The airplane nose art presented the face of aggression, a bit of psychological warfare intended to intimidate, created with a few ounces of paint slathered on aluminum. World War II’s legendary American Volunteer Group, the “Flying Tigers,” made the shark mouth famous, but they weren’t the first to paint it on airplanes. During World War I, a few German pilots painted eyes and a closed-mouth frown on their Roland C.II reconnaissance aircraft. The nose art was jocular and seemed appropriate for such tubby machines. A multitude of machines from World War I and beyond carried on the motif, which appeared on Nieuports, Sopwiths, and later, Messerschmitts, to name just a few.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 23, 2020 15:24 UTC