Placing personalized decorations on fighting aircraft began with
Italian and
German pilots. The first recorded example was a sea monster painted on an Italian
flying boat in 1913. This was followed by the popular practice of painting a mouth beneath the
propeller's
spinner begun by German pilots in
World War I. What is perhaps the most famous of all nose art, the shark-face insignia later made famous by the First
American Volunteer Group (AVG)
Flying Tigers, first appeared in World War I on a British
Sopwith Dolphin and a German
Roland C.II, though often with an effect more comical than menacing. The ("prancing horse") of the Italian
ace Francesco Baracca was another well-known image.
World War I World War I nose art was usually embellished or extravagant
squadron insignia. This followed the official policy established by the
American Expeditionary Forces' Chief of the Air Service,
Brigadier General Benjamin Foulois, on 6 May 1918, requiring the creation of distinct, readily identifiable squadron insignia. and the "Kicking Mule" of the
95th Aero Squadron. Nose art of that era was often conceived and produced not by the pilots, but rather by ground crews. File:FBaracca 1.jpg|
Francesco Baracca and his
SPAD S.VII, with the that inspired the
Ferrari emblem File:94th Aero Squadron - Capt Edward V Rickenbacker.jpg|
Eddie Rickenbacker with SPAD XIII (note the "Hat in the Ring" 94th Aero Squadron insignia), France, 1918 File:95th Aero Squadron - SPAD XIII.jpg|Spad XIII pursuit aircraft of the 95th Aero Squadron with the "Kicking Mule" insignia, France, 1918
World War II True nose art appeared during
World War II, which is considered by many observers to be the
golden age of the genre, with both
Axis and
Allied pilots taking part. At the height of the war, nose artists were in very high demand in the
USAAF and were paid quite well for their services, while AAF commanders tolerated nose art in an effort to boost aircrew morale. The U.S. Navy, by contrast, prohibited nose art, the most extravagant being limited to a few simply-lettered names, while nose art was uncommon in the
Royal Air Force and
Royal Canadian Air Force. The work was done by professional civilian artists as well as talented amateur servicemen. In 1941, for instance, the
39th Pursuit Squadron commissioned a
Bell Aircraft artist to design and paint the "
Cobra in the Clouds"
logo on their aircraft. Perhaps the most enduring nose art of World War II was the shark-face
motif, which first appeared on the
Messerschmitt Bf 110s of
Luftwaffe ("76th Heavy Fighter Wing") over
Crete, where the twin-engined Messerschmitts outmatched the
Gloster Gladiator biplanes of
No. 112 Squadron RAF. The Commonwealth pilots were withdrawn to Egypt and refitted with
Curtiss Tomahawks (P-40) off the same assembly line building fighter aircraft for the
American Volunteer Group (AVG)
Flying Tigers being recruited for service in
China. In November 1941, AVG pilots saw a color photo in a newspaper of a shark mouth painted on a 112 Squadron P-40 fighter in
North Africa and immediately adopted the shark-face motif for their own P-40Bs. The British version itself was inspired by "sharkmouth" nose art (without any eyes) on the Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters of . This work was done by the pilots and ground crew in the field. However, the insignia for the "Flying Tigers" – a winged
Bengal tiger jumping through a stylized
V for Victory symbol – was developed by graphic artists from the
Walt Disney Company. Similarly, when in 1943 the
39th Fighter Squadron became the first American
squadron in their
theatre with 100 kills, they adopted the shark-face for their
Lockheed P-38 Lightnings.
Tony Starcer was the resident artist for the
91st Bomb Group (Heavy), one of the initial six groups fielded by the
Eighth Air Force. Starcer painted over a hundred pieces of renowned B-17 nose art, including
"Memphis Belle". A commercial artist named Brinkman, from
Chicago was responsible for the
zodiac-themed nose art of the
B-24 Liberator-equipped
834th Bomb Squadron, based at
RAF Sudbury, England. Contemporary research demonstrates that bomber crews, who suffered high casualty rates during World War II, often developed strong bonds with the planes they were flying, and affectionately decorated them with nose art. It was also believed by the flight crews that the nose art was bringing luck to the planes. The artistic work of
Alberto Vargas and
George Petty's
pin-up models from
Esquire Magazine were often duplicated, or adapted, by air force crews and painted on the nose of American and allied aircraft during World War II. Some nose art was commemorative or intended to honor certain people, such as the
Boeing B-29 Superfortress "The
Ernie Pyle".
Post-World War II In the
Korean War, nose art was popular with units operating
A-26 Invader and B-29 bombers,
C-119 Flying Boxcar transports, as well as USAF
fighter-bombers. Due to changes in military policies and changing attitudes toward the representation of women, the amount of nose art declined after the Korean War. During the
Vietnam War,
Lockheed AC-130 gunships of the
U.S. Air Force Special Operations Squadrons were often given names with accompanying nose art – for example, "Thor", "Azrael – Angel of Death", "Ghost Rider", "War Lord" and "The Arbitrator." The unofficial gunship badge of a flying skeleton with a
Minigun was also applied to many aircraft until the end of the war and was later adopted officially. In addition, Army and Navy helicopter crews often embellished their assigned aircraft with a wide range of nose art and other personalized markings. Nose art underwent a revival during the
Gulf War and has become more common since
Operation Enduring Freedom and the
Iraq War began. A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft ladder doors are frequently painted while many fixed and rotary air crews are merging artwork as part of camouflage patterns. The United States Air Force had unofficially sanctioned the return of the pin-up (albeit fully clothed) with the
Strategic Air Command permitting nose art on its bomber force in the Command's last years. The continuation of historic names such as "
Memphis Belle" was encouraged. In many other cases at airfields throughout the Middle East during the
war on terror, aviation units instead painted the reinforced concrete
T-walls and Bremer barriers that protected the aircrews and aircraft with elaborate murals and graffiti. ==Regional variation==