We recently blogged about a visit to the Pima Air and Space Museum. This blog returns to that Tucson attraction with a feature on aircraft nose art.
Aircraft nose art goes back to at least 1913, when the Italians painted a sea monster on a flying boat. The aircraft nose art concept continued in World War I and really emerged as a folk art form in World War II. On US World War II aircraft this occurred primarily in the Army Air Corps (the Air Force was not yet a separate service). Nose art emerged again during the Vietnam War and continued in the Gulf wars. Today, even some commercial jetliners have it (most notably Southwest Air).
The Pima Air and Space Museum contains numerous nose art examples, a few of which I photographed during our recent visit. One aircraft with interesting and colorful nose is a B-24 that started life as a US aircraft and was later flown by the Indian Air Force. It’s the photo you see at the top of this blog.
This nose art on a B-29 shows a map of North America.
Political correctness today precludes pinup nose art, but it was prevalent in earlier times.
Nose art often featured animals. Here’s a interesting take on a Curtiss P-40 and an A-10 Warthog.
Gaping shark’s mouths with threatening teeth have adorned many combat aircraft including fighters, observation aircraft, electronic warfare aircraft, and helicopters.
Here’s an interesting special ops helicopter with unusual nose art. Star Wars, as interpreted by a special ops team.
We’ll have another blog or three on the Pima Air and Space Museum. There’s just too much to fit into a single blog, so please stay tuned.
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Not really nitpicking but Consolidated manufactured the 24 in San Diego and Ft Worth, TX but those two plants could never meet demand so Ford was brought in to produce them in the massive Willow Run plant. Most of the B-24’s made were likely Ford but a lot were built by Consolidated in their plants. The 24 I used to crew on was a Ft. Worth Consolidated airplane. What is really remarkable about the whole Ford thing and the US auto industry in particular was how they somehow managed to take autoworkers and turn them into aircraft manufacturers. It never should have worked as the manufacture of aircraft requires much higher skills but they did it. Towards the end of the war Ford was pushing out a completed B-24 every 55 minutes. Its like I have always maintained – those raised during the depression were much more capable people because they had to be. They couldn’t just go and buy something, they usually had to make themselves and hence, when WW2 came along “the greatest generation” was up to the task.
Thanks for commenting, Bob.
I have been to Ohio to Wright-Patterson, and it is way cool with a whole B-36 inside the hanger which you can walk thru!
Pima looks like good place to visit also. I love the WWII planes and all the work and heroics that went into building and flying them. These guys weren’t call the greatest generation for nothing, you know.
If you get a chance there very good museum of planes, tanks and ship in Mobile, Alabama at the Battleship Alabama park. they even have SR-71 and only Pershing tank I have ever seen!
Can’t wait to see more!
Terry, thanks for commenting. I’ve been to that Museum and I did a Desinations piece about it for Motorcycle Classics magazine. Here’s the link.