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Fighting Colors: The Creation of Military Aircraft Nose Art book cover

Fighting Colors: The Creation of Military Aircraft Nose Art

by Gary Velasco

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SKU 9781596527584
Since the early days of flight, military pilots have personalized aircraft with artistic creations, giving each plane a unique identity and aircrews a sense of pride in "their war bird." This comprehensive volume covers the technical aspect on how nose art was applied to vintage military aircraft, with hundreds of fighters and bombers pictured. The uses of materials, supplies, and development of nose art designs are discussed with surviving nose artists. The author examines and analyzes WWII-era photographs and reveals their content along with numerous photos never before published. Recreating step-by-step flying war bird nose art restorations is outlined for the first time. Fighting Colors is an enjoyable read for military personnel and a graphic tool for all enthusiasts of pinup and vintage aircraft nose art.

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Book details

Author
Gary Velasco
Imprint
Turner Publishing Company
Published
Formats
Paperback, Hardcover
Subjects
History › Military › Aviation & Space
Art › History
Topics
military aviation · World War II · vintage aircraft · aviation history · historical photography · aircraft restoration
ISBN-13
9781596527584 (Paperback)9781630263263 (Hardcover)

About the author

GARY VELASCO was an artist, author, and aviation historian who devoted more than 27 years to painting vintage aircraft nose art on flying and static aircraft. He is the author of Fighting Colors: The Creation of Military Aircraft Nose Art.

Velasco founded Velasco Enterprises Fighting Colors Collection in 1995, relocating it to Virginia in 2002. He was commissioned to paint nose art on major warbird restoration projects, including the B-17 Memphis Belle, the B-24A Diamond Lil, and the New England Air Museum’s B-29 Jack’s Hack.

When not writing, Velasco worked as a guitarist before turning to aviation art, and in his later years transitioned to working as an air-art historian following a diagnosis of ALS. His work preserving nose art traditions underpins Fighting Colors.

Gary Velasco was born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut, and lived in Ruckersville, Virginia. He died on May 21, 2026.

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Format: Paperback