Nose-art photo, of the B-24 Lieberator that crashed in Jegenstorf on May 11, 1944. B-24 H-10-DT, Serial No. 41-28738, Nik Name: Meat around the Corner, 8th Air Force, 458th Bomb Group, 754th Squadron, Mission: Epinal France.
A famous pin-up picture from the Second World War, a petty girl published in the 1941 April issue of Esquire magazine, served as model for the Nose - Art on the “Memphis Belle” (The Beauty of Memphis). Nose Art is a painting or drawing on the fuselage of an aircraft near its nose. It is usually used for decorative purposes. Nose - Art is a form of aircraft graffiti which is particularly common in military aviation.
The custom of applying individually designed decorations to fighter planes can be traced back to Italian and German pilots. The first known Nose Art was a sea monster painted on an Italian seaplane in 1913. The tradition of painting mouths under the propeller cowl, which was popular during the First World War, was introduced by German pilots. Francesco Baracca and the Cavallino are also examples of this. Later, however, it was the ground crew, and no longer the pilots, who invented and created this Nose - Art. Some examples from World War I became famous, including the "Hat in the Ring" of the 94th Aero Squadron of the USAAF (attributed to Lt. Johnny Wentworth) or the "Kicking Mule" of the 95th Aero Squadron. This followed Brigadier General Benjamin Foulois’ (commander of the Air Force of the American Expeditionary Forces) official policy of May 6, 1918, which required that each unit have its own unique, distinct and easily recognizable insignia. Due to economic constraints, Nose – Art was not common in the Army Air Corps during the Great Depression, but during World War II the custom of giving aircraft a name flourished again, some planes merely baptized, others artfully decorated with cartoons and pinups. Common themes were puns and references to popular culture. While Nose - Art during the First World War consisted largely of embellished or extravagant squadron insignias, it was during the Second World War, according to many observers, when the golden age of Nose - Art began, during which Axis Powers pilots as well as those of the Allies, were equally involved. At the height of the war, Nose - Art artists in the Army Air Force were in great demand and well paid. In contrast to the AAF, where Nose - Art was officially tolerated by the crews to raise morale, the U.S. Navy banned it. In neither the RAF nor the RCAF did Nose - Art seem to have been commonplace. Both professional artists and talented military personnel carried out the work. For example, in 1941 an artist from Bell Aircraft Corporation designed and painted an attractive "Cobra in the Clouds" logo for the 39th Pursuit Squadron. In early 1943, the 39th became the first squadron to be shot down 100 times in its war theater. Out of pride and esprit de corps they adopted a shark's mouth as the motif for their P-38 Lightnings. Lack of discipline combined with the burden of war and the high risk of losing one's life resulted in a scope and quality of nose - art that had never been achieved before. As a result of changes in military policy and the changing attitude towards female representations, the scope of Nose - Art has steadily decreased since the Korean War. Since the Second Gulf War, however, Nose - Art has experienced a revival, especially since Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The USAF unofficially approved the return of pinups, albeit only dressed ones. In the same way, Strategic Air Command allowed Nose Art back on its bombers. In addition, the continuation of historical names like “Memphis Belle” is a tradition. Special Operations Squadrons usually dubbed their AC-130 Gunships with names of vengeance deities ("Thor", "Azrael - Angel of Death"). The flying skeleton with minigun logo was the unofficial Gunship badge until after the war in Southeast Asia. The logo used on many aircraft has been subsequently approved. Nose - Art is largely a military tradition, but Virgin Group Airlines’ passenger planes have applied a "Virgin Girl" near the nose of the aircraft as part of their painting. In a broader sense, the painting of vertical stabilizers, such as those of Alaska Airlines or US Navy fighter planes, is also considered Nose Art. Because of its individual, unofficial nature, it is considered representative of folk art, inseparable from the activity of a particular group. It can also be compared with sophisticated graffiti. In both cases the artist is by and large unknown and the art itself is ephemeral. Moreover, it depends on materials that are immediately available. In a few cases the artist was able to be identified. Tony Starcer was the artist at the site of the 91st Bombardment Group, one of the initial six bomber groups of the Eighth Air Force. Starcer painted over 100 well-known pieces of Nose - Art for the B-17, including that of the “Memphis Belle”. A commercial artist named Brinkmann was responsible for the Zodiac theme of the 834th Bombardment Squadron, which was equipped with a B-24 Liberator.
Purpose:
Originally created for practical reasons to distinguish friend from foe, Nose - Art evolved. It was conducive to morale and the expression of pride. It also helped to alleviate the uniform anonymity of the military and offered comfort by reminding people of life at home and in peacetime. Moreover, it served as a fetish in the fight against the enemy. In part, the attraction lay in its unofficial character, although the service regulations were either not strictly enforced or not enforced at all.
Contents:
The templates were varied: from pinups (like Rita Hayworth), symbols of patriotism (Yankee Doodle) and fictional heroes (Sam Spade) to symbols of luck, such as dice and playing cards, to caricatures, the inevitable death symbols, or the Grim Reaper. Caricatures and pinups were the most popular among American artists. Other familiar themes included animals, nicknames, hometowns, and common song and movie titles. Nose – Art was less common in the German Luftwaffe. During the Spanish Civil War, however, a Mickey Mouse adorned a Bf 109 and a pig inside a white circle disguised the landing gear of the Ju-87A dive bombers of the so-called "Jolanthe chain" of the Legion Condor, named after a comedy by August Hinrichs. A Ju 87B-1 (S2+AC) of Staff II/St.G 77 stationed in Breslau-Schongarten, flown by Major Alfons Orthofer during the invasion of Poland in 1939, was painted with a shark's mouth and some Bf 110s were decorated with grim wolf heads or shark mouths on the cowlings. Another example were the Bf 109s by Erich Hartmann, decorated with a tulip pattern.
The air forces of the Soviet Union decorated their planes with historical figures, monsters from the world of legends and patriotic motifs.
The farther aircraft and crews were away from their headquarters or out of the public eye, the more daring the design of the Nose - Art. For example, naked pinups were much more widespread among the aircraft stationed in Oceania than in England.
Famous examples:
First use of the shark mouth (Bf 110 of the ZG 76 1940 in France)
One of the most famous Nose - Art motifs is the Shark’s Mouth, which is used in various air forces to this day. The first use during World War II can be traced back to the destroyer squadron 76 (ZG 76). Later, the 112th (Kittyhawk) squadron of the RAF in North Africa used this motif. Subsequently, the Flying Tigers also used the Shark's Mouth on their P-40s.
One of the most elaborate works was borne by the B-24 "The Dragon and His Tail" of the 22nd Bombardment Group. Here the "Nose Art" extended over the entire length of the right side of the fuselage. The "Bat-Nose-Art" on the B-25 of the 499th Bombardment Squadron also became famous and was nicknamed "Bats outa hell".
Source: wikipedia
Nose-Art Teil-Art
