One of the things that makes tattoos featuring aircraft so challenging is the amount of detail that many aircraft require to look accurate.  As a result, airplane tattoos generally work better when they cover a larger part of the body rather than small areas… backs and torsos seem to work especially well.  The tattoo we are proud to feature today of a North American P-51 Mustang fighter from World War II is a perfect example of the artist and wearer giving a tattoo plenty of room to look its best!

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The P-51 is considered by many enthusiasts to be the “Cadillac of the Skies” as they point out it’s aggressive appearance and powerful performance figures combined with its outstanding WWII record and active usage for years after the war.  Because of this, the P-51 has remained one of the most popular warbird aircraft flown by private collectors and museums today.  Over 120 P-51 Mustangs are maintained in flying condition today out of over 16,000 that were built – pretty impressive considering the fact that the design is over six decades old.  This popularity makes the P-51 one of the most recognizable aircraft of all time… and has made it a very popular tattoo subject as well.

The gentleman who sent us his P-51 Mustang backpiece was excited to share this fantastic piece of personal art with us and he certainly has a great reason to be excited!  The proportions of the P-51 are right on the money!  He got the tattoo in honor of his grandfather who flew as a crewmember aboard a B-29 Superfortress during the war.  The “S2” on the nose of the P-51 symbolizes both he and his wife as their initials both begin with the letter “S.”

The tattoo was created by tattoo artist C.W. who can be found at Royal Street Tattoo located in Mobile, AL.

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While visiting the forums on the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) website, I found a post by a passionate pilot from Southern California about aviation tattoos containing this photo of his latest addition: a North American P-51 Mustang tattoo on the right side of his upper back.

We have featured the famous fighter from World War II here at Tattoos In Flight before… in fact it remains the single most popular aviation tattoo design we’ve featured.  There is something about the timeless design of the “Cadillac of the Sky” that inspires people… and certainly it’s superstar status in pop culture as one of the icons of WWII helps too!

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If you’d like to read about the history of the P-51 Mustang, we encourage you to read some of the previous posts we’ve made on the famous fighter… check them out here.

Today, we’d like to talk a bit about the story behind this particular tattoo. Our subject learned how to fly at a back patio flight school at the famous Van Nuys Airport in the Los Angeles area. The airport, featured in the 2005 documentary One Six Right, remains the World’s busiest General Aviation airport and has been home to many aircraft, including many P-51 Mustangs over its history.

During his training, our subject became friends with a fellow student pilot at the club, a Russian native who also happened to be a talented tattoo artist from Hollywood.  His name is Konstantin Nossatchev.

Since both were obviously aviation fans, they talked about a deal to create an elaborate piece for our subject. As both knew and loved the P-51 Mustang, the design was a perfect fit. Also incorporated into the design was the tail-number of the Cessna 172 he first soloed in, his lucky number as the squadron number on the fuselage and his last name as the nose art. The entire piece took Konstantin three sessions to complete.

And being a true artist, Konstantin even found the perfect light and background for this photo for his portfolio… within one of the hangars at Van Nuys Airport.

If you are interested in a great piece of work from a fellow pilot and artist, Konstantin can be reached through his website at Noskos.com for private appointments in the area.

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First emerging during the early days of aerial warfare in World War I, the term “dogfight” has been a part of fighter pilot vernacular since the advent of the aircraft as a weapon of war.  In aerial warfare, the battleground is three-dimensional and the complex maneuvering leads to a fierce fight involving incredible skill and tactics.

As military aircraft increased in speed and their weapons systems became more sophisticated, the role of the “dogfight” in actual wartime conditions lessened.  That said, the skills involved in air-to-air combat or air combat maneuvering, as it is now known, are still a core part of combat pilot training as the need to act in an offensive or defensive manner over an aerial opponent will never truly go away.

The dogfight illustrated in the tattoo featured here involves the key fighter aircraft used during World War II by the U.S. Army Air Force and the Imperial Japanese — the North American P-51 Mustang and the Mitsubishi A6M2 “Zero” respectively.  Both aircraft were highly competent in combat, but both had their drawbacks at the same time.  The P-51 was heavy and had a high-speed wing, thereby reducing it’s maneuverability.  The Zero was extremely maneuverable, but was lightly armed and armored and was vulnerable to enemy fire.

This tattoo, part of an arm sleeve comprised of American military imagery, was created by artist Damien Friesz of Onenine Fineart Studio in Savannah, GA.

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We’ve featured lots of North American P-51 Mustangs on Tattoos In Flight over the past year (see our P-51 archive) and it remains one of the most popular aviation tattoo subjects out there today.  There’s not much I can add to the history and background of the P-51 that I haven’t said before, but I’d like to take a moment to use this specific tattoo in a comparison.

Pilot’s spend hours and hours of time… sometimes at great personal sacrifice… to perfect their skills and become better pilots.  Before they are allowed to sit in an airliner and fly passengers or sit in a multi-million dollar jet and fight a war, they have endured years of training and flying… “paying their dues” per se.  Once professional pilots, they need to keep learning, keep training, keep their minds open for the new technologies that make their job easier and safer.  They are confronted with changing weather, delays, new flight schedules — a constantly dynamic environment — and have to adapt to remain successful in their career.  Despite all this, pilots remain extremely passionate about what they do and in many cases would rather be in the air than any other place in the world.

Tattoo artists are, in many cases, the same way.  They struggle for years building up a portfolio of artwork before they are given a shot at an apprenticeship.  Once in that spot, they work hard hours, do the dirty work, and “pay their dues” before even picking up a machine and tattooing a client for the first time.  Even then, every tattoo is a learning experience… and away from the tattoo machine, the artist is constantly pushing their envelope with new styles, new techniques, and new art mediums that they can fold into their own unique tattoo style.  In many cases, artists spend a lot of time “hoofing it” on the road at conventions to get their name out there… and even when success finally comes, they still pour every ounce of energy into their craft.  There’s no where they’d rather be.

This tattoo is a perfect example of that drive to “push the envelope” - artist David Newman-Stump of Skeleton Crew Tattoo in Columbus, IN sent this to us and let us know it was the first aviation tattoo he had done. For a first time tattoo, I know I am pretty impressed with the composition, shading, and placement of the tattoo - overall a beautiful piece, would you agree?

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There’s a lot of traditional flash art that’s out there featuring military or Naval themes… but so few designs feature anything aviation-related. When we saw this great old-school-style tattoo featuring the North American B-25 Mitchell on the web, we had to feature it here!

The B-25 Mitchell is named after General Billy Mitchell - a man who many consider the father of the U.S. Air Force.  Appointed as deputy director of the fledgling Air Service division of the U.S. Army after World War I, Mitchell was a crusader for an increased investment in air power by the United States military. He even proved the value of aircraft in battle with several aircraft versus naval vessel tests that resulted in aircraft showing a clear advantage.

Mitchell had a tumultuous career in the military as he was considered something of a firebrand in the eyes of his superiors for his frequent arguments and criticisms of their leadership. He was demoted to Colonel in 1925 and later that year was court marshaled for insubordination after accusing Army and Navy leaders of an “almost treasonable administration of the national defense.”

Though he resigned from military service shortly afterward and was only honored with a posthumous commission to Major General by the President after he passed away, Mitchell was immortalized in 1940 when the North American B-25 medium bomber was named after him.

This tattoo tribute to the man and the machine named “Mitchell” was conceived by it’s wearer in honor of his grandfather who served in the USAAF in World War II, his childhood love of WWII history, and his first home on his own at the age of 19 — in Milwaukee, WI, home of General Mitchell and where a B-25 stands guard at the airport in the city that bears his name.

His other tattoo work is primarily traditional-style work inspired by the work of traditional tattoo master Bob Shaw (1926-1993).  Our wearer participates as a World War II re-enactor at local events and airshows… so the style fits perfectly.

The tattoo was created by tattoo artist and friend Matt Wes who is currently tattooing at Family Tattoo in Chicago, IL.  The photo below show’s the tattoo six years after it was done… and is as vibrant and clear as the day it was done.

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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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