Nose art is a painting or drawing on the fuselage of an aircraft near the aircraft nose. It usually serves decorative purposes. Nose art is a form of airplane graffiti that is especially common in military aviation.
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, inseparable from work as well as representative of a group. It can also be compared to sophisticated graffiti. In both cases, the artist is often anonymous, and the art itself is ephemeral. In addition, it relies on materials immediately available.
Nose art is largely a military tradition, started for practical reasons to distinguish friend from enemy, the nose art continued to evolve. It had its uses for morality and the expression of pride. She helped to facilitate the uniform anonymity of the military and offered comfort, reminding of life at home or in peacetime. Moreover, it served as a fetish in the fight against the enemy. The Nose art was in their unofficial character, although the service regulations were not enforced strictly or not at all.
Nose art first appeared during the First World War but reached their peak during the Second World War. At that time there were not a few pilots from aristocrats, and such decorations were used as symbols to indicate their personal status, such as medieval and early modern coin, coat of arms, armor, showing their personal status. As representative, there was Manfredo von Richthofen, a Red Baron painted on a crimson Fokker Dr. I on a ride. At that time, nose art based on such a view was seen in airplane of each country regardless of camp.
These paintings were meant to express an individuality that stands out from military rigor. They were not encouraged by the staff but tolerated because they helped to maintain the morale of the troops. The crews spent many days for the best motive performance and appearance for their planes. Finally, pilot could more easily identify an aircraft by his nickname than by its serial number and this affective nature could better pass the difficult moments (stress of the battle or death of a comrade).
Since these paintings are both personal and unofficial, they can also be referred to as folk art. Such works of art may come from personal or collective casual writing. It may also be a complex graffiti. In any case, these creators are often anonymous, but the art itself is short-lived, and the material it uses is readily available.
Civilian airliners operated by the Virgin Group feature “Virgin Girls” on the nose as part of their livery. In a broad sense, the tail art of several airlines such as the Eskimo of Alaska Airlines, can be called “nose art”, as are the tail markings of present-day U.S. Navy squadrons.
Nose art Content
The content of Nose art were varied: from slogans, symbols of patriotism (Yankee Doodle) and fictional heroes (Sam Spade) on luck symbols such as dice and playing cards to caricatures, the inevitable death symbols or the godfather’s death. Caricatures and pinups were the most popular among American artists. Other familiar topics included animals, nicknames, hometowns, and popular song and movie titles.
Source material for American nose art was varied, ranging from pinups such as Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable and cartoon characters such as Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, and Popeye to patriotic characters (Yankee Doodle) and fictional heroes (Sam Spade). Lucky symbols such as dice and playing cards also inspired nose art, along with references to mortality such as the Grim Reaper. 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 imposed contempt to the enemy, especially to enemy leaders.
Luftwaffe German planes have sometimes implemented “Nose Art”, including Mickey Mouse for the Condor Legion sent to Spain in 1936 to support Franco or aircraft of the German ace Adolf Galland.
The most common motive is that of a shark mouth painted in the lower nose of a propeller or jet fighter. This motif was created by German airmen during the First World War.
Most often it is to take advantage of the opening of the front air intake of the cooling system (piston engines) or, in the era of “jet,” of the air intake of the turbojet engine. which evokes a mouth wide open.
The Soviet Air Force also decorated their planes with historical images, mythical beasts, and patriotic slogans.
The attitude of the Finnish Air Force 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.
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force has decorated fighter aircraft with Valkyrie-themed characters under the names Mystic Eagle and Shooting Eagle.
Canadian Forces were reported having nose art on CH-47D Chinook and CH-146 Griffon helicopters in Afghanistan.
History:
Placing personalized decorations on fighting aircraft began with Italian and German pilots. The first recorded piece of nose art was a sea monster painted on an Italian flying boat in 1913. This was followed by the popular practice of painting a mouth beneath the propeller’s spinner, begun by German pilots in World War I. The cavallino rampante (prancing horse) of the Italian ace Francesco Baracca was another well-known image. Nose art of that era was often conceived and produced not by the pilots, but rather by the aircraft ground crews.
Other World War I examples included the “Hat in the Ring” of the American 94th Aero Squadron (attributed to Lt. Johnny Wentworth) and the “Kicking Mule” of the 95th Aero Squadron. This followed the official policy, established by the American Expeditionary Forces’ (AEF) Chief of the Air Service, Brigadier General Benjamin Foulois, on 6 May 1918, requiring the creation of distinct, readily identifiable squadron insignia. What is perhaps the most famous of all nose art, the shark-face insignia made famous by the First American Volunteer Group (AVG, the Flying Tigers), first appeared in World War I on a British Sopwith Dolphin and a German Roland C.II, though often with an effect more comical than menacing. Three decades later, the British pilots spotted it on German planes during World War II. The AVG in China decided to paint shark mouths on their P-40Bs after seeing a color photo in a newspaper of a shark mouth painted on a No. 112 Squadron RAF P-40 fighter in North Africa. The British version itself was inspired by “sharkmouth” nose art (without any eyes) on the Bf 110 heavy fighters of ZG 76.
While World War I nose art was usually embellished or extravagant squadron insignia, true nose art appeared during World War II, which is considered by many observers to be the golden age of the genre, with both Axis and Allied pilots taking part. At the height of the war, nose-artists were in very high demand in the USAAF 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 RAF or RCAF.
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 artist to design and paint the “Cobra in the Clouds” logo on their aircraft. Perhaps the most enduring nose art of World War II was the shark-face motif, which first appeared on the Bf-110s of Luftwaffe 76th Destroyer Wing over Crete, where the twin-engined Messerschmitts outmatched the Gloster Gladiator biplanes of RAF 112 Squadron. The Commonwealth pilots were withdrawn to Egypt and refitted with Curtiss Tomahawks off the same assembly line building fighter aircraft for the AVG Flying Tigers being recruited for service in China. In November 1941, AVG pilots saw a 112 Squadron Tomahawk in an illustrated weekly and immediately adopted the shark-face motif for their own planes. This work was done by the pilots and ground crew in the field. However, the insignia for the “Flying Tigers” – a winged Bengal Tiger jumping through a stylized V for Victory symbol – was developed by graphic artists from the Walt Disney Company.
Similarly, when in 1943 the 39th Fighter Squadron became the first American squadron in their theatre with 100 kills, they adopted the shark-face for their P-38 Lightnings. The shark-face is still used to this day, most commonly seen on the A-10 Thunderbolt II (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.
The largest known work of nose art ever depicted on a WW II-era American combat aircraft was on a B-24J Liberator, tail number 44-40973, which had been named “The Dragon and his Tail” of the USAAF Fifth Air Force 64th Bomb Squadron, 43d Bomb Group, in the Southwest Pacific, flown by a crew led by Joseph Pagoni, with Staff Sergeant Sarkis Bartigan 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. Starcer painted over a hundred pieces of renowned B-17 nose art, including “Memphis Belle”. A commercial artist named Brinkman, from Chicago, was responsible for the zodiac-themed nose art of the B-24 Liberator-equipped 834th Bomb Squadron, based at RAF Sudbury, England.
Contemporary research demonstrates that bomber crews, which 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’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 World War II era nose art was commemorative or intended to honor certain people such as the B-29 Superfortress, “The Ernie Pyle”.
In the Korean War, nose art was popular with units operating A-26 and B-29 bombers, C-119 Flying Boxcar transports, as well as USAF fighter-bombers. 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, 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 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 and has become more common since Operation Enduring Freedom and the Iraq War 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 permitting nose art on its bomber force in the Command’s last years. The continuation of historic names such as “Memphis Belle” was encouraged.