Origins of Nose Art

The origin of "Nose Art" goes back to ancient times when some charioteer decorated his vehicle to distinguish it from others in battle. Throughout the ages, it has been observed that man's desire to personalize an object or make it unique is often magnified by the stress of war.

In the First World War, the Red Baron and the Hat-in-the-Ring squadron succeeded in creating a unique identity that proved to be both a tactical advantage and a unifying force among squadrons and flight crews.

By the Second World War, most types of aircraft were produced by the thousands. All that distinguished these planes from each other were tail numbers, stenciled on the tail for identification purposes. Like the ancient charioteers, air and ground crews set to work to create an identity for their craft and perfected what has become known as "Nose Art" because it was generally found on or about the nose of an aircraft.

Shady Lady, Loaded Dice, Eager Beaver, Miss Behav'in, Bomb Babe, Sack Time, Bodacious Critter, Heavenly Body, Fancy Nancy, Fire Belle, Scrappy, E-RAT-ICATOR may have all been B-17's but to the crews, each craft was different; Nose Art made them unique.

While Nose Art took many forms, it was largely inspired by many of the Disney characters, popular comic strips and pinup calendars. Censorship was relaxed in an effort to build unit efficiency and boost morale but the very size of the artwork, from a few feet square to the size of a billboard on the side of a B-29, created some unique problems for commanders.

Just as the Nose Art came in all sizes, the quality of the art work varied from truly professional work to simple but no less powerful images. Most of this folk art was lost when all but a few of the planes were scrapped. Following the Second World War, Nose Art all but disappeared from US aircraft with a few exceptions in Korea and rare instances in Vietnam.

For the crews that flew and serviced Swamp Angel, Flak Magic, Our Buddy, The Dragon Lady, Better Duck and thousands of other warbirds, we have included a selection of Nose Art clip-art in the Clip-Art Manager to commemorate this unique art form and the proud craft that bore their likeness.

From the Arts & Letters WarBirds Database ŠArts & Letters Corp.
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