No matter how you analyze it, the pin-up girl drawn to the nose of a warplane is a compelling image. There's just something about a scantily clad beauty painted onto the nose of a war machine. It's a men's magazine and a weapon all in one. No matter what the reason, though, there's no denying that the pin-up images drawn on the noses of war planes were popular then and have become a symbol of World War II pop culture to this very day.
These "Bomber Girls", became popular in the beginning of Wold War II when crew of the U.S. Army would post pictures of sexy women on magazines like Esquire, Men's Only and Look onto the noses, tails and fuselages of their planes. This practice then gave way to hiring artists to actually draw women onto the nose of the planes, hence the Bomber Girl was born. Drawing of Bomber Girls became such a hit, that nose art became a lucrative market for artists. Artists would get paid up to $15 per nose art painted, which was a large sum back in those days.
This so called "Golden Age" of nose art became particularly popular because of a change in policy. Although the U.S. Air Force didn't explicitly sanction the drawing of attractive women with little or no clothing on the nose of the planes, the higher ranking officers allowed this practice. Airmen were allowed to draw women on their planes for a various number of reasons. First, it was seen as a morale booster for the men. The crews were given more freedom to do what they wanted with their planes. It was seen as a source of entertainment given by the sexy women on their planes and as a form of expression.
In other words, it was a great way to divert yourself from the harsh realities of the war going on. The images were also considered a form of indirect subversion to the contemporary cultural views of sexuality at the time. Because of this, the pictures of these women were racy, depicting a freer more daring type of woman and thus portraying the more liberal views of the Air Force men back in World War II.
Lastly, these Bomber Girls were drawn on simply because the public could not see them for the most part. Air Force bases were far from view of the public eye and thus far from public scrutiny.
These reasons contributed to the new almost epic history of the Bomber Girls.
Rock Artist Studios sell a large range of classic wartime sweetheart graphics in the form of vinyl decals and pin-up stickers. As well as the Lethal Threat pin-up decals, be sure to check out the retro pin-up sticker ranges too.
