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They were a group of volunteers who flew from China on American Curtiss P-40 aircraft and made raids on Japan in 1941-42. However, the unit which became most famous for their use of the shark’s mouth was the American Flying Tigers.

The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Chinese Air Force nicknamed Flying Tigers, 1941-42.

Photo of an American pilot standing in front of the Curtiss P-40.

Nose Art by pilots: The RAF 112 Squadron’s Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk aircraft with the shark mouth nose art, 1941. With this marking, as part of a tradition, Germans continued until the formation of the Luftwaffe during WWII. Air Corps Art.īy giving the plane the face of an animal, it was supposed to evoke in the enemy the feeling that Germans were predators who went hunting for their prey. (Revell) aircraft commonly known as the Walfisch (or Whale). (Revell), aircraft commonly referred to as the Walfisch (or Whale). The first noted “Shark mouth” was on the German Roland C.II. They took advantage of the shape of the entire aircraft so that both the animal and the plane become one menacing entity. They transformed these features into menacing images, with a shark or tiger mouth being the most common. That is the reason why German pilots were the first to come up with the most distinctive and specific forms of differentiation. Wikipedia.Īt its most basic, Nose Art painting enhanced a physical feature of the aircraft. Nose Art by pilots: Count Francesco Baracca and his SPAD S.VII with the cavallino rampante. Count Francesco Baracca, Italy’s top fighter ace of WWI, wore an emblem of a black horse a so-called cavallino rampante which later inspired Enzo Ferrari to use it on his racing cars. By personalizing their aircraft they aimed to separate themselves from some kind of uniformity. In this way, they wanted to specify their way of fighting, tactics, or even aristocratic origin.

Other pilots wanted to be different and began painting various symbols, motifs, mascots, numbers, or family coats of arms on their planes. Nose Art by pilots: Manfred von Richthofen “Red Baron” in his Red painted Fokker Dr1 Dreidecker. Richthofen’s story has been filmed and if you are interested you can watch the trailer here. With a desire to be different, to emphasize the contrast of the plane with the sky, and to spread his glory in the air in the consciousness of the enemy, the Baron personalized his airplane by painting it all red. The German pilot was considered the ace-of-aces of the war and started an era or cult of personal success and individuality as a pilot in the so-called dog fights. One of the most interesting and famous examples is the Red Airplane of Baron Manfred von Richthofen, known as the “Red Baron”. Placing personalized decorations on fighting aircraft began with German, French, and Italian pilots. Emblem on side aircraft shows a mailed fist holding a military flail. Lieutenant Godillot in front cockpit and Lieutenant Jean Columany standing in rear cockpit of Breguet 14A2, France, 1917-1918. In this way the military and civilian public knew the pilot’s name and what his machine looked like. Nose art marking became a form of differentiation of a particular airplane and typically the pilot sitting in it became famous for his individual victorious successes in dog fights or air battles. These identifying symbols, typically painted on the tails and fuselages of aircraft, were soon joined by other markings indicating the number of missions or kills completed by the aircraft as well as other personal drawings. The first symbols were formal and used variations of national colors and icons already in use. It had a very practical purpose – visual markings were needed to separate friendly craft from foe. Nose Art traces its origins to the First World War.

Subsequently many pilots drew a four-leaf clover on their planes to bring them luck and happiness in the air. They were also superstitious because they were afraid of it betraying them when they needed it in their struggle for survival. They treated the plane with respect for sentimental reasons. American Air Museum.įor them, the plane was a kind of woman who temporarily replaced their wife at home, and so they treated the plane as their “lady”. Major Ernest Bankey posing on the wing of his P-51 Mustang with “Lucky Lady VII” painting.