Our aviation tattoo for today on Tattoos In Flight features two of the most famous foes of the air war over Europe in World War II — the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber that was made famous for its use in the daylight strategic bombing campaigns and its aggressor the famous fighter of the German Luftwaffe, the Messerschmitt Bf-109.  Brazilian tattoo artist Marcelo Marzari created the colorful upper arm half sleeve tattoo.

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Immortalized here in ink is a pair of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses flying together, in formation, at the climax of the bombing run.  Most people these days cannot possibly fathom the sight and sound of hundreds of bombers in formation over a target… but it was a common sight over Europe from in the early 1940′s.  Unlike the precision technology of today’s smart bombs, cruise missiles, and attack aircraft, the bombing campaigns during World War II relied more on quantity than quality.  Thousands of non-precision “dumb” bombs were required in the attempt to take out a target… and even then, the success may be mixed.  Though the allies had the super-secret Norden calculating bombsight that improved precision greatly, the massive daylight strategic bombing campaigns were still a tremendous risk in the face of massive anti-aircraft fire, fighter defenses, and the general risk of the cold and lack of oxygen at the altitudes they were required to fly at.

The sacrifices of the air crew that served in the US Army Air Corps at during these missions are countless and their bravery has been told in numerous books, movies, and articles over the past six decades since the war ended.  A tattoo tribute is fitting as a permanent memory to them.  The B-17G’s depicted here have the markings of the 91st Bomb Group, 323rd Squadron that operated from Bassingbourn, England

This tattoo was created by artist Matt Maguire of Witch City Ink in Salem, MA.

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Being a long-time tattoo enthusiast who has probably seen millions of different tattoos, it takes quite a tattoo to draw my attention and get a verbal “whoa!” when I uncover it.  When I found this tattoo last night in the portfolio of Hayley Lakeman from Charlotte, NC , I did just that… I was amazed.

One of the things that immediately drew me to this tattoo was the lack of other tattoos evident on the wearer — the contrast of the black and gray masterpiece on an empty canvas was incredible.

I know tattoo artists are frequently frustrated by clients who want highly detailed images tattooed in a small space… the result is usually not nearly as clear and detailed as they’d like.  Such is not the case here… the detailed image of one of the most recognizable bomber aircraft from World War II — The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress — is as detailed as an illustration on paper thanks to the enormous size!

It must have been such a challenge to tattoo with all the straight lines and compound curves found in the B-17; and needing to create it on a canvas with curves of it’s own!  Despite these challenges, this tattoo turned out amazing and the placement is both interesting and perfect for the image.

Bravo Hayley, you have truly made an amazing tribute to the B-17 here with this outstanding tattoo!

If you like what you see and want a tribute of your own… see Hayley Lakeman currently at Fu’s Custom Tattoos in Charlotte, NC.  Her website notes that she’s in a state of transition and may be opening a studio of her own, so stay tuned!  Just make sure to come up with your own idea, as I am sure the wearer would appreciate being the only person with this design!

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Our editor went off to Orlando for the National Business Aviation Association convention with his aviation artwork concealed under his suit — so we might be a bit late in getting new tattoos out for the next few days.  But for some fun before the weekend, here’s a bit of a bombshell with a background of B-17s from artist Tim Harris of Hope Gallery Tattoo in New Haven, CT. 

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The commitment required for large scale tattoo work is certainly commendable — the amount of time it takes along with the pain and cost over multiple sessions makes the completed piece not only a triumph of art, but also a triumph over various hurdles along the way.  A full sleeve project is one of these large scale projects and is one of the most visible you can get — making it important to get the right artwork from the right artist!

That’s the case in this fantastic sleeve featuring all different sorts of World War II fighter and bomber aircraft.  You can see famous planes like the P-51 Mustang, B-17 Flying Fortress, P-47 Thunderbolt, and SBD Dauntless here.

The awesome sleeve was created by artist Jason Leisge of Oddball Studios in Portland, OR.

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Just a small Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress for Saturday.  If you know your B-17′s, you’ll recognize it as the “Nine O Nine” currently flown around the United States by the Collings Foundation as part of the Wings of Freedom Tour with a Consolidated B-24 Liberator and a North American B-25 Mitchell.

This tattoo, done on a narrow forearm, was expertly executed by Steve Tiberi of Olde City Tattoo of Philadelphia, PA.

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The B-17 Flying Fortress is quite possibly the most recognizable aircraft of World War II and certainly was the most famous due in part to it’s role in the wartime documentary film “Memphis Belle” by William Wyler, documenting the first crew of the war to successfully complete 25 missions.

As a result, a great number of aviation tattoos today feature the famed Flying Fortress and today we feature another. This particulat tattoo was done by artist Audi at Midnight Moon Tattoo in Chichester, NH.

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We received a great letter last week from a collector that included this photo of his WWII aviation inspired backpiece. Inspired by his interest in WWII history, he chose the design as a cover up of an earlier piece — hence the reason for the night bombing scene depicted, though he noted he knows the Americans didn’t utilize night bombing missions that much.

He adds: “I went with this design because I find that the vintage look and design of the B-17 and other planes of that era really remind me of the crazy things that our troops were doing back then. No technology like today. It was a huge hunk of metal that somehow got off the ground, dropped bombs while getting shot to hell, and came back to do it all again – if they were lucky. I have been asked why I did not get modern planes… I guess some people just don’t get it.”

The tattoo was created by artist Anson Eastin who worked from Pleasures of the Flesh Tattoo in Fort Myers, FL at the time. Anson has since left the studio and has relocated to Michigan, but unfortunately we don’t know the studio or have a website address (ed. if you know, please let us know!)

Certainly the piece is unique and is perfect evidence of how fantastic a tattoo can be when you combine imagination and commitment all at once!

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