Original U.S. WWII AAF Nose Art Photo Collection with Fantastic Suggestive Artwork - 21 Photos Total

Original Items. One-of-a-Kind Group. This is an amazing collection of photographs featuring the creative nose art of American Aircraft during WWII which often featured "pin up" girls and amusing names. Most of these look to be from B-17 and B-24 Bombers, but it is possible some are from smaller fighter bombers. The photos are in excellent condition, with all the details still highly visible and easy to discern. We do not see any adhesive on the backs of these photos from being previously in a photo album.

There are 21 photographs total. Some of the names of the aircraft include Sky’s Delight, Hellcat Honey, Hellcat Belle, Cherie, Tropic Knight II, Pacific Passion, Wild Ass Ride, Out of This World, and Heaven Can Wait. Most photos measure either 3½ x 4¾” or 4 x 5”.

Overall, it's an outstanding collection that any aviation history enthusiast would love to see.

Nose art is a decorative painting or design on the fuselage of an aircraft, usually on the front fuselage.

While begun for practical reasons of identifying friendly units, the practice evolved to express the individuality often constrained by the uniformity of the military, to evoke memories of home and peacetime life, and as a kind of psychological protection against the stresses of war and the probability of death. The appeal, in part, came from nose art not being officially approved, even when the regulations against it were not enforced.

Because of its individual and unofficial nature, it is considered folk art, inseparable from work as well as representative of a group. It can also be compared to sophisticated graffiti. In both cases, the artist is often anonymous, and the art itself is ephemeral. In addition, it relies on materials immediately available.

Nose art is largely a military tradition, but civilian airliners operated by the Virgin Group feature "Virgin Girls" on the nose as part of their livery. In a broad sense, the tail art of several airlines such as the Eskimo of Alaska Airlines can be called "nose art", as are the tail markings of present-day U.S. Navy squadrons. There were exceptions, including the VIII Bomber Command, 301st Bomb Group B-17F "Whizzer", which had its girl-riding-a-bomb on the dorsal fin.

A wonderful assortment of photographs that come ready for further research and display.