A Rudimentary Artwork Known As Warpaint

The application of artwork to military aircraft began with the First World War. It would subsequently appear in every war up to and including the Gulf War of 1990-1991 and the more recent NATO air campaign above eastern Europe. Man began decorating his instruments of war long before history was recorded. In school we learnt about battles with painted chariots, Roman standards. Viking longships, the Aztecs and Mayas, the woad-covered ancient Britons, the North American Indians, who would decorate themselves, their homes and their horses with a rudimentary artwork known as 'warpaint' and, later, the medieval armoured knights. Man next gave names to the machines that he created to give them a power and an identity with which to bring a specific image to mind. Our history books are full of the names of ships that bring a famous or infamous event or person to mind, names such as Mayflower, Victory, Titanic, Bismarck, Hood, Arizona or Missouri. Had these been just numbers, then the images would be neither as evocative or as memorable. Aviation rapidly acquired an aura of romanticism and by the outbreak of war in 1914 the exploits of the 'dashing young men in their flying machines' trying to kill one another in the name of patriotism soon led to World War One becaming a melting pot of aircraft camouflage, national and individual markings, and unit insignia.

Webster’s dictionary describes heraldry as “the practice of devising, blazoning, and granting armorial insignia and of tracing and recording genealogies.” This is an apt definition for the discussion of “nose art ™” and its roots. Nose art is the vernacular term for original works of art painted on the fuselages of aircraft for the purpose of individualizing the aircraft.

Since mankind first began to make weapons and armor, they were emblazoned with symbols and markings to empower the tool with special traits, powers, or simply to reinforce ownership of the item. As time progressed and weapons became more complex and countermeasures became more intricate, the perceived need for personal embellishment increased. Aviation historian Jim Farmer wrote, “man may under certain conditions be in danger of losing an essential part of his own humanity to the machine. . . many expressions found on impersonal pieces of equipment reveal an effort to personalize or humanize that equipment. . . .”

With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, manned flight was still in its infancy, but this would quickly change as military strategists discovered that aircraft made the perfect tool for reconnaissance. Soon it was found that aircraft also made the perfect platform to mount machine guns – the reign of the fighter had begun.

Pilots of the new fighter units were looked upon as knights of the air. In keeping with the idea that air combat was chivalrous, if not deadly, pilots marked their machines with striking paint schemes and personal insignia. The German Jagdstaffeln (fighter units) were some of the first to begin the tradition. In late 1916 and early 1917, British pilots came back from patrols with tales of brightly colored German planes. One of the best known is the all red Fokker triplane of Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron. Von Richthofen’s unit, Jasta 11, became known as the Flying Circus because of its outlandishly painted Fokker and Albatros fighters.

Soon Belgian, Russian, Polish, British, and French aircraft began to sport heraldry in the same tradition as medieval knights. French pilots embraced the idea as much as the Germans, although in a different form. While the German pilots routinely chose to paint their entire plane, French pilots usually painted a name or personal insignia. French ace Charles Nungesser of Escadrille N62 had a macabre personal insignia that would normally be deemed bad luck by most pilots. Nungesser’s Nieuport 17 carried a white-edged black heart, on to which had been painted a coffin, two candlesticks, and a skull and crossbones!

When the United States entered the war in 1918, young American pilots lost no time in creating insignia for their own squadrons, devising images that reflected the frontier spirit of America – Indian heads, kicking mules, bison, and Uncle Sam’s top hat. Typical of the self-assured American spirit, these pilots created and painted the insignia without official authorization. It was not until a year after the war was over that the Army finally approved some of the creations.

From 1919 to the beginning of World War II, personal markings in the United States Army Air Corps all but died out. The squadron insignia remained, but it would not be until the outbreak of war that personal motifs reappeared. When they did, it was in grand fashion.

With America’s entry into the Second World War, the rigid regulations that peacetime pilots had lived under were relaxed and nose art quickly began to spring up on aircraft in all theaters of the conflict. A major inspiration for nose art was pin-up art, especially from the magazine Esquire. George Petty, an Esquire artist, was one of the first to find fame in “girlie art.” A commercial artist by trade, Petty began drawing for Esquire in the late 1930s. His tenure at the magazine was brief, however. Underpaid and overworked, Petty quit Esquire in 1942 to pursue a lucrative advertising career.

Waiting in the wings to take his place was a little known Peruvian artist by the name of Alberto Vargas. Originally hired to duplicate Petty’s work, Vargas, who signed his work with the less ethnic Varga, quickly outperformed his predecessor with stunningly lifelike and seductive paintings of beautiful women. By the end of World War II the pin-up art of Alberto Vargas was rivaling the popularity of the pin-up photos of Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable. Pin-up art became so ingrained in the GI lifestyle that Glenn Miller added a song to his repertoire when he toured the war zones, “Peggy the Pin-Up Girl.”

Yet it was not just pin-up art that made its way onto the noses of bombers and fighters in the different theaters of war; nose art featured American popular culture in many forms. Renowned cartoon characters such as Elmer Fudd, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck were frequently incorporated in nose art, and there was also Miss Lace, Burma, and The Dragon Lady, these figures coming from the fertile mind (and pen) of Milton Caniff, creator of the popular newspaper comic strip, Terry and the Pirates. Designed just for the troops, Miss Lace, the star of the comic strip, Male Call, was Caniff’s most popular character. Caniff described Lace as “innocent, but sexy as Hell,” and “. . . the visualization of an idea. . . a wish fulfillment for the readers. . . .”

Other topics that graced the noses of bombers, fighters and transports included names of children, wives and sweethearts, nicknames, and names that had special meanings to pilots. Even song titles of musical hits by band leaders such as Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller embellished military planes. “Stardust” and “Mr. Five by Five” were two of the more popular titles.

The men that flew and serviced these big planes came from all walks of life, every state in the union, and from every socio-economic background. They were draftees and enlistees there to do a job – win the war. Being so far from home and so removed from the “civilized” world created a climate where nose art flourished. Primarily a morale booster, nose art was also a way for the men to identify and separate themselves from other crews or planes within their unit. In a sense, nose art helped to create camaraderie within crews, and that camaraderie proved beneficial since each crew member depended on the other members for survival.

Morale was not the only reason nose art was painted on aircraft. Pilots are notorious for their superstitions, and with their lives on the line daily, these beliefs became even more heightened. Consequently, nose art took on a whole different meaning to some crews. The popular cartoon character “Superstitious Aloysius” adorned many bombers across the globe. Other superstition-related names, The Bad Penny, Lucky Eleven, and Number Seven, were all popular as well. Perhaps one of the more imaginative themes was based on the boomerang. Seen mostly in the Pacific Theater of Operations, the boomerang was perceived as a good luck charm for its ability to always come back to its owner after being thrown. Bomber crews took this theme and applied it to their planes hoping that it would perform just like a boomerang.

Psychologist George Klare, himself a veteran of the 100th BombGroup, felt that the need for nose art stemmed from a pilot or crew’s need to identify with their aircraft. He writes, “Crew members on the sea or in the air wanted to see their complex ships as almost human entities with which they could identify. Especially when they faced danger, they even wanted to endow their ships with almost superhuman qualities to protect them and bring them safely back.” The identity of their aircraft was an extension of themselves, another member of the crew, a buddy to be relied upon as the war progressed into more distant and ever more dangerous places.

Flight Jacket of crewmember records his missions and escapes from earlier Fancy Nancy's.

The G-8 jacket was introduced into the service in the late 1920's as the official flight jacket of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corp flyers. The details on this jacket were an inspiration for many famous designs introduced through the movie industries. The G-1 was introduced into service in late 1930s as the official flight jacket of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corp flyers. The A-1 Flight Jacket was developed in the 1920's and manufactured as Navy issue from November 1927 to 1931, when the G-1 replaced it. The A-2 Flight Jacket was made famous by U.S. Army Airmen who wore them as a testament to their bravery, independence and skill. Service tested in 1930, the A-2 was adopted as the regulation Army Air Corps flying jacket on May 9, 1931. Crewmen painted their plane's name on their leather flying jackets.

The A-2 jacket was awarded to an Army Air Forces airman upon completion of basic flight training, and always before the pilot progressed to advanced training. No standard system of distribution was used, though generally airmen lined up in front of boxes containing jackets of various sizes and given the appropriate size jacket by the base quartermaster.

The A-2 was a treasured item to the airman and was worn with as much pride as his wings. As airmen progressed through various duty stations they often added and removed squadron patches, rank marks, and occasionally elaborate artwork depicting the type of aircraft they flew or a copy of the artwork painted on their airplane. Bomber crews often added small bombs to the right front of their jackets indicating the number of missions they had flown. As a result, many jackets ended up with numerous stitch marks as patches of various sizes were removed and replaced when the owner changed units. Unlike Navy aviators, who often wore the patches of every squadron they had ever flown with, AAF personnel could only display the patch of their current assignment. The emblem of the Army Air Forces was often sewn, painted, or applied by decal on the left shoulder, while the shield of the specific Air Force (5th, 8th, etc.) was often displayed on the right.

Tantalizing Takeoff	Grin'n Bare It
Belle o' the Brawl	Der Grossarschvogel (The Big Bird)

Vintage Aircraft Nose Art Here is an unprecendented collection of the unique art that graced military aircraft in World War II and the Korean War. Applied by amateurs or professional artists like Vargas and Brinkman, the art typically featured alluring women whose charms belied the deadly cargo the crew hoped to deliver to its targets. Hundreds of examples are shown in a combination of archival photos from the wars and current photos of artwork in museum collections. Fully captioned with aircraft type and unit assignment.

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