Nose Art

Aircraft nose art originated in World War I but really flourished during World War II, generally considered the golden age of the practice.  The genre ran the spectrum, from reserved to risqué, benign to bold, and the quality ranged from tawdry to exquisite.  But, sadly, what was permitted during wartime to boost morale was prohibited after the bombs stopped falling and the bullets stopped flying.  The popular G.I. folk art was banned in the post-war era and it didn’t make a comeback until four decades later, when the Strategic Air Command (SAC) gave the nod to once again allow artists to adorn that command’s aircraft.  The bulk of these were bombers (B-52s and B-1s) and tankers (KC-135s and KC-10s), but the “white-tops” (EC-135s) got in on the action too.

A total of 32 EC-135s (see list at end of this article) were flying in SAC during the late 1980s and early 1990s when nose art made its resurgence.  These ECs were assigned to the 2 ACCS at Offutt AFB, 4 ACCS at Ellsworth AFB, and 70 AREFS at Grissom AFB.  Some of these aircraft apparently never had nose art, while the record shows that others had more than one, albeit at different times of course.  The following are images of the nose art of which I am aware.

Does anyone know if aircraft 8054, with the eagle’s head nose art, had a name?  The following is a list of the SAC EC-135 serial numbers and models, with the aircraft’s name shown under “Title” and a description of the art and other comments following that.

S/N – Model     Title                                        

61-0261 L        –                                             
61-0262 A        – Rollin Thunder (two lightning flashes piercing storm clouds)[1]
61-0263 L        –                                             
61-0269 L        – (static display @ Grissom)
61-0278 A        –                                             
61-0279 L        –                                             
61-0281 L        – (reconfigured to KC-135E)
61-0283 L        – “Varmint” (Yosemite Sam (taken 7/1991)
61-0287 A        – Phantom of the North (Grim Reaper)
61-0287 A        – Phantom (Skull in leather pilot’s helmet, glove on stick)
61-0287 A        – Belle of Bellevue (no art, static display @ Offutt, now without a name)
61-0288 L        –  (reconfigured to KC-135R)
61-0289 A        Duke (John Wayne in western gear)
61-0293 A        –                                               (reconfigured to KC-135R)
61-0297 A        –                                             
61-0302 L        –                                               (reconfigured to KC-135R)
62-3570 G       –                                             
62-3579 G       Cracker Jack (dancing Jack in a fractured blue rectangle)
62-3581 C        –                                             
62-3582 C        Miss Fortune (Betty Grable-posed woman in blue bathing suit)
62-3583 C       – The Black Knight (black helmet on shield w/saltire missile & flash)*
62-3584 C        –                                               (converted to -135J, destroyed in accident, 1992)
62-3585 C        Betty (female in WWII garb, fighters, clouds)[2]
62-3585 C        Last Resort (bald eagle w/banner, and a launching missile)*
63-7994 G       Dina Might (exploding stick of dynamite in stylized rectangle)
63-8001 G       Miss Link (woman holding two flashes coming from clouds)[3]
63-8046 C        Sentinel (medieval knight w/battle axe)*
63-8047 C        Night Hawk (hawk’s head caricature on black disk)
63-8048 C        No Problem (Alf on US flag-motif disk (only EC- art with an embroidered patch!)
63-8049 C        Midnight Express (locomotive & coal car, now at SAC & Aerospace Museum)
63-8050 C        Heavy Metal (winged Oscar on black disk w/blue flames) (see note)
63-8051 C        The Centenarian (SD centennial logo 1889-1989, US flag motif)
63-8051 C        Northern Princess (bikini-clad blonde warrior woman on stallion)
63-8052 C        Wild Fire (black stallion w/fiery mane on red disk)*
63-8053 C        Griffin (an heraldic griffin – spelling uncertain, name cropped after GR)*
63-8054 C        (no name is visible, art is a bald eagle’s head)*

* Image retrieved 11/24/01 from Jerry Misiewicz’ website (www.misiewicz.com/PACCS/images), now defunct.  Other images are from the author’s collection, mostly 35mm color slides.

Note:  Several 9 ACCS and 10 ACCS EC-135s were briefly assigned to the 55 SRW/WG after those units closed, but there is no record of nose art on those aircraft during their short stint in SAC.  Most of these excess aircraft were flown to the AMARC (“boneyard”) in 1991 and 1992, along with some from the 4 ACCS too.  Visit wwabncp.com/ec135loc.htm for latest status of all ECs.

Aircraft 63-8050 was converted into an NKC-135B and, at last report, is still flying.

In conclusion, readers who have images of other EC-135 nose art, or better images than what is pictured above, are encouraged to forward them to the author so that this important part of SAC’s history can be recorded, preserved, and celebrated!

[1] A color illustration of this by Burridge was published in the 1995 book, Peace Was Their Profession – SAC:  A Tribute, p. 261, captioned 28th Bomb Wing.  This aircraft is now on static display at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum.

[2] The shaded entries indicate multiple nose art for the same aircraft.  The chronological sequence is not known, except for 0287.

[3] Color illustration by Campbell Archives/OKC published in Peace Was Their Profession – SAC:  A Tribute, p. 263, captioned as an EC-135G aircraft in the 28^th Bomb Wing.  I also have a 4 ACCS/DOA group photo with this aircraft, with art, behind them.

Photos supplied by Greg Ogletree and Joe Bruch