Normally I don’t like to post two tattoos of the same type of aircraft one right after the other, but since the P-51 Mustang WWII fighter is so popular as a tattoo and technique of this specific tattoo is so unique, I couldn’t help myself!

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The P-51 that is the subject of this tattoo is the North American P-51D Mustang “Double Trouble Two” now owned and operated by the Fighter Factory of Suffolk, VA (and seen at many airshows around the East Coast).  Though the art is not as detailed as the real thing, the surreal… almost airbrushed look of this tattoo is quite interesting.  Unlike many tattoos, this one uses little outline and is defined almost entirely by subtle color work where the needle grouping almost acts more like a paintbrush than a pen.

The artist who accomplished this beautiful piece of aviation art skillfully applied to the curving canvas of an upper hip, lower right rib area is Kris Grimmer who performs his craft from Empire Tattoo of Clementon, NJ

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It’s a common practice for those in the Armed Forces to permanently commemorate their service in the form of a tattoo.  Just as sailors collected tattoos ages ago on their visits to exotic ports of call to remember their travels, today’s soldiers, sailors, and airmen (and women) still do the same to remember a part of their life that helped shape their adulthood.

Such is the case in today’s post… a Lockheed C-130 Hercules tattoo decorating the shoulder of a wearer who holds the strength and power of one of the most heralded transport aircraft in history close to his heart.  He is not alone, at least two more people have done the same and certainly there are more who we just haven’t found yet!

The C-130 certainly deserves such recognition.  Aside from being one of the longest produced active military aircraft… still rolling off assembly lines after 55 years, the C-130 is also one of the most flexible transports ever.  It’s service has covered every continent in the world… even Antarctica!  Special LC-130H’s operated by the 109th Airlift Wing based at Stratton ANGB in Scotia, NY supported the National Science Foundation in Antarctica to supply the scientific bases there by landing on the ice with specially designed skis fitted to the landing gear.

This shoulder tattoo, created in black and gray shading, was created by artist Erik Payne of Inkvision Tattoo Studio in Boise, ID.

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Near the end of World War II, the Flight Test Division of the U.S. Army Air Force teamed with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to research flight in the transonic speed range — or flight past the sound barrier.  The joint partnership contracted with the Bell Aircraft Corporation of Buffalo, NY to build a test aircraft that would be used only for this research and never for mass production.  This contract yielded three XS-1 aircraft, later shortened to X-1.

The Bell X-1 was modeled after the Browning .50 caliber bullet, which was known to be stable in supersonic flight.  This seemingly simple design approach made for a clean looking aircraft, made extremely fast by the ethyl alcohol and liquid oxygen fueled rocket engine providing thrust.

The X-1 first flew in a glide on January 25, 1946 over Pinecastle AAF near Orlando, FL by Bell chief pilot Jack Woolams.  After the initial glide tests, the aircraft was taken back to Bell for preparation to conduct powered testing from Muroc Dry Lake in California… now known as Edwards Air Force Base.  Before the flights began, Jack Woolams was killed in a crash while practicing for an air race.  He was replaced by Bell pilot Chalmers “Slick” Goodlin who made 26 successful flights in both the XS-1 and X-1-1 until June 1947.

The Army Air Force became frustrated with the slow pace of the testing under Bell’s watch and took the contract to fly the X-1-2 from Bell and put it in the hands of NACA for testing. 

On October 14th, the X-1-2 #46-062 piloted by Air Force Captain Charles “Chuck” Yeager was dropped from the modified bomb bay of a Boeing B-50 Superfortress over Muroc and began flight #50 in the program.  On that flight, the aircraft became the first manned aircraft to achieve supersonic flight — reaching a recorded speed of Mach 1.06 (807.2 mph).  The aircraft, christened “Glamorous Glennis” after Yeager’s wife, successfully landed after the flight and was recorded in the history books.  The story of the test program was the subject of the hit Hollywood film “The Right Stuff”.

The Bell X-1 #46-062 now hangs in the Milestones of Flight Gallery of the National Air & Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC on permanent display.

This colorful tattooed tribute to the historic aircraft was completed by artist Ant Iannucci of Ascension Tattoo in Orlando, FL.

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In memory and honor of the men and women who have served and paid the ultimate sacrifice while in the service of the armed forces in defense of our nation, we take this day — Memorial Day — to pause and remember their efforts and pay tribute to their unselfish devotion to protecting our way of life.

Formerly known as Decoration Day and originally created to honor the soldiers lost during the Civil War, Memorial Day was expanded after World War I to include honoring all American casualties of any war or military action.  Memorial Day is held on the last Monday of May each year… and though it signifies a day away from work for many, it truly is much more than that… it’s a time to pause and reflect on the service of our veterans, living and deceased, and honor their commitment, great and small.

Tattoos have been used for many years as a way for fellow veterans and family members to honor their fallen comrades and soldiers, sailors and airmen.  To many, it’s a way to carry on the memory of the fallen in line with that of the wearer… for as long as the wearer keeps their name and image on their body, they will live through them during the term of their own life.

This moving tattoo, honoring the service of a fallen veteran with the images of a 21 gun salute and a formation of Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopters was created by tattoo artist Dave Tedder of All or Nothing Tattoo in Smyrna, GA. 

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The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is the oldest serving transport aircraft design currently in Armed Forces inventory.  As a result, thousands of crew members have served aboard the “Herkey Bird” throughout its service history.  Many crew are intensely proud of the aircraft and as a result, the C-130 is, perhaps, the most tattooed transport aircraft out there… but that’s just a guess from our crack editorial staff!

Over 2300 C-130’s have been produced and they are still under production as the C-130J Super Hercules - nearly the same externally as the basic C-130 but with new engines, six-bladed propellers, digital avionics and other upgraded systems.  The fact that it’s still rolling off the assembly line after 55 years is an amazing testament to the durability of the design and usefulness of the aircraft in a changing military over more than five decades.

A little known fact about the C-130 is the fact that it currently holds the record for the largest and heaviest aircraft to land on an aircraft carrier - a record set through a series of trials in October and November 1963 with a USMC KC-130F aboard the USS Forrestal. 

This tribute tattoo of a C-130 as a paratrooper ship was created by artist Melissa Zimmer of Black Lantern Tattoo in Glendale, AZ.

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The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, better known as the Stealth Fighter, was one of the more recent designs to emerge from the famed Lockheed “Skunk Works” or Advanced Development Programs division.  Though the F-117 took flight for the first time in 1981, the aircraft itself was not revealed to the world until 1988 — its existence itself was truly stealth as well!

The aircraft was one of the first operational designs with the aim of near invisibility to radar due to its radical angular construction, known as “facets” that were meant to scatter 99% of the radars signal energy.  Of course the resulting aerodynamic challenge was that this construction made the aircraft inherently unstable and it was only made able to fly by the advanced computer technology employed to control its flight — correcting control inputs thousands of times per second.

The F-117 enjoyed a fairly substantial operational career — being used in the invasion of Panama, the first Gulf War, Kosovo, and the War on Iraq. Despite its success in combat, the F-117 was eclipsed by the B-2 Spirit and F-22 Raptor, both using stealth technology, and was retired in 2008.  The last operational F-117 flew to storage in Tonopah, NV on August 11, 2008.

Despite its characteristic black paint, this colorful tattoo depicting the F-117 was created by artist Smallz at E.C. Tattoo #2 located in San Diego, CA.

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