NOSE

NOSE-ART WORLD WAR II

AIR PLANES OF WWII

These photographs were collected by an anonymous soldier during WWII. They are being shown here for the first time by TheElsonMall...we have it all! We believe some of them are quite rare, possibly the only known image of a plane lost in action. Please contact us at the email address below for permission to use these photos and with any comments. Thank you! --Valerie Elson, webtrix.

Nose- Art

Heraldry \’her-əl-drē\ n (1572)

Webster’s dictionary describes heraldry as “the practice of devising, blazoning, and granting armorial insignia and of tracing and recording genealogies.” This is an apt definition for the discussion of “nose-art” and its roots. Nose-art is the vernacular term for original works of art painted on the fuselages of aircraft for the purpose of individualizing the aircraft.

(excerpt from "War in the Pacific" National Park Service Office of the Interior)

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Survived the war - 61 missions. (survival info. compiled by Tom Robison)

Ditched 4Feb45; A/C Malone lost. (survival info. compiled by Tom Robison)

WWII Nose Art Hat Pins available from

Survived the war.

Webshots! Over 20 MILLION FREE screen saver and wallpaper photos!

Survived the war - 65 missions. (survival info. compiled by Tom Robison)

Psychologist George Klare, himself a veteran of the 100 th BombGroup, felt that the need for nose art stemmed from a pilot or crew’s need to identify with their aircraft. He writes, “Crew members on the sea or in the air wanted to see their complex ships as almost human entities with which they could identify. Especially when they faced danger, they even wanted to endow their ships with almost superhuman qualities to protect them and bring them safely back.”The identity of their aircraft was an extension of themselves, another member of the crew, a buddy to be relied upon as the war progressed into more distant and ever more dangerous places. (excerpt from "War in the Pacific" National Park Service Office of the Interior)