Nose art competition commemorates anniversaries

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Steven Wilson
  • 28th Boomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  The 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs office is accepting graphic designs for distinctive and symbolic nose art in good taste to be painted on one operational Ellsworth B-1 in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the B-1 arrival at Ellsworth and the 60th anniversary of the Air Force.

The competition is open to the public.

All entries for the nose art competition must be e-mailed in JPEG form to 28bw.pa2@ellsworth.af.mil no later than July 4 and cannot contain copyrighted material or inappropriate graphics. A word document explaining symbolism must also be included. One of the nose art judges, Staff Sgt. Kendall Lizama, 28th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, said there are additional criteria to consider.

"The nose art that we pick will be one that reflects a theme of 'blood, sweat and gears'," he said.

Sergeant Lizama said the 'blood' facet of the theme stands for the emotional roller coaster maintainers experience with the B-1.

"One day the aircraft could be fully mission capable and the next day we could be scrambling to get it partial mission capable just to make a sortie," Sergeant Lizama said.

Sergeant Lizaman said 'blood' also represents sacrifices crew chiefs make by volunteering to spend extra time on duty beyond our shift to work on the airplane.
'Sweat' is for the hard work it takes to maintain the B-1 and 'gear' represents the aircraft or systems a crew chief works on, he added.

"We want it to reflect everyone that contributes their hard work to get these aircraft safely airborne," Sergeant Lizama added.

The open competition feature of this contest is important to Sergeant Lizama.
"This would give us the opportunity to get as many ideas as we possibly could," he said. "At the same time, it would let the community and squadron members participate.

"We don't want this nose art to reflect only us," he added.

Historically, nose art was more than a symbol.

Dave Schepp, 28th Bomb Wing historian, said nose art originated with Italian and German aircrews in World War I.

"Nose art was used to increase morale, foster pride in work and to inject some personality into what would otherwise just be lifeless military hardware," said Mr. Schepp. "Sometimes, it was seen as a sort of 'protection' against the enemy," he added. "A good example is the German Luftwaffe with the famous shark's teeth underneath the airplane's propeller."

The wing historian explained nose art has historical significance at Ellsworth.

"The Dakota Queen is the B-1 assigned to the 28th Bomb Wing commander," he said.
"This B-1 was named after South Dakota native Lt. George McGovern's World War II B-24 Liberator, which was also called Dakota Queen.

"(The former senator's) Dakota Queen flew 35 combat missions over Europe," Mr. Schepp added.

Another B-1 has a rich history as well.

"The B-1 named Dolittle's Destroyer assigned here is named for Lt. Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, who led the raid against Japan in April 1942," said Mr. Schepp. "The 34th and 37th Bomb Squadron can trace their roots back to Doolittle's Raiders.

"The nose art on Doolittle's Destroyer differs from the original B-17 Mitchell named for General Doolittle, as the current art commemorates squadrons that participated in the actual strike against Japan," Mr. Schepp said.

The winning artist will be contacted in August and the nose art will be unveiled in September in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the Air Force.

For further information concerning the nose art contest, contact the Ellsworth Public Affairs office at (605) 385-5056.