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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
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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. |
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Fantasy
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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. |
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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. |
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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!" |
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Honorable Mention
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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. |
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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.
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