--- title: "WWII nose art motivated airmen with sex and humor" description: "Nose art was a great way to build esprit de corps with the crew and maintainers around a plane and boost morale. Read more on WATM." date: "2021-03-26" modified: "2021-03-26" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/best-wwii-nose-art/" categories: - "Air Force" - "History" - "War History" - "World War II" --- # WWII nose art motivated airmen with sex and humor ![Nose art on a metallic aircraft featuring a cartoonish yellow face with a curved railroad track as a mouth. On top of the face is a wooden railcar with wings. To the left, there is an explosion with smoke labeled "Nagasaki," and to the right, a building labeled "Salt Lake." Below the face, the word "BOCKSCAR" is written in bold, stylized black letters with an orange outline. Above the artwork, there are six small black and one red silhouette figures.]() From the court-martial of Billy Mitchell to Robin Olds' [mustache](), U.S. Air Force history is filled with examples of Airmen thumbing their nose at authority. So of course what started as a way to identify friendly units in mid-air in World War I quickly evolved into a way of thumbing one's nose at military uniformity and authority. The unintended consequence of that effort is a gallery of beauty and style -- a [lasting legacy]() in the minds of generations to come. --- ![]() This art form is as old as powered flight. In the context of war, crews created designs to immortalize their hometowns, their wives and sweethearts back home, to earn themselves a name in the minds of their enemies, or provide some kind of psychological protection from death, among other motifs. ![]() Some things were universal. "Mors ab alto" is Latin for "Death from above." And then some art was based entirely on the record of the plane. Like the B-29 Superfortress *Bockscar*, below, who dropped the atomic bomb dubbed *Fat Man* on Nagasaki, Japan, and whose nose art depicts a train boxcar nuking Nagasaki. Nose art was also a great way to build esprit de corps with the crew and maintainers around a plane, as seen in this photo of the crew of *Waddy's Wagon* recreating their own nose art. ![]() Of course, a list of the best WWII nose art would not be complete without the [pin-ups](). ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Nose art wasn't all sexy women and bombs, though. Some crews used their nose to (deservedly) brag. ![]() Don Gentile, World War II [Eagle Squadron ]()member and the first ace to beat Eddie Rickenbacker's WWI dogfighting record, flew a P-51B famously called *Shangri-La,* which featured a bird wearing boxing gloves. ![]() And sometimes, when your war record is long enough, it's okay to let the world know you're watching the clock. ![]() Popular cartoons were also featured on World War II-era planes. Walt Disney famously looked the other way (in terms of copyright infringement) for much of the art done in the name of winning the war, notably on [bomber jackets ]()and nose art. The RAF's Ian Gleed flew a Supermarine Spitfire featuring Geppetto's cat Figaro. ![]() American pilot and Doolittle Raider Ted Lawson flew a B-25 Mitchell Bomber over Tokyo called *the Ruptured Duck,* an image of an angry, sweating Donald Duck wearing pilot headphones in front of crossed crutches. ![]() Next time you watch Dumbo with your kids, remember that Dumbo dropped ordnance on Japan and was said to be fairly accurate. ![]() Bomb icons depicted the number of missions flown over the enemy. For some icons weren't enough. *Thumper* here took the war personally and marked the name of each city it bombed. ![]() Nose art was also used to complain (as all troops do) as a way to deal with the monotony of deployed life, the lack of supplies, and/or the frustrations of the crew to keep their bird flying, as seen by *Malfunction Sired by Ford*. Or it was used to brag that they could keep their girl in the air, with whatever they had lying around. ![]() Some crews definitely brought their A-game to the art form, like the crew of this B-29 Superfortress. ![]() Others tried, but were ultimately (and obviously) better suited to fighting the war than designing the nose of their B-24 Liberator. ![]() The award for all-around best nose-art in World War II has to go to the RAF's James Archibald Findlay MacLachlan, who lost an arm to a combat injury early in the war and thus had to fly with a prosthetic limb. His fighter plane's nose depicted the hand from his own amputated arm making the "V for Victory" sign. ![]() ### Now: 6 of the most badass US military test pilots of all time ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()