The Stories Behind WWII’s Most Famous Nose Art
Nobody told these stories. Until now.
The mechanic who painted 130 bombers and gave up art to work in a warehouse. The RISD-trained muralist whose masterpiece was scrapped for two thousand dollars. The junkyard manager who saved pin-up girls from the smelter with an axe.
Three Stories That Will Change How You See WWII
Explore the Stories
Aircraft profiles, artist biographies, and the history nobody wrote down.
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NARA photographs digitized
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Original nose art panels surviving
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Aircraft scrapped at Kingman alone
Based on research from the National Archives, Smithsonian Institution, and the USAAF Nose Art Research Project.
Wild Banshees
Whistling Death
Experience WWII Aviation Through Fiction
If you love these true stories, the Wild Banshees series brings the air war to life as a novel. Marine Corsair pilots in the Solomon Islands, 1943. The Japanese called the F4U “Whistling Death.” The pilots are starting to think something else is doing the screaming.
Learn About Wild Banshees
Painted for War
The Stories Behind WWII’s Most Famous Nose Art
Nobody told these stories. The mechanic who painted the Memphis Belle and spent the rest of his life in a warehouse. The RISD-trained muralist whose masterpiece was scrapped for two thousand dollars. The junkyard manager who sent his workers with axes to save pin-up girls from the smelter. Narrative nonfiction by Christopher Scott Lannon.