Very Important Day In History

[Arcey]

George Petty was known for calendars, ads 'n pin ups. Nose art was done by military personnel.

Tex, correct me if I'm wrong.

Nose art:

[Leo Tanner]

Mebbe true, but at least it caused ya ta post a picture that someone very close ta ma heart will love
     As far as I know, that was the paintin on the Memphhis Belle.  He may have redone it.


Leo

[Texas Lawdog]

The Nose Art was painted by either members of the airplane crew or a member of the ground crew. I'm sure they used tracings from posters and magazines and then painted the figures.   That's our B24 Diamond LiL.   Thanks Arcey.

[Four-Eyed Buck]

Arcey, The girl on your Zippo is the same one used on the "Memphis Belle". It's too so many of those planes got scrapped in the years after the war. some of that artwork was phenominal...............Buck

[Arcey]

Wouldn't doubt crews fashioned their art after that of Petty, or Vargas for that matter. Just that I've never seen nose art actually attributed to either. 

[Four-Eyed Buck]

The only attributal art during the war was the stuff Disney did for the Navy, individual ships or MTB squadrons. He got into this because of Bulkley's MTB's being called Uncle Sam's Mickey Mouse fleet. He did one for Buckley once he got stateside, and it kinda caught on with the Navy........................Buck

[Texas Lawdog]

Someone preserved some of this Nose Art for the CAF.  When the planes were being scraped, someone with a torcj cut the Nose Art out of the fuselage. We have a buch of these pieces Hanging in the Large hangar at Midland, Texas

[Arcey]

Ya think they'd look good copied to a WESTERN AIRLINES airplane? Maybe plane NUMBER THREE? 

[Leo Tanner]

Ya think they’d look good copied to a WESTERN AIRLINES airplane? Maybe plane NUMBER THREE? 

Where's 40 Rod? 

[Texas Lawdog]

Pinup pictures have always been popular with the miltary.  Airplanes have sometimes be considered as being female, so I guess havin' a picture of a beautilful female on the Nose of the aircraft was that was done a lot.

[Leo Tanner]

Hey, if I were a long way from home an guys were shootin at me, a Vargas or Petty would be awfull nice ta look at as I climbed that ladder.  Aint pithcers of real wimmin, but I imagine it reminded guys what they was puttin there butts on the line fer.


Leo

[Texas Lawdog]

The ground crews worked on these planes day and night. They spent all their waking hours on the flightline or hangar. These planes were their mistress, so the portraits on the Nose were their dream girls.

[Four-Eyed Buck]

Or they pilot sometimes named the plane after girlfriends, wives, or even their Mom's. IE: Glamourous Glinnis( Chuck Yeager), Enola Gay( Col. Tibbets). Nose art was banned after the Korean War, IIRC. Too bad, it gave those planes some character.....................Buck

[Texas Lawdog]

A picture of a naked woman can take a man's mind off war.

[Leo Tanner]

My point 'zactly Tex.

[Delmonico]

My point 'zactly Tex.

Real naked ones can cause wars.

[Leo Tanner]

Just ask Helen.

[litl rooster]

http://shock.military.com/Shock/gallery/arts.do?page=1

[Texas Lawdog]

LR, Great Pictures of Nose Art.

[Ozark Tracker]

Just ask Helen.

heck,  I didn't know you knew Helen Wisdom,  I remember that time she peeled off her shirt and whipped J.T. with it,  liked to have caused a small war.