Airplane Art

A variety of squadron, plane, and personal emblems painted onto aircraft in World War Two (mostly). 

From the Imperial War Museum and LIFE archives. 

© IWM (CM 5005)

Wing Commader Ian Gleed in his Spitfire decorated with a cartoon of Figaro the cat batting a swastika, Tunisia, 1943. Source

© IWM (CH 9331)

Pinocchio on a Halifax recieving its latest mission completed symbol. The ice creams are raids on Italian targets and the key represents the plane's twenty-first mission. UK, 1943. Source

Walter Sanders, LIFE © Time Inc. 

A tornado on Capt. Howard Curran's fighter plane, Germany, 1948. Source

Jack Wilkes, LIFE © Time Inc. 

A Gurkha paratrooper in front of a plane with a drawing labelled "Gravel Gertie", apparently. Rangoon, 1945. Source

© IWM (H 9195)

A pin-up painted or glued onto a Hurricane. In 1941 this image was deemed too risque for publication! Scotland. Source

© IWM (TR 1000)

A caricature of the squadron's commanding officer on the nose of an Avro Lancaster, 1943. Source

 © IWM (CE 126)

"Dante's Daughter", an RAF Lancaster, with a 65th raid completed symbol being added. The ice cream symbols represent raids on Italy. c. 1943. Source

© IWM (CM 407)

An insignia made up of emblems for each member of a Vicker Wellington crew, headed by Flying Officer Lemon (of course). Egypt, c. 1942. Source

© IWM (CH 2718)

An RAF soda-syphon spraying bombs on a Vickers Wellington, c. 1940. Source

© IWM (CH 6614)

A train painted on a Handley Page Halifax, with a truck added for each successful mission, c. 1942. Source

© IWM (CBM 1261)

Dumbo painted on the nose of a Liberator, Egypt, 1942. Source

Walter Sanders, LIFE © Time Inc. 

A goggled face on the jet of Major Wallace Frank, Germany, 1948. Source

© IWM (CH 7135)

A dragon emblem on an Avro Lancaster of the RAF, c. 1943. Source

© IWM (TR 978)

A shark face on a Curtiss Kittyhawk of No 112 Squadron RAF, Tunisia, 1943. Source

© IWM (CH 1570)

The wasp emblem on Pilot Officer A V Clows' Hurricane, with a stripe added for each plane he shot down, UK, 1940. Source

© IWM (CH 13734)

Grumpy on a Mitchell, UK, c. 1943. Source

© IWM (CH 1934)

The Burmese flag painted on the Hurricane of Squadron Leader R. R. Stanford Tuck, UK 1941. Source

 © IWM (CM 2531)

Squadron Leader Billy Drake with his Hurricane, painted with his personal emblem "Zut". Sierra Leone, c. 1941. Source

Sam Shere, LIFE © Time Inc.

A bomber pilot with plane named "One Weakness", US, 1945. Source

© IWM (CH 4015)

This has been in the blog before, but I just have to include it again. Squadron Leader J A F MacLachlan lost an arm after being shot down in February 1941; by the summer he was flying again. His Hurricane sports his personal emblem: his lost arm waving the V-sign. I love how he is giving the sign back. UK, 1941-43. Source