Nose Art: Boeing B-17F (B-17G) Flying Fortress "Memphis Belle"
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.
This is not the real "Memphis Belle," as the little notation to the right of the name shows--this it "The Movie" Belle. This aircraft is actually 44-83546, a B-17G delivered just too late to see World War II service. After serving in the postwar USAF as a VB-17G executive aircraft and for several decades as a firefighting aircraft, 44-83546 was restored to a wartime B-17F in 1984 and painted as the Belle in 1989 for the movie, "Memphis Belle." It has worn these colors ever since.
Because the real Belle's name (which was in block letters) would be too small for a camera aircraft to see, for the movie, the name was larger and used a more fanciful script. Other than that, the markings are identical to the real Belle. The original pilot, Captain Robert Morgan, named the aircraft for his girlfriend back home, and got the permission of the original pinup artist, George Petty, to use one of his pinup girls as the Belle's nose art. (Her dress is different colors on the port and starboard side of the aircraft on both the real Belle and this one--red for port, blue for starboard.)
44-83546 currently calls the Palm Springs Air Museum home, as it is getting some maintenance done. As a result, I was finally able to see one of my favorite movie aircraft in 2025.
Nose Art: Boeing B-17F (B-17G) Flying Fortress "Memphis Belle"
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.
This is not the real "Memphis Belle," as the little notation to the right of the name shows--this it "The Movie" Belle. This aircraft is actually 44-83546, a B-17G delivered just too late to see World War II service. After serving in the postwar USAF as a VB-17G executive aircraft and for several decades as a firefighting aircraft, 44-83546 was restored to a wartime B-17F in 1984 and painted as the Belle in 1989 for the movie, "Memphis Belle." It has worn these colors ever since.
Because the real Belle's name (which was in block letters) would be too small for a camera aircraft to see, for the movie, the name was larger and used a more fanciful script. Other than that, the markings are identical to the real Belle. The original pilot, Captain Robert Morgan, named the aircraft for his girlfriend back home, and got the permission of the original pinup artist, George Petty, to use one of his pinup girls as the Belle's nose art. (Her dress is different colors on the port and starboard side of the aircraft on both the real Belle and this one--red for port, blue for starboard.)
44-83546 currently calls the Palm Springs Air Museum home, as it is getting some maintenance done. As a result, I was finally able to see one of my favorite movie aircraft in 2025.