FReeper Canteen ~ Military Nose Cone Art ~ February 28 2005

StarCMC and Canteen Crew

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

 

 

 

The FReeper Canteen looks at

Nose Cone Art

Nose Cone Art has gone through many changes over the years.  The subject of the artwork range from scenes of "Home Sweet Home" to cartoon favorites to fantasy pictures to every man's favorite...beautiful women.
 

Home Sweet Home

Thousands of aircrews throughout history have declared their roots through their art.  From the Memphis Belle of WWII to Pittsburgh's Finest of the Gulf War, it all comes as much from the heart as it does from the Aircraft Commander's or Wing's hometown.

 

Cartoon Faves

The Duck goes to war.... Painted on the side of a restored, flying P-51D, this nose art captures an era when Walt Disney freely offered his studio's talents to design unit patches and symbols for Americans going to war. Beyond the Vargas pin-ups, Walt Disney's art did more to define the motif of nose art than any other single source.

 

Fantasy

Much of today's nose art is based not on pin-ups but on science fiction and fantasy art. This tradition continues and grows as a new generation of artists paint based on their own influences. After all, it has been a long time since Esquire featured a pin-up as a centerfold. This C-130 is a classic example of the new genre. While popular in the field, there are countless nose art aficionados who prefer the old, somewhat less politically correct look.

 

Babes

The B-17G Shoo Shoo Baby flew 24 combat missions in WW II with the 91st Bomb Group, known as "The Ragged Irregulars". The plane was based at Bassingbourn, England. Its first mission was the bombing of Frankfurt, Germany, on March 24, 1944. The plane ended its combat career after taking battle damage during a mission to Posen, Poland, on May 29, 1944. Today, the plane is at Wright-Patterson AFB in the US Air Force Museum.

Yankee Lady is another restored example of a B-17G. Frequently seen at airshows around the country, it is one of the finest examples of a Flying Fortress still capable of taking to the air. If you've never heard the power of four Pratt & Whitney engines at full tilt, you're missing a real piece of history.

During World War II, pin-ups emerged from the fine airbrushed art of Alberto Vargas, whose images were the most sought-after section of the popular magazine, Esquire. With thousands of airplanes droning off to war, noseart emerged as the aviator's unique calling card. Although the Army Air Force attempted to ban and censor noseart on several occasions, ultimately, the art would remain. Its value in terms of morale was unquestioned. In the end, it emerged as a defining element of the era, gracing everything from the noses of airplanes, to leather jackets, to the walls of barracks huts and O-Clubs across Europe and the Pacific. The finest pin-ups were torn from the pages of Esquire Magazine. Each artwork was published with a poem by Phil Stack. These poems were designed to rhyme and present without much subtlety, again using the double-entendre to effect. One went simply, "I'm learning some commando tricks. / For keeping fit, they're dandy, / And when you men come home again, / They're apt to come in handy!"

Honorable Mention

As Desert Shield wound down and the coalition forces in Southwest Asia prepared for the assault against Saddam's entrenched ground forces in Kuwait, thoughts of home and the holidays again entered the mind of aircrew members across the region. This airplane was painted with a fitting holiday theme, Santa being pulled in his sleigh by his magical flying camels, err... wasn't that supposed to be reindeer?

 

Considered by many to be the finest technical example of nose art from the Gulf War, this beautifully rendered pig carries the motto, "Ol Lightnen" and the plane's tail number 0005. Painted on the side of a KC-135 refueller out of Riyahd, it is one of the classics of the era.

 

So what about you?  Show us your favorite Nose Cone Art
~ as long as it's family friendly. 
If it's a little too racy, just post a link for interested parties.

Click the picture to visit the website that was the source of this
information ~ there's lot's more there to see and read!

 

 

SandRat's links to great Nose Cone Art:

13th Bomb Squadron Nose Art
http://www.13thbombsquadron.org/
Gallery of classic bomber noseart.

Aviation Art by Robert Karr
http://fly.to/KarrArt
Nose art for viewing and for purchasing.

368th Fighter Group Tribute
http://www.368thfightergroup.com/

Bomber Girl
http://www.bombergirl.com/
Aviation nose art and pin-up art.

Aviation Pioneer
http://www.weisskopf.de/
Worlds First Motorized Flight.

Collectors Press Inc.
http://www.collectorspress.com/
Publisher of nose art and pin up books.

Don Henderson's - Bikes, Trains, Planes and Dames
http://members.bellatlantic.net/~machenry/
Nose art and pin-up art.

Jackit Art
http://members.nbci.com/varga46/
Hand painted jackets and patches.

Luc's Photo Hanger
http://www.bayarea.net/~hanger/
Established to promote a portion of W.W.II aviation history in the form of aircraft nose art.

Paradon Collectibles Group
http://www.eparadon.com
Home of really cool warbird nose art wall clocks.

Pictures of Nose Art on Some Bombers from Tinian
http://www.cris.com/~ronniem/WWII/noseart.htm

Rosemary Dery - Hand Painted Leather
http://www.rosemarydery.com
Hand painted leather and WWII squadron patches -- specializing in military aviation nose art.

Thunderbolt Galleries
http://www.thunderboltgallery.com/index.htm
Source for reproduction aviation art including nose art panels, war ads, leather jackets and airbrushed aircraft nose art.

Velasco Enterprises Fighting Colors Collection
http://www.fightingcolors.com/
WWII Nose art panels for sale.
and
http://www.mutoworld.com/Nose-Art.htm
and
http://381st.org/noseart.html
and
http://www.36rcm.com/aircraft/noseart/noseart.htm
and
http://www.npswapa.org/gallery/album35
AND
http://www.nps.gov/wapa/indepth/Park/Cultural/PlansPin.htm
and
http://www.lancastermuseum.ca/noseart.html
and
http://5thbomberbarons.com/html/noseart.html
and
http://www.7thbg.org/NoseArt.htm
 

 

 

[writer33]

My grandmother on my mother's side was Irish, but I'm an American mut.

[westmex]

This is from WWII. Was a place marker at a party...Was also painted on our P-40's..

.....Westy.....

[tomkow6]

It was MINE!

MINE! I tell you!!!!

[Soaring Feather]

Awwwwwwwwwwwww so cute guys, thank you for the flowers.

[tomkow6]

I was FIRST!

FIRST! I tell you!!!!

[writer33]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take your 50. It just happened that way.

It's embarrasing when a grown man cries. :)

[HiJinx]

'Cuz the guys were inside the airplanes!!! Okay, here's one I've been finding in my searches. Major J.T. Robbins named his P-38 Lightning after himself and his fiancee, Ina. I read that in a book about aerial combat in WWII that spanned...well...the World!! The book did not, however, explain the origin of the figure on the nose.

This is JT in front of the fourth Lightning to carry the name Jandina.

[Kathy in Alaska]

[StarCMC]

Not so many female pilots I reckon! LOL!!

[StarCMC]

Cool beans!! Thanks for sharing and welcome to the Canteen!

[Soaring Feather]

Real cool thread Star, thank you!

[tomkow6]

Here's some nose art I found.......

[Kathy in Alaska]

LOL!! Man, I wonder if any of the women who ferried those planes got to put nose art on them? Hmmmm.....

[AZamericonnie]

That's a great example Westy! Made me laugh...

[StarCMC]

Thanks ladies!! The idea originated on a thread last week in a discussion between several folks - SandRat, pelikan, jinxie and maybe others - I can't remember! I just offered to make it a topic... :o)

[HiJinx]

P-40's?

Awesome...the 409th flew Warhawks and Mustangs, it was part of the 372nd Fighter Group and participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers in the summer of '44. From their discussion page (http://www.armyairforces.com/dbgroups.asp?Group=193) you see the commanders of the 409th were:

Commanders
Name Dates
Maj Francis E Brenner 28 Oct 1943
Maj Darrell G Welch 21 Dec 1943
Maj Joseph S Wakefield 4 Feb 1944
Maj John R Harrison 16 Feb 1944
Lt Col Sam W Westbrook 3 Mar 1944
Lt Col Robert W Stephens 17 Mar 1945
Lt Col Jack J Oberhansly 30 May 1945
Col George R Bickell 6 Aug-7 Nov 1945

[GummyIII]

Thanks, HiJinx...I think...lol.

[StarCMC]

Hey Jinxie and SR, Sarge was asking me to look for the nose art featuring the following image, but I couldn't find it anywhere. It's called "The Death Dealer." Any thoughts??

[HiJinx]

I wonder if any of the women who ferried those planes got to put nose art on them? Hmmmm.....

I wondered the same thing, and almost went looking, but they were only ferrying the planes. The art went on in theater...

[GummyIII]

I bet if they were wearing a short skirt and......well, anyway, I bet IF they had, they'd have been allowed up there to paint. HA!