# Coolest B-29 Nose Art Ever



## Snautzer01 (Jul 8, 2010)

B29 nicknamed "Waddy's Wagon"

see for youre self.

It would make the most spectacular diorama


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## Thorlifter (Jul 8, 2010)

That's pretty cool. Sure took some time to do.....


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## B-17engineer (Jul 8, 2010)

That's awesome


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## Snautzer01 (Jul 8, 2010)

you can even see what their jobs are on de plane. pilot, tail gunner etc. Cool sense of wacky humour i thought


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## Wayne Little (Jul 8, 2010)

That's excellent!


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## evangilder (Jul 8, 2010)

Neat stuff. With the characters posing beneath it, it's really a cool snapshot of history.


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## BombTaxi (Jul 8, 2010)

I have a book (currently at my parent's house) of photos from the Korean air war, and some of the B-29 nose art is stunning. One, named "Cap'n Sam and Ten Cents" (IIRC) features the aircrew portrayed as cartoon skunks from the nose right back to the wing root. 

On a slightly related note, I have never seen any pics of B-29 assembly ships. Were there any, or if not, why was the role dispensed with when it existed in the ETO right to the end of the war?


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## Gnomey (Jul 8, 2010)

Excellent shot! Would be great to see a model of it.


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## Airframes (Jul 8, 2010)

Excellent shot, ansd a heck of a job to do as a model!
Regarding the Assembly Ships; I might be wrong, but they probably were not needed in the PTO/Korea. 
Their use in the ETO was mainly due to the invariably poor weather, but more importantly, the fact that the USAAF bases in East Anglia, UK, were so close to each other, with circuits actually overlapping on many, that the Squadrons and Groups had to climb out and circle to form up, before proceeding to an assembly point, normally over the North Sea or the Norfolk/Suffolk coast, where they would circle again. It was in these areas where the assembly ship(s) 'gathered in the flock', with the various groups assembling in order, left to right, high to low, before setting out for the Continent. The assembly ships were required in order to have the formation in order before reaching the 'enemy' coast, which was a relatively short distance, and flying time, away, especially compared to the vast distances in the other theatres. The assembly ships broke off and returned to base roughly half way across the ocean, before reaching the coast of Continental Europe.
In the PTO, and later Korea, the formations could assemble en route, as the distances and time involved allowed this, and there was not as much dense congestion in the airspace above and around the 'home' bases.


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## vikingBerserker (Jul 8, 2010)

That is pretty dam cool!


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## BikerBabe (Jul 8, 2010)

Neat!!!


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## syscom3 (Jul 8, 2010)

I have to check with the B29 forum, but I think that B29 was eventually shot down with all aboard lost. 

The AC commander was also a noted football player in college.


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## Snautzer01 (Jul 8, 2010)

It was lost

Waddy's Wagon


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## Glider (Jul 8, 2010)

It always seems to be the best that pay the price.


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## Njaco (Jul 8, 2010)

Fantstic pic but a shame they didn't make it.


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Jul 8, 2010)

Njaco said:


> Fantstic pic but a shame they didn't make it.


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## Frantish (Jul 12, 2010)

Yes, no question this noseart is above excellent!


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## FLYBOYJ (Jul 12, 2010)

Young a war hero, kind man<br/><span class='hl2'>Ex-Sooner, killed near Tokyo in 1945, has been gone 62 years but never forgotten</span> | NewsOK.com


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## Night Fighter Nut (Jul 14, 2010)




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## JG 26 (Jul 14, 2010)

I love nose art pics. I wonder if there is a coffee table type book with them?


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## Pong (Jul 16, 2010)

A  to the crew who flew the Wagon.


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## Shinpachi (Jul 16, 2010)

This was my tribute to Asq5 ( 42-24598 ) Waddy's Wagon in search of 73rd BW mission two years ago.
If color picture of the noseart available, I would like to complete the port side too in the future.


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## drgondog (Jul 19, 2010)

JG 26 said:


> I love nose art pics. I wonder if there is a coffee table type book with them?



Jeff Ethell did one - great assembly. There have been others but I will have to complete my unpacking to get tmy Library.

Terry was right about assembly ships with a couple of points to emphasize. 

The East Anglia airfield complex was the densest ATC challenge the world has ever seen with literally 2000-3000 8th and 9th AF ships assembling in same two hour window, in a vertical climbing cylinder until completely formed into combat boxes, from multiple locations, to form combat squadrons, then groups, then wings, then Divisions - and get them in the right position in weather fair and foul. 

The 'cylinders' would become combat boxes of single and multiple combat wings - and the boxes then had to be placed in correct 'trail position' behind the Division commander in the lead airplane of the lead box.. The Assembly ship's job was done when 'his' group was formed up and headed to the assembly 'Splasher Beacon' to hook up with the other boxes of their division.

Hopefully the RAF BC was already on the ground when this glorious exhibition of controlled chaos was underway - particularly in bad weather.

The Assembly ships did a great job, making their specific colors available when even 'triangles, squares and circles' were not visible. 

Target Escort Fighters took off a couple of hours later after the Penetration Escort fighters took off, and the Penetration Escort left 30-40 minutes after the Big Friends and met them over the Axis coastline - no 'Assembly' ships required.

The PTO and Korean War on the other hand never put up the numbers, were mostly assembled in the clear and had a much easier time assembling. 

Interestingly enough one of the things my Luftwaffe friends marvelled at the most was the awesome requirements and execution of getting that mass of airlanes up and headed in the right direction, more or less in the right position and flying good formations.

My older Brit friends remember the daily thunder of up to 10,000 piston engines going through the circular climbing dance until the sound faded to the east - then return some 8-10 hours later during daylight hours -only to restart the process with RAF BC a coupe of hours later.

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## Snautzer01 (Jan 21, 2022)

Original WWII 497th Bomb Group "Waddy's Wagon" B-29 Nose Art Photograph | eBay


Original very good condition. See pictures for details.



www.ebay.com

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## FLYBOYJ (Jan 21, 2022)

Aircraft and crew lost in a mid air January 9, 1945

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## Greg Boeser (Jan 21, 2022)

11 1/2 years! Is this a record for rsurrecting a zombie thread?

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## FLYBOYJ (Jan 21, 2022)

Greg Boeser said:


> 11 1/2 years! Is this a record for rsurrecting a zombie thread?


Nope - I think I seen some resurrected that were from 2006


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## Snautzer01 (Jan 21, 2022)

Greg Boeser said:


> 11 1/2 years! Is this a record for rsurrecting a zombie thread?


If i start a thread it never becomes zombie.

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## Greg Boeser (Jan 21, 2022)

Snautzer01 said:


> If i start a thread it never becomes zombie.


True. I love the photos you dig up.

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## Snautzer01 (Jan 21, 2022)

FLYBOYJ said:


> Nope - I think I seen some resurrected that were from 2006


Darn. Have to look harder then for the most obscure airframe i ever posted. 
Now, where is that colour picture i have that someone asked for....

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## Snautzer01 (Jan 21, 2022)

FLYBOYJ said:


> View attachment 655334
> 
> 
> Aircraft and crew lost in a mid air January 9, 1945


Thanks i posted this one to begin with. Found out that if one deletes picture while editing it is permanent. I was going to post the last and deleted without posting but it was gone.


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## GTX (Jan 21, 2022)

Colourised version:

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## syscom3 (Jan 21, 2022)

Snautzer01 said:


> Original WWII 497th Bomb Group "Waddy's Wagon" B-29 Nose Art Photograph | eBay
> 
> 
> Original very good condition. See pictures for details.
> ...


All KIA.


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## GTX (Jan 21, 2022)

Details here:


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## SaparotRob (Jan 21, 2022)

I have never noticed nose art on IJA or IJN planes. Do any photos exist?


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## GTX (Jan 21, 2022)

SaparotRob said:


> I have never noticed nose art on IJA or IJN planes. Do any photos exist?


I don't believe it was that common but there are examples (not on the nose though):

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## SaparotRob (Jan 21, 2022)

Cool! I wonder if any Flying Tigers ran into any Flying Tigers.

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## Thumpalumpacus (Jan 22, 2022)

syscom3 said:


> All KIA.


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## Gnomey (Jan 22, 2022)

Good shots!


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