Nose art is the practice in which pilots have images of female or other
icons painted onto the noses of their planes. This is not a practice unique
to World War II. Throughout history, figures of women have been carved
onto the bows of ships, and traditionally, men have named planes, cars
and other vehicles with women's names. Nose art was also not restricted
to pin-up girls. Pilot's superstitions, favorite popular cartoon characters,
as well as the names of wives, children and other loved ones also graced
the sides of planes. However, pin-up art was highly prevalent amongst
these images. This presentation of pin-up girls became significant because
it presented pin-up girls in a much more public fashion. Rather than containing
the grinning girls to the insides of tents and otherwise enclosed areas,
footage and photography of planes going to war also presented images of
pin-up girls. When these images were presented on the media, the American
public was, in turn, exposed to the art of pin-up girls. An art form that
might typically be ridiculed or disdained if seen on the street became
a symbol of American fighters.
