'nose art is a decorative painting or design on the fuselage of a military aircraft, usually located near the nose, and is a form of aircraft graffiti' - wikipediait's not difficult to understand why a pilot would choose, or feel the need, to apply nose art to his or her aircraft prior to entering a warzone. after being stripped of your individuality and trained to follow commands for months on end it must be immensely refreshing to have the opportunity to personalise the machine with which you'll spend most of your time, in turn boosting your own morale and that of your fellow pilots. add a lick of paint and title to a deadly lump of metal and the plane soon becomes a character with a unique name, not so much a weapon as a companion during one of the most stressful times imaginable.
if you're looking to read up on the history of nose art i'd recommend the following sources: century of flight, noseart.ch, ace pilots. however, if you're just interested in photos, look no further. well, a little bit further, down this page. be warned: there are cartoon breasts ahead.
li'l lass :: b26 marauder (wiki)
she devil :: b24 liberator (wiki)
betty boop :: b17 flying fortress (wiki)
hells belle :: b17 flying fortress (wiki)
the devil himself :: b17 flying fortress (wiki)
flying tiger :: curtiss p40 (wiki)
sentimental journey :: b17 flying fortress (wiki)
glamorous gal :: p-51d (wiki)
briefing time :: b25 mitchell (wiki)
two one :: s3 viking (wiki)
the dragon and his tail :: b24 liberator (wiki)
cocktail hour :: b24 liberator (wiki)
miss dolly :: erco ercoupe (wiki)
intensive care :: l5 sentinel (wiki)
mitch the witch 2 :: b25 mitchell (wiki)
witchcraft :: b24 liberator (wiki)
various :: tornado gr1 (wiki)
tiger :: a-7e corsair II (wiki)
dragon's breath :: bac 167 strikemaster (wiki)
japanese f15 (wiki)
acemaker :: t-33 shooting star (wiki)
let's roll :: a10 thunderbolt (wiki)
princess leia :: f104 starfighter (wiki)
(presumably fake but awesome nonetheless)
also worth looking at is the nose art flickr group here, and obviously the source links under each photo.
