Nose Art Themes

War Bond Aircraft





Initially $275,000 would enable to community group to have a heavy bomber named (a B17 or B24), lesser funds could "purchase" a twin engined B25 (approximately $110,000) or a pursuit fighter or even a tiny liaison plane converted for medivac duties. In the early months of conflict, the aircraft was flown to a local airfield and naming ceremony was carried out with full publicity but as the pressures of the war increased this became impossible so the aircraft was painted up as it left the factory or modification facility and a photograph was sent to the community representatives or local newspapers. Many of these aircraft seem to have disappeared from history and little is known of what became of many of them in the war effort. Some remained in the USA as training ships and some flew combat missions bearing this original name but others were promptly re-named by combat crews overseas with a sexier or more relevant title or artwork.

According to research carried out by John Fredrickson, some war bond aircraft never actually existed at all. He wrote "At North American of Kansas, the ruse was carried out in the photographic department. A master photo of a generic B-25 was prepared.... (with) no serial number or other identifying marks. A calligrapher then inked the name of the contributing group onto paper. The image was photographed so the small cursive was then overlaid onto the generic negative. The resulting 8x10 photo implied that there was an actual B-25 with white paint decorating the nose in celebration of their monetary contribution. Every group received a photo of the same airplane and nobody at the factory bothered to dab a brush into paint. Many people have attempted to research the combat fate of "their" bomber, only to be frustrated when told that no such airplane ever existed." It is quite possible that a similar situation arose regarding other aircraft types and other manufacturers. Any evidence or photos of any such aircraft would always be most welcome.

If you have any knowledge of the history of any of these War Bond or donated planes or can add new or better photos or further examples please share with me so that they can be recorded and put back into the history books. Photos of the named planes and of any naming ceremonies are of particular interest.