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.
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