[Loose Photographs]: Korean War-era Air Force Nose Art -

1950. Unbound. Near Fine. A collection of 40 sepia-toned or black and white silver gelatin photographs measuring between 2½" x 3½" and 4" x 5", without captions. All items near fine or better.

An archive of photographs of Korean War-era United States Air Force craft's nose art. The photographer is unnamed but most likely an airman serving with the Air Force during the Korea conflict. All the photographs capture nose art, with most showing pin-up girl style art with tongue-in-cheek names such as "Who's Next," "Touch and Go," "Ace in the Hole - Deal Me In," and "Destination Known." Some of the names used mock Asian languages with one image of the plane, "Daijobu," which seems to be a misspelling of "daijoubu," which is Japanese for "No Problem." Others are of popular cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker. The art also includes the crew members and occasionally the flight record of the aircraft. The oldest plane represented here is a Lockheed P-38, a World War II-era craft with a memorial painting of "Lt. F. Slanger U.S.A.N.C." adorning the nose. Slanger was a nurse in the 45th Field Hospital at Elsenborn, Belgium when it was bombed by German artillery on October 21, 1944. Nose art had been used since World War I as a way to boost morale and allow pilots and crewmen to use their creativity to become attached to their aircraft. According to historian Warren E. Thompson, during the Korean War "nose art was popular with units operating A-26 and B-29 bombers, C-119 Flying Boxcar transports, as well as USAF fighter-bombers." The Korean War saw the last years of popularity for the style as cultural views of women slowly and marginally changed over the next few decades.

A nice collection of photographs documenting Korean War-era aircraft art.