombers,

C-119 Flying Boxcar The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechani ...

transports, as well as USAF

fighter-bombers A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, ...

.Thompson, Warren E. Heavy Hauler. ''Wings of Fame, The Journal of Classic Combat Aircraft'', Volume 20. London: Aerospace Publishing Ltd., 2000, p. 107. Due to changes in military policies and changing attitudes toward the representation of women, the amount of nose art declined after the Korean War. During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, Lockheed AC-130 gunships of the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Squadrons were often given names with accompanying nose art – for example, "Thor", "Azrael – Angel of Death", "Ghost Rider", "War Lord" and "The Arbitrator." The unofficial gunship badge of a flying skeleton with a

Minigun The M134 Minigun is an American 7.62×51mm NATO six-barrel rotary machine gun with a high rate of fire (2,000 to 6,000 rounds per minute). It features a Gatling-style rotating barrel assembly with an external power source, normally an electric ...

was also applied to many aircraft until the end of the war and was later adopted officially. Nose art underwent a revival during the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

and has become more common since

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

and the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

began. Many 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 Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

permitting nose art on its bomber force in the Command's last years. The continuation of historic names such as " Memphis Belle" was encouraged.

Regional variation

Source material for American nose art was varied, ranging from pinups such as

Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...

and

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...

and

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

characters such as

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' ...

, and

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Yankee Doodle "Yankee Doodle" is a traditional song and nursery rhyme, the early versions of which predate the Seven Years' War and American Revolution. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today. It is the state anthem of Connecticut. Its ...

) and fictional heroes ( Sam Spade). Lucky symbols such as

dice Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing g ...

and

playing cards A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a fi ...

also inspired nose art, along with references to mortality such as the

Grim Reaper Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...

. Cartoons and pinups were most popular among American artists, but other works included animals, nicknames, hometowns, and popular song and movie titles. Some nose art and slogans expressed contempt of the enemy, especially of their leaders. The farther the planes and crew were from headquarters or from the public eye, the racier the art tended to be. For instance, nudity was more common in nose art on aircraft in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

than on aircraft in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-382-0211-011, Flugzeug Messerschmitt Me 110

''Luftwaffe'' aircraft did not often display nose art, but there were exceptions. For example,

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

adorned a

Condor Legion The Condor Legion (german: Legion Condor) was a unit composed of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany, which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Legio ...

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

during the Spanish Civil War and one Ju 87A was decorated with a large pig inside a white circle during the same period. Adolf Galland's Bf-109E-3 of

JG 26 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 26 (JG 26) ''Schlageter'' was a German fighter-wing of World War II. It was named after Albert Leo Schlageter, a World War I veteran, Freikorps member, and posthumous Nazi martyr, arrested and executed by the French for ...

also had a depiction of Mickey Mouse, holding a contemporary telephone in his hands, in mid-1941. A Ju 87B-1 (''Geschwaderkennung'' of S2+AC) of Stab II/St. G 77, piloted by Major Alfons Orthofer and based in Breslau-Schöngarten during the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

, was painted with a shark's mouth, and some Bf 110s were decorated with furious wolf's heads, stylistic

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

s (as with

SKG 210 ''Schnellkampfgeschwader'' 210 (SKG 210) was a Luftwaffe fast-bomber wing during the Second World War. The unit was created in April 1941 and absorbed by the Zerstörergeschwader 1 on 4 January 1942. Operational history SKG 210 had its origin ...

and

ZG 1 ZG, Zg, or zg may refer to: Arts and entertainment: * Z-G, a collectible action figure game * ZOEgirl, a pop rock band *Zubeen Garg, Indian singer and actor, known as ZG. Places: * Aspen and Pitkin County, Colorado (former vehicle plate code ZG) * ...

), or as in the case of

ZG 76 ZG, Zg, or zg may refer to: Arts and entertainment: * Z-G, a collectible action figure game * ZOEgirl, a pop rock band * Zubeen Garg, Indian singer and actor, known as ZG. Places: * Aspen and Pitkin County, Colorado (former vehicle plate code ZG) ...

, the shark mouths that inspired both the RAF's 112 Squadron and in turn the Flying Tigers in China, on their noses or engine covers. Another example was

Erich Hartmann Erich Alfred Hartmann (19 April 1922 – 20 September 1993) was a German fighter pilot during World War II and the most successful flying ace, fighter ace in the history of aerial warfare. He flew 1,404 combat missions and participated in ...

's Bf-109G-14, "Lumpi", with an eagle's head. The fighter wing '' Jagdgeschwader 54'' was known as the ''Grünherz'' (Green Hearts) after their fuselage emblem, a large green heart. The Geschwader was originally formed in

Thüringen Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

, nicknamed "the green heart of Germany". Perhaps the flashiest Luftwaffe nose art was the red and white

viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...

snake insignia running through the whole fuselage of certain

Junkers Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from ''Sturzkampfflugzeug'', "dive bomber") was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Con ...

''Stuka'' dive bombers that served with the II ''Gruppe'', and especially the 6. ''Staffel'' of ''

Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 ''Sturzkampfgeschwader'' 2 (StG 2) ''Immelmann'' was a Luftwaffe dive bomber- wing of World War II. It was named after the World War I aviator Max Immelmann. It served until its dissolution in October 1943. The wing operated the Junkers ...

'' in North Africa campaign, the only known artwork on an Axis-flown combat aircraft that could have rivaled the length of that on "The Dragon and his Tail" B-24. The

Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

decorated their planes with historical images, mythical beasts, and patriotic

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political slogan, political, Advertising slogan, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the publi ...

s. The attitude of the

Finnish Air Force The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; fi, Ilmavoimat, , Air forces; sv, Flygvapnet, , Air weapon) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of Finnis ...

to the nose art varied by unit. Some units disallowed nose art, while others tolerated it. Generally, the Finnish airforce nose art was humorous or satirical, such as the "horned Stalin" on Maj. Maunula's Curtiss P-36 fighter. The

Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also informally referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the air and space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and electronic warfa ...

has decorated fighter aircraft with

Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...

-themed characters under the names ''Mystic Eagle'' and ''Shooting Eagle''. Beginning in 2011, the

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

has AH-1S Cobra anti-tank helicopters and

Kawasaki OH-1 The Kawasaki OH-1 (nickname: "Ninja") is a military scout/observation helicopter developed and manufactured by the Kawasaki Aerospace Company. The primary operator is the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), who originally procured the OH-1 ...

observation helicopter named ''Ita-Cobra'' and ''Ita-Omega'' respectively, decorated in the theme of 4

Kisarazu is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 136,023 in 63,431 households and a population density of 980 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kisarazu is located in the midwest ...

(木更津) sisters (Akane (木更津茜), Aoi (木更津葵), Wakana (木更津若菜), Yuzu (木更津柚子)). The Aoi-chan first appeared in 2011, followed by the other three sisters in 2012.

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

were reported having nose art on

CH-47D Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, Ch ...

and

CH-146 Griffon The Bell CH-146 Griffon is a multi-role utility helicopter designed by Bell Helicopter Textron as a variant of the Bell 412EP for the Canadian Armed Forces. The CH-146 is used in a wide variety of roles, including aerial firepower, reconnaissa ...

helicopters in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Famous examples

Pierre Clostermann Pierre Henri Clostermann (28 February 1921 – 22 March 2006) was a World War II French fighter pilot. During the conflict he achieved 33 air-to-air combat victories, earning the accolade "France's First Fighter" from General Charles de ...

Hawker Tempest The Hawker Tempest is a British fighter aircraft that was primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest, originally known as the ''Typhoon II'', was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, intended to ...

''Le Grand Charles'' featured the

Cross of Lorraine The Cross of Lorraine (french: Croix de Lorraine, link=no), known as the Cross of Anjou in the 16th century, is a heraldic two-barred cross, consisting of a vertical line crossed by two shorter horizontal bars. In most renditions, the horizont ...

. *

Brendan Finucane Wing Commander Brendan Eamonn Fergus Finucane, (16 October 1920 – 15 July 1942), known as Paddy Finucane amongst his colleagues, was an Irish Second World War Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilot and flying ace—defined as an aviator c ...

's Spitfires wore a

shamrock A shamrock is a young sprig, used as a symbol of Ireland. Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, is said to have used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity. The name ''shamrock'' comes from Irish (), which is the diminutive of ...

with a "B" within it. Ireland's top ace in World War Two who also was the youngest

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

in Royal Air Force history. * Adolf Galland was famous for painting

on his aircraft, and the mascot was adopted by his ''Gruppe'' during the early airwar phase of

. * Don Gentile's

North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team ...

named "Shangri-La", with an eagle sporting boxing gloves. *

Ian Gleed Wing Commander Ian Richard Gleed (3 July 1916 – 16 April 1943), nicknamed "Widge," was a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot and flying ace credited with the destruction of 13 enemy aircraft during the Second World War. He served in the Battle of Fra ...

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

s and

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

featured Figaro the Cat, from the 1940 Disney animated movie ''

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

''. *

's Bf 109s featured a distinctive "black tulip" design on the very front of the

cowling A cowling is the removable covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, and on outboard boat motors. On airplanes, cowlings are used to reduce drag and to cool the engine. On boats, cowlings are a cove ...

, immediately behind the spinner. * Johnny Johnson's

Mk.IX featured the Canadian

maple leaf The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada. History of use in Canada By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by the French Canadians along the ...

. * 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 Robert Bernard Considine (November 4, 1906 – September 25, 1975), was an American journalist, author, and commentator. He is best known as the co-author of ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' and ''The Babe Ruth Story''. Biography As a student, ...

) famously wrote about the 1942

Doolittle Raid The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid, was an air raid on 18 April 1942 by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on Honshu during World War II. It was the first American air operation to strike the Japan ...

in ''

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' is a 1944 American war film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo is based on the 1943 book of the same name by Captain Ted W. Lawson. Lawson was a pilot on the historic Doolittle Raid, ...

'', piloted a

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in e ...

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 A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...

of an angry

figure with crutches and wearing a pilot's headphones. *

James MacLachlan James Archibald Findlay MacLachlan (1 April 1919 – 31 July 1943) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilot and flying ace of the Second World War. MacLachlan was credited with 16 German and Italian aircraft shot down in approximately 250 mis ...

, who flew with an artificial arm, had his Hawker Hurricane adorned with a picture of his amputated arm giving a

V sign The ''V sign'' is a hand gesture in which the index and middle fingers are raised and parted to make a V shape while the other fingers are clenched. It has various meanings, depending on the circumstances and how it is presented. When displa ...

Werner Mölders Werner Mölders (18 March 1913 – 22 November 1941) was a World War II German Luftwaffe pilot, wing commander, and the leading German fighter ace in the Spanish Civil War. He became the first pilot in aviation history to shoot down 100 ...

flew a yellow-nosed Messerschmitt Bf 109F-2 while with

JG 51 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 (JG 51) was a German fighter wing during World War II. JG 51's pilots won more awards than any other fighter wing of the Luftwaffe, and operated in all major theatres of war. Its members included Anton Hafner, Heinz Bär ...

during June 1941. *

Chuck Yeager Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager ( , February 13, 1923December 7, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot who in October 1947 became the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the ...

'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 Typhoon The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...

s).

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. File:At a Coastal Forces Base, HMS Hornet, Gosport, 4 June 1944. A23969.jpg, Royal Navy Motor Torpedo Boats decorated with shark mouths, June 1944 File:The Royal Navy during the Second World War A28252.jpg, A captured German '' Biber''

midget submarine A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, ...

with a shark-mouth design File:USS TORSK (submarine) taken from walking bridge.JPG, , a World War II submarine, now one of the

Historic Ships in Baltimore Historic Ships in Baltimore, created as a result of the merger of the USS Constellation Museum and the Baltimore Maritime Museum, is a maritime museum located in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. The museum's collecti ...

Regulation

In 1993 the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command ordered that all nose art should be gender-neutral. 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.

References

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. . (pp. 400–405 discuss pin-up girl and nose art.) * *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 Monthan A.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. . *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 . *Schellinger, Andretta F. ''From Knights to Skulls: The Cultural Evolution of Nose Artwork''. The Dalles, OR: Schellinger Research Publishing, 2013. . *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. . *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. * *

External links

Don Allen's ArtUSAAF Nose Art Research ProjectNose art history and replica panelsNose art gallery
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422103118/http://www.noseart.ch/gallery_noseart/index.php , date=2016-04-22
Nose art of World War II airplanes

nose art
at the International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive. Military art Visual arts genres Aircraft markings Aviation art Decorated vehicles