Saturday, May 14, 2011

Bomb'n Belle

An example of WWII-era plane art! From Sarge's archives.




Note: I have posted this photo before, of Sarge's dear cousin Andrew, and thought it was a fitting re-post for today's Sepia Saturday theme. Andrew, a Technical Sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Corps (later became the Air Force), circa 1944. Rattlesden RAF Airfield, England. The plane with the wonderful art, a B-17 G, was later shot down over Belgium, although the pilot survived.

24 comments:

Postcardy said...

Interesting photo. It would be fun to see a big exhibit of art on various plane.

Jinksy said...

What a shame BA don't adorn their planes! LOL

Unknown said...

Postcardy--There are some wonderful books on nose art especially. Some real artistry and, often, humor, went into the paintings!

Snowbrush said...

"The plane with the wonderful art, a B-17 G, was later shot down over Belgium, although the pilot survived."

Only the pilot? The B-17 (all models) had a crew of nine if I recall correctly.

Hunter said...

Nice photo, Leah. I recall this picture from the first time you posted it. I was in the USAF in the 90's, and my recollection is that the aircraft nose-art was far less 'interesting' by then.

Pat said...

Very atmospheric.
I'm just reading 'The Beauty Chorus' by Kate Lord Brown - a blogger. It's about the ATA in Britain, who were young women ferrying planes during WW2.

Tattered and Lost said...

I like to think that some person now has the remnants of that lady hanging on their wall. Their war souvenir.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful pic and I love the 'belle :-) Jo

C.M. Jackson said...

a piece of history and of the heart--thanks for sharing...c

Alec said...

I looked for some more info on the aircraft and found the following thread with three more photos: http://forum.armyairforces.com/tm.aspx?m=202837&high=bomb'n+belle
The commentators knew that it was a 447th Bomb Group aircraft, but did not know its actual serial number or crew.

Little Nell said...

We looked up Rattlesdon (two t’s) and found it was indeed a USAF airfield (not base) in WW2 near Bury St Edmunds. There are still some buildings intact. Thanks for a great picture.

Leah said...

Such cool comments, thanks all!

Snow, you're absolutely right, and now I am most curious to know about the rest of the crew.

Hunter, now there's a dissertation: a comparison of nose art then and more recently, what it says sociologically, LOL

Pat, that sounds very interesting!

Tattered, I wonder if anything was in fact left of the plane after the crash? If the nose art survived?

Leah said...

Alec, thank you so much for that link!! I just shared it with my husband too.

Little Nell, thanks also for the research--I made the corrections. Interesting info!

nick said...

I gather the bomber pilots got pretty blasé about their job after a while, despite the constant risk of being shot down. Or else they were actually terrified but putting on a show of bravado.

My mother's brother was a Spitfire pilot who went missing during the war, believed killed. She has never found out what happened to him.

Brett Payne said...

The image immediately evokes such a story without you having to say anything, doesn't - some photographs have that quality. Thanks for sharing it, and the details, Leah.

Christine H. said...

Great photo - and I really enjoyed all of these wonderful comments too.

Megan said...

Love this photo. Love the plane, love the pose, love the hat, love the jacket!

Unknown said...

Nick that's such a sad war story!

Alan Burnett said...

Another great photograph - but I still think that the original link made a great sepia post - and one on theme as well.

Howard said...

spectacular image and rare too.

Kristin said...

I enjoyed the original link as well.

Mike said...

What an awesome photo! I was just up in your neck of the woods. Took in a Yankees game.

hapi said...

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Anonymous said...

"Glitter Effect Mouse Pointer"?
Youwza.

Where are you? Are you still with us?