Nose Art

Combat planes were often given an identity through nose art.

The art took a variety of expressions, but a common form was the female form. All that testosterone and such kept many a nose artist active.

The following pictures show such expression.

At the close of WW II, my Dad had a chance to record such art. He was part of the army of occupation of Germany, 9th Air force. He tells me that his major activity was to destroy the planes that were left after the War ended. He would help remove all materials felt valuable, the parts and stuff, and place charges to dynamite the remaining metal. Hundreds and hundreds of planes were destroyed for scrap metal.

It appears that he had some time to take a few photos of these planes. The first shows Dad in winter garb, standing before a "blond bombshell". He certainly looks happy.

The next shows a group of guys (Dad the tallest) removing ammunition and such, with another picture of the female form clearly on display. No names can be identified, and I am uncertain the type of plane. Perhaps it was a bomber, with apparent bomb bay doors opened along the belly.

The last pictures show Dad in front of another type of nose art. This art was the one that counted.