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| MGen (Ret'd) Ian
Patrick and Col (Ret'd) Herb Smale stand behind the Nose Art
produced by renowned Canadian artist Clarence Simonsen. |
Nose
Art is artwork applied to the nose and fuselage of military aircraft
to distinguish the plane and express the individuality of an air crew.
Each allied nation has a selection of Nose Art from World War II aircraft
that have been preserved, duplicated and widely promoted as the art form
that it is.
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This
Lancaster fuselage panel depicts the Nose Art painted on the RCAF
419 Squadron Lancaster KB839 named D - Daisy by its crew.
D - Daisy carried out 26 bombing missions over Europe from 28 Jan to
25 April 1945. Flight Lieutenant Peter Tulk whose photo and
name are painted on the panel flew as Captain on 13 of those
missions.
The
panel was produced by renowned Canadian artist Clarence Simonsen.
He has dedicated over 40 years to researching the history of many
military aircraft from construction to demolition. He is the
author of two acclaimed publications on Nose Art and his creations
are on display in many military aviation museums.
RCAF
Lancaster KB839 D - Daisy has been restored to its post-war
configuration as a Maritime Reconnaissance Lancaster and is now on
display in our museum's Heritage Aircraft Park. |
| On
assignment to 419 Squadron, KB839 was given the aircraft
identification letters 'VR-D'. After their first mission in
the aircraft, F/L Tulk's crew named the aircraft D - Daisy, the pet
family dog in the Blondie comic strip. F/L Tulk sitting on the
nose and another 419 Squadron airman are seen showing off the
newly acquired identifier indicating that KB839 had
successfully completed five combat sorties. |
A publication
of the complete history of KB839 is available in the Museum Store.
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