SECOND HAND BOOKS

804703/90 - RAF & RCAF AIRCRAFT NOSE ART IN WWII

By Clarence Simonsen (Hikoki Publications, 2001)

Military aircraft decorated with gaudy personalised artwork, usually of the ribald and risque variety, are generally associated with American bombers and fighters, most of which flew by day. In contrast, those of their allies in the RAF and RCAF, especially the nocturnal bombers, are usually perceived as being sober and dull. That this was far from being the case is revealed in this photographic study which shows that the men who flew aircraft wearing roundels could be just as imaginative in decorating their machines. The results were as varied as the skills of the mostly untrained artists, who used all manner of sources as their inspiration, but especially pinup pictures by Vargas and Petty.- The author not only shows the finished nose (and tail) art of many aircraft, but also pays tribute to many of their crews. To do so he has enlisted the aid of a number of the men responsible for painting the aircraft, as well as the assistance of Walt Disney studios-and the model who was the original 'Petty Girl'.

As New condition.