Best B-17 Nose Art During WWII?

Here are some of the best nose arts in B-17s with stunning details and the stories behind them:

Double Trouble

This Fortress was built in 1942 and was assigned to the USAF’s 94th Bomb Group. Some of the men in this unit painted a beautiful piece of design on her. It’s quite rare to find a piece of nose art that has two pinup girls. 

Double Trouble and her crew participated in the bombing of Europe for four months. However, she would eventually fly her last mission on October 4, 1943. The possible culprit of this attack would be from a 109 flown by German Otto Meyer. Double Trouble was still able to do a crash landing in Kent with only one of its crew injured. 

Miss Ouachita

One of the ground crew painted a banner with a pinup with this very name. This B-17 was the one that was infamously featured in a series of German propaganda photos in 1944. 

On day three of the famous Big Week during the 8th Air Forces’ massive bombardment in Europe, Miss Ouachita was taken down by German ace Heinz Baer. The aircraft crash-landed and the surviving crew were taken as POWs. Baer, being transferred to the Eastern Front months earlier, earned one of his very first heavy bomber kills that day. Thus, they went to visit the crash site, and walked around the plane, and the famous propaganda photo was snapped. 

Flying Hobo

This unique piece of nose art was painted by a member of the 305th Bomb Group which showcased a pirate rather than your usual pin-up girl.

The bomber was hit during a bombing raid on Brean and only one of its crew managed to survive and was taken as a POW. 

Liberty Belle & Heavenly Body

Liberty Belle from the 487th bomb group had a flair of patriotic spirit with a pin-up girl boasting an American flag. The second plane from the 487th would be the B-17 Heavenly Body- who is quite obviously, just that… a heavenly body of a naked pin-up resting on a moon. 

On September 30, 1944, when the bomb group was assigned to strike a target over Germany, tragedy would soon strike. Because of heavy contrails and prop wash, Liberty Belle was thrown into a spin and collided with another B-17- the Heavenly Body. Of the 18 crew members onboard these two bombers, only 3 would survive as both planes fell to their demise.