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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The Junkers Ju-87 Stuka was one of the most feared aircraft early in World War II.  A critical staple of the German “Blitzkrieg” campaigns from 1939 to 1942, the Stuka was a sturdy, dependable, and accurate dive bomber and was most effective as a ground attack weapon.  It was used by the German Luftwaffe early in the famous Battle of Britain in the Summer of 1940.  Though it enjoyed success early on, it’s weaknesses were exploited by the Royal Air Force as they found the dive bomber to be slow and lacking adequate defenses.  As a result of the superior air power of the RAF over England with faster fighter aircraft like the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane, the Luftwaffe pulled the aircraft out of usage and the Germans lacked an appropriate precision ground attack aircraft.

The Ju-87 remained in service with the Luftwaffe for quite some time after the entry of the United States in WWII and could be found in the North African, Mediterranean, and the Eastern front in battle with the allied Russian forces.  By the early Summer of 1945, Stukas could rarely be found in the air due to critical fuel shortages – and they remained on the ground until the end of the war in Europe.

This fantastic tattoo rendition of the Ju-87 Stuka in black and gray was created by artist Jason Jones of Kaleidoscope Ink in Springfield, MO.  Jason is quickly becoming a resident expert in tattooing aircraft of all types as this is his third featured tattoo here on Tattoos In Flight and there are more in queue… so if you’re flying through Missouri and are ready to collect a permanent plane portrait on yourself, make sure to see him!

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It’s hard to believe this is the wearers first tattoo… but according to artist Daniel “Wes” Wesley, it was!  Looks like an Me-262 at the bottom with a P-40 soaring above.  The color is fantastic, but looking at Wes’ portfolio, I’d expect nothing less!

Wes is based in Columbus, OH – take a look at his site at http://www.wescoreart.com.