Nose Art: North American P-51D Mustang "Fourth Fighter Group"
Though personalized art appeared during World War I, and occasionally grew to incorporate the entire aircraft, most pilots carried a saying or a slogan, or a family crest, or squadron symbol. Some were named, but nose art was not common. During World War II, nose art not only saw its true beginnings, but its heyday.
No one knows exactly who started nose art first--it appeared with both the British and the Germans around the first time, with RAF pilots painting Hitler being kicked or skulls and crossbones on their aircraft, while German nose art was usually a personal symbol, named for a girlfriend or adopting a mascot (such as Adolf Galland using Mickey Mouse, something Walt Disney likely didn't approve of). It would be with the Americans, and a lesser extent the Canadians, that nose art truly became common--and started including its most famous forms, which was usually half-naked or completely naked women. This was not always true, but it often was.
The quality of nose art depended on the squadron or wing artist. Some of it was rather crude, while others were equal to the finest pinup artists in the United States, such as Alberto Vargas. For men thousands of miles away from home and lonely, a curvaceous blonde on a B-17 or a P-51 made that loneliness a bit easier. Others thought naked women were a little crude, and just limited themselves to names, or depicted animals, cartoon characters, or patriotic emblems, or caricatures of the Axis dictators they were fighting.
Generally speaking, there was little censorship, with squadron and group commanders rarely intervening on names or pictures; the pilots themselves practiced self-censorship, with profanity almost unknown, and full-frontal nudity nearly nonexistent. After the loss of a B-17 named "Murder Inc.," which the Germans captured and used to make propaganda, the 8th Air Force, at least, set up a nose art committee that reviewed the nose art of aircraft--but even it rarely wielded its veto. For the most part, nose art was limited only by the crew's imagination and the artist's ability. The British tended to stay away from the lurid nudes of the Americans, though the Canadians adopted them as well. (The Axis also did not use nose art in this fashion, and neither did the Soviets, who usually confined themselves to patriotic slogans on their aircraft, such as "For Stalin!" or "In the Spirit of the Motherland!")
When World War II ended, so did nose art, for the most part. In the peacetime, postwar armed forces, the idea of having naked women were wives and children could see it was not something the postwar USAF or Navy wanted, and when it wasn't scrapped, it was painted over. A few units (especially those away from home and family) still allowed it, but it would take Korea to begin a renaissance of nose art.
When the 4th Fighter Group was formed at RAF Debden, UK in September 1942, it already had an impressive pedigree: its three squadrons were formed from the famous "Eagle Squadrons." The Eagle Squadrons were formerly RAF units made up of American volunteers, who joined before Pearl Harbor. (A common myth is that the Eagles fought in the Battle of Britain; they did not get into service until after the Battle was over, though a handful of Americans did fly in the Battle with other RAF squadrons.) This would give the 4th a leg-up on other 8th Air Force fighter squadrons due to their experience--though it would not be until the 4th was equipped with P-51 Mustangs in early 1944 that the unit truly hit its stride.
By the end of the war, the 4th had scored the most combined victories by a USAAF unit in Europe--1052 kills. The "characters" of the 4th included such famous names as Dominic Gentile, John Godfrey, Duane Beeson, and Ralph "Kidd" Hofer. Today, the 4th FG is known as the 4th Fighter Wing, flying F-15E Strike Eagles at Seymour-Johnson AFB, North Carolina.
Because the 4th was drawn from the Eagle Squadrons, it adopted a "fighting eagle" as its mascot--a belligerent bird with boxing gloves. This remains the wing's mascot to this day. This P-51D on display at the Fargo Air Museum in North Dakota carries the 4th's eagle on the fuselage.
Nose Art: North American P-51D Mustang "Fourth Fighter Group"
Though personalized art appeared during World War I, and occasionally grew to incorporate the entire aircraft, most pilots carried a saying or a slogan, or a family crest, or squadron symbol. Some were named, but nose art was not common. During World War II, nose art not only saw its true beginnings, but its heyday.
No one knows exactly who started nose art first--it appeared with both the British and the Germans around the first time, with RAF pilots painting Hitler being kicked or skulls and crossbones on their aircraft, while German nose art was usually a personal symbol, named for a girlfriend or adopting a mascot (such as Adolf Galland using Mickey Mouse, something Walt Disney likely didn't approve of). It would be with the Americans, and a lesser extent the Canadians, that nose art truly became common--and started including its most famous forms, which was usually half-naked or completely naked women. This was not always true, but it often was.
The quality of nose art depended on the squadron or wing artist. Some of it was rather crude, while others were equal to the finest pinup artists in the United States, such as Alberto Vargas. For men thousands of miles away from home and lonely, a curvaceous blonde on a B-17 or a P-51 made that loneliness a bit easier. Others thought naked women were a little crude, and just limited themselves to names, or depicted animals, cartoon characters, or patriotic emblems, or caricatures of the Axis dictators they were fighting.
Generally speaking, there was little censorship, with squadron and group commanders rarely intervening on names or pictures; the pilots themselves practiced self-censorship, with profanity almost unknown, and full-frontal nudity nearly nonexistent. After the loss of a B-17 named "Murder Inc.," which the Germans captured and used to make propaganda, the 8th Air Force, at least, set up a nose art committee that reviewed the nose art of aircraft--but even it rarely wielded its veto. For the most part, nose art was limited only by the crew's imagination and the artist's ability. The British tended to stay away from the lurid nudes of the Americans, though the Canadians adopted them as well. (The Axis also did not use nose art in this fashion, and neither did the Soviets, who usually confined themselves to patriotic slogans on their aircraft, such as "For Stalin!" or "In the Spirit of the Motherland!")
When World War II ended, so did nose art, for the most part. In the peacetime, postwar armed forces, the idea of having naked women were wives and children could see it was not something the postwar USAF or Navy wanted, and when it wasn't scrapped, it was painted over. A few units (especially those away from home and family) still allowed it, but it would take Korea to begin a renaissance of nose art.
When the 4th Fighter Group was formed at RAF Debden, UK in September 1942, it already had an impressive pedigree: its three squadrons were formed from the famous "Eagle Squadrons." The Eagle Squadrons were formerly RAF units made up of American volunteers, who joined before Pearl Harbor. (A common myth is that the Eagles fought in the Battle of Britain; they did not get into service until after the Battle was over, though a handful of Americans did fly in the Battle with other RAF squadrons.) This would give the 4th a leg-up on other 8th Air Force fighter squadrons due to their experience--though it would not be until the 4th was equipped with P-51 Mustangs in early 1944 that the unit truly hit its stride.
By the end of the war, the 4th had scored the most combined victories by a USAAF unit in Europe--1052 kills. The "characters" of the 4th included such famous names as Dominic Gentile, John Godfrey, Duane Beeson, and Ralph "Kidd" Hofer. Today, the 4th FG is known as the 4th Fighter Wing, flying F-15E Strike Eagles at Seymour-Johnson AFB, North Carolina.
Because the 4th was drawn from the Eagle Squadrons, it adopted a "fighting eagle" as its mascot--a belligerent bird with boxing gloves. This remains the wing's mascot to this day. This P-51D on display at the Fargo Air Museum in North Dakota carries the 4th's eagle on the fuselage.