War is transient, but music is eternal!
They began to decorate planes with images almost immediately after the appearance of military aviation. It is believed that the first drawing applied to the fuselage of an aircraft was the image of a sea monster on the nose of an Italian flying boat in 1913.
Later, drawing on the plane became known as nose art. Initially, the images on the airplanes resembled heraldic symbols, similar to those that ancient knights put on shields. It is worth remembering the rearing stallion (cavallino rampante) of the Italian ace Francesco Baracchi. This coat of arms was later used by the Ferrari company.
Francesco Baraca poses in front of his plane!
Later, the drawings on the aircraft became more varied. For example, storks adorned the fuselages of French aircraft from Escadrille les Cigognes.
The most popular nose art in the US Air Force was during World War II. The initiators of the aircraft painting were often no longer the pilots, but its service personnel. The development of nose art in the United States was greatly influenced by pin-up. For example, the image of a naked pin-up star of that era, Betty Grable, flaunted on many military aircraft. In the USSR, of course, such liberties were not allowed, but the drawings on Soviet planes of that time were also distinguished by their beauty and sophistication.
More often they began to apply drawings to the fuselage after the battle at the Kursk Bulge in 1943, when the initiative passed to the Red Army. Often, next to the image on the plane, one could see asterisks showing the number of enemy aircraft shot down (for the first time, Spanish pilots began to do this). On Soviet aircraft, victories could be indicated by asterisks of several colors. Personal victory was marked with one color, planes shot down in a group - with another.
Many Soviet viewers were able to get acquainted with the drawings on the planes thanks to the film "Only" old men "go to battle". On the fuselage of the plane of the squadron commander Alexei Titarenko, played by Leonid Bykov, a music staff was depicted. The image of the music is no coincidence. Such a drawing, for example, was on the plane of the Soviet attack pilot Vasily Emelianenko, who had a musical education.
Vasily Emelianenko's plane
The maestro himself!
The plane La-5 Kostylev in the exposition of the Museum of Defense of Leningrad.
Captain Alexander Lobanov (left) and Major Alexander Pavlov next to La-5FN, April 10, 1945
Lieutenant Zabiyaka G.I. against the background of the personalized Pe-2 205 series. The inscription "Bully" is white, lightning - yellow
Lieutenant Gennady Tsokolaev. On board - the emblem "Guard"
Captain Alexander Nikolaevich Kilaberidze from 65 GIAP in the cockpit of the Yak-9, Belarus, June 1944
"Lion's Heart", LaGG-3 of Lieutenant Yuri Shchipov, 9th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force.
Squadron Commander of the 566th ShAP Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Mykhlik
The Il-2 "Avenger" aircraft was built at the expense of the chairman of the collective farm Grigor Tevosyan,
who killed two brothers in the war. Nelson Stepanyan flew on the plane.
Georgy Baevsky (right) and mechanic Sobakin in front of the Yak-9U. 5 GvIAP. Sprotau airfield, Germany. April 1945
On the keel LAGG-3 of Leonid Galchenko, instead of a red star, a black cat is depicted playing with a mouse.
1942 year. The cat was originally white
Malyutina Elena Mironovna and her swallow
Flight Commander of the 180th Guards Fighter Stalingrad Red Banner Aviation Regiment
Major General Georgy Zakharov in the Yak-3 cockpit. By plane - George the Victorious,
piercing a snake with the head of Goebbels. Spring 1945
Pilot of the 958th Assault Aviation Regiment, Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Meilus .
Airacobra Vyacheslav Sirotin
Nikolay Proshenkov and his "Airacobra"
The Yak-9B aircraft of the commander of the 168th IAP, Lieutenant Colonel Grigory Kogrushev.
Captain Alexey Zakalyuk, 104th GvIAP
Alexey Alelyukhin's plane
Captain Georgy Urvachev (left)
Fighter pilot Vladimir Dmitriev
Aircraft of Senior Lieutenant Vasily Aleksukhin
Fedor Dobysh and Alexander Pomazunov against the background of the Pe-2 with a crocodile
Airplane of Abrek Barsht
Nikolay Didenko's plane
The plane of Vladimir Pokrovsky
The commander of the Cherbourg squadron of the Normandy regiment Marcel Lefevre and his Soviet comrades (technician-lieutenant Tarasov and senior sergeant Kolupaev) at the Yak-9 # 14 fighter
Eagle of Mikhail Avdeev
Agitation aircraft ANT-9 "Crocodile"
Squadron Commander of the 5th Assault Regiment Hero of the Soviet Union A. Putin before a combat mission
Hero of the Soviet Union M.D. Baranov (right) congratulated on another victory. Stalingrad front. 1942 year
"For Zhenya Lobanov" (Northern Fleet Air Force, Il-2, 1943)
Hero of the Soviet Union Captain A.D. Bilyukin in the cockpit of his signature aircraft "Alexander Nevsky"
The crew of the registered reconnaissance aircraft 39 ORAP (from left to right): commander I.M. Glyga, radio operator K.N. Semichev and navigator of the joint venture. Minaev
"For Volodya!" (32nd Guards IAP, North-Western Front, Yak-9, 1943)
Plane "Revenge of the Baranovs"
The crew of Major K. Ivantsov
The flight crew N.V. Baranov before the last flight before the surrender of the Germans.
Once on the site we held an Air Parade competition timed to coincide with the Victory anniversary, where readers were asked to guess the names of some of the most famous aircraft of World War II by their silhouettes. The competition has ended, and now we are publishing photos of these combat vehicles. We offer you to remember what the winners and the vanquished fought in the sky.
PM edition
Germany
Messerschmitt Bf.109
In fact, a whole family of German combat vehicles, the total number of which (33 984 pieces) makes the 109th one of the most massive aircraft of the Second World War. It was used as a fighter, fighter-bomber, fighter-interceptor, reconnaissance aircraft. It was as a fighter that the Messer earned a sad reputation among Soviet pilots - at the initial stage of the war, Soviet fighters, such as the I-16 and LaGG, were clearly inferior in technical terms to the Bf.109 and suffered heavy losses. Only the appearance of more advanced aircraft, for example the Yak-9, allowed our pilots to fight with the Messers almost on an equal footing. The most massive modification of the vehicle was the Bf.109G ("Gustav").
Messerschmitt Bf.109
Messerschmitt Me.262
The plane was remembered not for its special role in World War II, but for the fact that it turned out to be the first-born of jet aircraft on the battlefield. Me.262 began to be designed before the war, but Hitler's real interest in the project aroused only in 1943, when the Luftwaffe had already lost its combat power. The Me.262 had a speed (about 850 km / h), altitude and rate of climb that were unique for its time, and therefore had serious advantages over any fighter of that time. In reality, for 150 Allied aircraft shot down, there were 100 lost Me.262. The low effectiveness of combat use was due to the "dampness" of the design, little experience in the use of jet aircraft and insufficient training of pilots.
Messerschmitt Me.262
Heinkel-111
Heinkel-111
Junkers Ju 87 Stuka
Produced in several modifications, the Ju 87 dive bomber became a kind of forerunner of modern high-precision weapons, since the bombs were not metal from a great height, but from a steep dive, which made it possible to more accurately aim the ammunition. It was very effective against tanks. Due to the specifics of the application in conditions of high overloads, the car was equipped with automatic air brakes to break out of the peak in case of loss of consciousness by the pilot. To enhance the psychological effect, the pilot during the attack turned on the "Jericho Trumpet" - a device that emitted a terrible howl. One of the most famous ace pilots who flew the Stuk was Hans-Ulrich Rudel, who left rather boastful memories of the war on the Eastern Front.
Junkers Ju 87 Stuka
Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu
The Fw 189 Uhu tactical reconnaissance aircraft is interesting primarily for its unusual double-boom design, for which Soviet soldiers called it "Rama". And it was on the Eastern Front that this reconnaissance spotter turned out to be the most useful to the Nazis. Our fighters knew well that after the "Rama" bombers would arrive and strike at the reconnoitered targets. But to shoot down this slow-moving aircraft was not so easy because of its high maneuverability and excellent survivability. When Soviet fighters approached, for example, he could begin to describe circles of a small radius, into which high-speed cars simply could not fit.
Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu
Probably the most recognizable bomber of the Luftwaffe was developed in the early 1930s under the guise of a civilian transport aircraft (the Versailles Treaty prohibited the creation of the German Air Force). At the beginning of World War II, the Heinkel-111 was the most massive bomber in the Luftwaffe. He became one of the main characters of the Battle of England - it was the result of Hitler's attempt to break the will to resist the British by means of massive bomb raids on the cities of Albion (1940). Even then it became clear that this medium bomber was morally outdated, lacking speed, maneuverability and protection. Nevertheless, the aircraft continued to be used and produced until 1944.
Allies
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
The American "flying fortress" in the course of the war constantly increased its defenses. In addition to excellent survivability (in the form of, for example, the ability to return to base with one whole engine out of four) in the B-17G modification, the heavy bomber received thirteen 12.7 mm machine guns. A tactic was developed in which the "flying fortresses" went over the enemy territory in a checkerboard pattern, protecting each other with crossfire. The aircraft was equipped with the Norden high-tech bombsight at that time, built on the basis of an analog computer. If the British bombed the Third Reich mainly in the dark, then the "flying fortresses" were not afraid to appear over Germany in the daytime.
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Avro 683 Lancaster
One of the main participants in the Allied bomber raids on Germany, a British heavy bomber of the Second World War. Avro 683 Lancaster accounted for ¾ of the total bomb load dropped by the British into the Third Reich. The carrying capacity allowed the four-engined aircraft to take on board "blockbusters" - super-heavy concrete-piercing bombs Tallboy and Grand Slam. Low security implied the use of "Lancaster" as night bombers, but night bombing was not very accurate. During the day, these aircraft suffered significant losses. "Lancaster" actively participated in the most destructive bomb raids of the Second World War - on Hamburg (1943) and Dresden (1945).
Avro 683 Lancaster
North American P-51 Mustang
One of the most iconic fighters of the Second World War, which played an exceptional role in the events on the Western Front. No matter how the Allied heavy bombers defending themselves on raids on Germany, these large, low-maneuverable and relatively slow-moving aircraft suffered heavy losses from German fighter aircraft. The North American company, commissioned by the British government, urgently created a fighter that could not only successfully fight the Messers and Fokkers, but also have a sufficient range (due to outboard tanks) to accompany bombers' raids on the continent. When the Mustangs were used in this capacity in 1944, it became clear that the air war in the West was finally lost by the Germans.
North American P-51 Mustang
Supermarine spitfire
The main and most massive fighter of the British Air Force during the war, one of the best fighters of the Second World War. Its high-altitude and speed characteristics made it an equal rival to the German Messerschmitt Bf.109, and the skill of the pilots played an important role in the face-to-face battle of these two machines. "Spitfires" proved to be excellent, covering the evacuation of the British from Dunkirk after the success of Hitler's blitzkrieg, and then during the Battle of Britain (July-October 1940), when British fighters had to fight like German bombers He-111, Do-17, Ju 87 and Bf. 109 and Bf. 110.
Supermarine spitfire
Japan
Mitsubishi A6M Raisen
At the beginning of World War II, the Japanese carrier-based fighter A6M Raisen was the best in the world in its class, even though its name contained the Japanese word "Rei-sen", that is, "fighter-zero." Thanks to the outboard tanks, the fighter had a high flight range (3105 km), which made it indispensable for taking part in raids on the ocean theater. Among the aircraft involved in the attack on Pearl Harbor were 420 A6Ms. The Americans learned their lessons from communication with the nimble, fast-climbing Japanese, and by 1943 their fighter aircraft had surpassed their once-dangerous enemy.
Mitsubishi A6M Raisen
The most massive dive bomber in the USSR began to be produced even before the war, in 1940, and remained in service until the Victory. A low-wing aircraft with two motors and a double pitch tail was a very progressive machine for its time. In particular, it provided for a pressurized cabin and fly-by-wire control (which, due to its novelty, became the source of many problems). In reality, the Pe-2 was not used very often, unlike the Ju 87, precisely as a dive bomber. Most often, he inflicted bombing strikes on areas from a horizontal flight or from a gentle rather than deep dive.
Pe-2
The most massive combat aircraft in history (36,000 of these "silts" were produced) is considered a true legend of the battlefields. One of its features is the carrying armored hull, which replaced the frame and skin in most of the fuselage. The attack aircraft worked at heights of several hundred meters above the ground, becoming not the most difficult target for ground anti-aircraft weapons and an object of hunting by German fighters. The first versions of the Il-2 were built single-seat, without a gunner, which led to rather high combat losses among aircraft of this type. Nevertheless, the Il-2 played its role in all theaters where our army fought, becoming a powerful means of supporting ground forces in the fight against enemy armored vehicles.
IL-2
The Yak-3 became a development of the Yak-1M fighter, which had proved itself in battle. In the process, the wing was shortened and other design changes were made to reduce weight and improve aerodynamics. This light wooden aircraft showed an impressive speed of 650 km / h and had excellent flight characteristics at low altitudes. Trials of the Yak-3 started at the beginning of 1943, and already during the battle on the Kursk Bulge, he entered the battle, where with the help of a 20-mm ShVAK cannon and two 12.7-mm Berezin machine guns he successfully opposed the Messerschmites and Fokkers.
Yak-3
One of the best Soviet fighters La-7, which entered service a year before the end of the war, was the development of the LaGG-3 that met the war. All the advantages of the “ancestor” were reduced to two factors - high survivability and maximum use of wood in the construction instead of scarce metal. However, the weak engine and heavy weight made the LaGG-3 an unimportant opponent for the all-metal Messerschmitt Bf.109. La-5 was made from LaGG-3 to OKB-21 Lavochkin, by installing a new ASh-82 engine and improving the aerodynamics. The La-5FN modification with a forced engine was already an excellent combat vehicle, surpassing the Bf.109 in a number of parameters. In the La-7, the weight was again reduced, and the armament was also strengthened. The plane became very good, even while remaining wooden.
La-7
The U-2, or Po-2, created in 1928, by the beginning of the war was undoubtedly a model of outdated technology and was not designed as a combat aircraft at all (the combat training version appeared only in 1932). However, for the sake of victory, this classic biplane had to work as a night bomber. Its undoubted advantages are ease of operation, the ability to land outside airfields and take off from small sites, and low noise.
U-2
At low throttle in the dark, the U-2 approached an enemy object, remaining unnoticed almost until the moment of bombing. Since the bombing was carried out from low altitudes, its accuracy was very high, and the "maize" inflicted serious damage on the enemy.
The article "Air parade of winners and losers" was published in the magazine "Popular Mechanics" (
They began to decorate planes with images almost immediately after the appearance of military aviation. The founders of this type of painting were Italian and German pilots. It is believed that the first drawing applied to the fuselage of an aircraft was the image of a sea monster on the nose of an Italian flying boat in 1913. Later, drawing on the plane became known as nose art.
Initially, the images on the airplanes resembled heraldic symbols, similar to those that ancient knights put on shields. It is worth remembering the rearing stallion (cavallino rampante) of the Italian ace Francesco Baracchi. This coat of arms was later used by Ferrari.
Later, the drawings on the aircraft became more varied. For example, storks adorned the fuselages of French aircraft from Escadrille les Cigognes. The most popular nose art in the US Air Force was during World War II. The initiators of the aircraft painting were often no longer the pilots, but its service personnel. The development of nose art in the United States was greatly influenced by pin-up. For example, the image of a naked pin-up star of that era, Betty Grable, flaunted on many military aircraft. In the USSR, of course, such liberties were not allowed, but the drawings on Soviet planes of that time were also distinguished by their beauty and sophistication. Many Soviet viewers were able to get acquainted with the drawings on the planes thanks to the film "Only" old men "go to battle". On the fuselage of the plane of the squadron commander Alexei Titarenko, played by Leonid Bykov, a music staff was depicted. The image of the music is no coincidence. Such a drawing, for example, was on the plane of the Soviet pilot-attack aircraft Vasily Emelianenko, who had a musical education. It also recalls the plane that the Utesov ensemble presented to Soviet pilots during the war. Cases when airplanes were built at the expense of citizens were not uncommon. Such fighters usually had an inscription indicating whose money the car was created with. Sometimes there was a small image next to the inscription.
Photo: Kostylev's La-5 aircraft on display at the Museum of the Defense of Leningrad.
Photo: Captain Alexander Lobanov (left) and Major Alexander Pavlov next to La-5FN, April 10, 1945
Photo: Lieutenant Zabiyaka G.I. against the background of the personalized Pe-2 205 series. The inscription "Bully" is white, lightning - yellow
Photo: Lieutenant Gennady Tsokolaev. On board - the emblem "Guard"
Photo: Captain Alexander Nikolaevich Kilaberidze from 65 GIAP in the Yak-9 cockpit, Belarus
Photo: "Lionheart", LaGG-3 of Lieutenant Yuri Shchipov, 9th Air Force Fighter Regiment
Photo: Squadron Commander of the 566th ShAP Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Mykhlik
Photo: The Il-2 "Avenger" aircraft was built at the expense of the chairman of the collective farm Grigor Tevosyan, whose two brothers were killed in the war. Nelson Stepanyan flew on the plane.
Photo: Georgy Baevsky (right) and mechanic Sobakin in front of the Yak-9U. 5 GvIAP. Sprotau airfield, Germany. April 1945
Photo: On the keel LAGG-3 of Leonid Galchenko, instead of a red star, there is a black cat playing with a mouse. 1942 year. The cat was originally white
Photo: Elena Malyutina and her swallow
Photo: Flight commander of the 180th Guards Fighter Stalingrad Red Banner Aviation Regiment of the Guard Senior Lieutenant Viktor Lukoshkov in front of La-5FN
Photo: Major General Georgy Zakharov in the Yak-3 cockpit. On the plane - George the Victorious piercing a snake with the head of Goebbels. Spring 1945
Photo: Pilot of the 958th Assault Aviation Regiment, Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Meilus.
Photo: Vyacheslav Sirotin's Airacobra
Photo: Mikhail Avdeev's Eagle
Photo: Nikolay Proshenkov and his "Airacobra"
Photo: Vasily Emelianenko's plane
Photo: The Yak-9B plane of the commander of the 168th IAP, Lieutenant Colonel Grigory Kogrushev.
Photo: Captain Alexey Zakalyuk, 104th GvIAP
Photo: Alexey Alelyukhin's plane
Photo: Captain Georgy Urvachev (left)
Photo: Fighter pilot Vladimir Dmitriev
Photo: Aircraft of Senior Lieutenant Vasily Aleksukhin
Photo: Fedor Dobysh and Alexander Pomazunov in front of the Pe-2 with a crocodile
Photo: Airplane of Abrek Barsht
Photo: Nikolay Didenko's plane
Drawing pictures on combat aircraft during the Great Patriotic War was not welcomed, although they turned a blind eye to this. More often they began to apply drawings to the fuselage after the battle at the Kursk Bulge in 1943, when the initiative passed to the Red Army. Often, next to the image on the plane, stars were seen showing the number of enemy aircraft shot down (for the first time, Spanish pilots began to do this). On Soviet aircraft, victories could be indicated by asterisks of several colors. Personal victory was marked with one color, planes shot down in a group - with another.
There were cases when the fuselage was decorated with the image of the "Golden Star" received for the victory. Old traditions have also survived: the fighter's nose sometimes resembled the mouth of a mythical monster. In general, drawings and emblems, frightening the enemy, were often applied. For example, a dragon was depicted on the Yak-9 Gugridze fighter; a toothy mouth was on the plane of Georgy Kostylev.
There were no special rules for applying emblems. Each squadron had its own customs. Some pilots had their own emblem, others - common to all. Often planes were decorated with cards or a certain suit. This was usually an ace. It was usually applied by distinguished pilots. So, the aces were painted on the La-5 plane by Alexander Pavlov, on the LaGG-3 by Yuri Shilov.
Those who managed to knock out the German plane of the famous squadron placed on the fighter the emblem of this squadron, pierced by an arrow or entwined with a snake, or another similar symbol. For example, the planes of the squadron of the 9th Guards Regiment, commanded by Alexei Alelyukhin, carried the emblem invented by pilot Yevgeny Dranishchev with a leopard breaking the heart. This indicated that the pilots had defeated the 9 Staffel JG 52 aces (the heart under the cockpit was their hallmark). Animals were often depicted on Soviet military aircraft. Drawings of birds were also common. So, similar images were on the planes of such famous pilots as Mikhail Avdeev, Vladimir Pokrovsky, Vyacheslav Sirotin. Symbolic images such as arrows and lightning were especially popular.
The art of painting on aircraft fuselages - nose art - appeared during the First World War.
Californian art critic and antiquarian Bruce Herman argues that drawings on airplanes are a continuation of the European chivalrous traditions of heraldry.
“The pilots of the First World War most often themselves belonged to the ancient noble families and, perhaps, took themselves seriously as new knights. They even had their own special knightly“ code of honor. ”During the Middle Ages, knights painted their shields - they painted their family coat of arms. It is here that one should look for the origins of the tradition of painting military aircraft, "says Herman.
It should be noted that the painting of aircraft during the First World War is distinguished by high professionalism and is of real artistic value.
“Most of the pilots at the turn of the century had a professional art education before the war,” Herman explains.
During the First World War, the pilots did not paint the planes themselves. Coats of arms, pictures and mottos were drawn on canvas, which was then attached to the wing or tail of a combat vehicle. At auctions, the price for such works of art can reach several hundred thousand dollars.
The Second World War
With the outbreak of World War II, the art of painting combat aircraft has undergone dramatic changes. Classic plots and classical art disappeared forever from the sides of fighters and bombers. His place was taken by popular cartoon characters.
The fashion for "war paint" aircraft quickly won the hearts of pilots during the Second World War.
"Americans have proven to be the most uninventive but most active artists," Herman says.
Few people know that the founder of animation - Walt Disney - was also the "godfather" of nose art. After the outbreak of the war, the US Air Force hired artists from the Disney studio solely to paint the warplanes.
During the war, Disney's studio created free sketches of drawings for coloring aircraft, tanks and even stripes on uniforms. drew not only for the American military, sketches were requested by military units from Great Britain, Poland, China, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and France. During the war, Disney allocated five artists for the needs of the army. During the Second World War, 1200 drawings for the military were drawn at the Disney studio. The most popular hero was Donald Duck. The only cartoon character who was never drawn on military equipment was Bambi.
Disney himself, who went through the First World War as a soldier, amused himself in combat conditions by drawing on the helmets of his comrades. However, fans of Disney's creativity lived not only in the United States.
"Disney was furious when he found out that several dozen Luftwaffe fighters had his Mikiya Mouse painted on the fuselage," Herman says.
Besides animation, Esquire magazine was the main source of inspiration for martial artists. Most often, pictures of the Esquire artist Alberto Vargas were reproduced on the fuselages of bombers and fighters.
Nose art 1945-2003
After the end of World War II, nose art became widely known. Now about the pictures that adorn combat aircraft, they know not only in the sky, but also on the ground.
In the West, extensive catalogs of symbols and drawings made on airplanes during various military conflicts are published.
The plot of the picture most often depends on the nature of the conflict.
It is worth noting that there are practically no undrawn aircraft, for example, in the US Air Force. Pictures are even on the top-secret B-2 and F-117 bombers. But in order to avoid misunderstandings, their pilots paint exclusively on the inside of the bomb bay doors or other surfaces invisible to the authorities.
Officially, the only Air Force unit allowed to paint aircraft is the 23rd Flying Tigers.
War is transient, but music is eternal!
They began to decorate planes with images almost immediately after the appearance of military aviation. It is believed that the first drawing applied to the fuselage of an aircraft was the image of a sea monster on the nose of an Italian flying boat in 1913.
Later, drawing on the plane became known as nose art. Initially, the images on the airplanes resembled heraldic symbols, similar to those that ancient knights put on shields. It is worth remembering the rearing stallion (cavallino rampante) of the Italian ace Francesco Baracchi. This coat of arms was later used by the Ferrari company.
Francesco Baraca poses in front of his plane!
Later, the drawings on the aircraft became more varied. For example, storks adorned the fuselages of French aircraft from Escadrille les Cigognes.
The most popular nose art in the US Air Force was during World War II. The initiators of the aircraft painting were often no longer the pilots, but its service personnel. The development of nose art in the United States was greatly influenced by pin-up. For example, the image of a naked pin-up star of that era, Betty Grable, flaunted on many military aircraft. In the USSR, of course, such liberties were not allowed, but the drawings on Soviet planes of that time were also distinguished by their beauty and sophistication.
More often they began to apply drawings to the fuselage after the battle at the Kursk Bulge in 1943, when the initiative passed to the Red Army. Often, next to the image on the plane, one could see asterisks showing the number of enemy aircraft shot down (for the first time, Spanish pilots began to do this). On Soviet aircraft, victories could be indicated by asterisks of several colors. Personal victory was marked with one color, planes shot down in a group - with another.
Many Soviet viewers were able to get acquainted with the drawings on the planes thanks to the film "Only" old men "go to battle". On the fuselage of the plane of the squadron commander Alexei Titarenko, played by Leonid Bykov, a music staff was depicted. The image of the music is no coincidence. Such a drawing, for example, was on the plane of the Soviet attack pilot Vasily Emelianenko, who had a musical education.
Vasily Emelianenko's plane
The maestro himself!
The plane La-5 Kostylev in the exposition of the Museum of Defense of Leningrad.
Captain Alexander Lobanov (left) and Major Alexander Pavlov next to La-5FN, April 10, 1945
Lieutenant Zabiyaka G.I. against the background of the personalized Pe-2 205 series. The inscription "Bully" is white, lightning - yellow
Lieutenant Gennady Tsokolaev. On board - the emblem "Guard"
Captain Alexander Nikolaevich Kilaberidze from 65 GIAP in the cockpit of the Yak-9, Belarus, June 1944
"Lion's Heart", LaGG-3 of Lieutenant Yuri Shchipov, 9th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force.
Squadron Commander of the 566th ShAP Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Mykhlik
The Il-2 "Avenger" aircraft was built at the expense of the chairman of the collective farm Grigor Tevosyan,
who killed two brothers in the war. Nelson Stepanyan flew on the plane.
Georgy Baevsky (right) and mechanic Sobakin in front of the Yak-9U. 5 GvIAP. Sprotau airfield, Germany. April 1945
On the keel LAGG-3 of Leonid Galchenko, instead of a red star, a black cat is depicted playing with a mouse.
1942 year. The cat was originally white
Malyutina Elena Mironovna and her swallow
Flight Commander of the 180th Guards Fighter Stalingrad Red Banner Aviation Regiment
Major General Georgy Zakharov in the Yak-3 cockpit. By plane - George the Victorious,
piercing a snake with the head of Goebbels. Spring 1945
Pilot of the 958th Assault Aviation Regiment, Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Meilus .
Airacobra Vyacheslav Sirotin
Nikolay Proshenkov and his "Airacobra"
The Yak-9B aircraft of the commander of the 168th IAP, Lieutenant Colonel Grigory Kogrushev.
Captain Alexey Zakalyuk, 104th GvIAP
Alexey Alelyukhin's plane
Captain Georgy Urvachev (left)
Fighter pilot Vladimir Dmitriev
Aircraft of Senior Lieutenant Vasily Aleksukhin
Fedor Dobysh and Alexander Pomazunov against the background of the Pe-2 with a crocodile
Airplane of Abrek Barsht
Nikolay Didenko's plane
The plane of Vladimir Pokrovsky
The commander of the Cherbourg squadron of the Normandy regiment Marcel Lefevre and his Soviet comrades (technician-lieutenant Tarasov and senior sergeant Kolupaev) at the Yak-9 # 14 fighter