Updated: January 29, 2007

ose art was common on Army Air Corps (later Air Force) aircraft during WWII and the Korean Conflict. Images from cartoons, comic strips and pin up calendars served as good luck charms on the noses of planes as pilots took on opposing forces. Planes were given colorful names to match the art, such as Bub, What’s Up Doc, Sad Sac, Eager Beaver, Memphis Belle, Scrappy, Shady Lady; one B-29 was even named the Mission Inn. Double meanings which placed the enemy in a negative light were often contained within the art. The nose art on the "Mission Inn" B-29 featured a bomb targeting a soldier as he ran toward a wooden sign announcing the NORTH 38th PARALLEL (the line dividing North and South Korea).

The size of the aircraft dictated the style and form of the nose art. The B-29 was the largest plane in use at the times; the nose art on the “Mission Inn” was approximately 10 feet in width. Nose art was not confined to the plane itself—it was often reproduced on the crews’ uniforms, including the pilots’ leather flight jackets, coloring many aspects of Air Corps life.

Classroom Lesson Plans
California Educational Standards

22nd Bombardment Group
The Pima Air and Space Museum
13th Bomb Squadron
Jacket Art
Military Aircraft Nose Art: An American Tradition
Nose Art Luc's Photo Hangar
Memphis Belle Memorial Association

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