FIRST IN OUR SERIES: HEAT SEEKING "MISS.SAL" ----- Miss. Sal, is worried about loosing her dixie cup hat as her uniform is wind torn from her body while she rides an Aim-9 X Sidewinder at moch speed. ACS Galleries is proud to celebrate this military war time art with our new contemporary nose art series. Drawing from chosen designs from the hero squadrons of the Second World War, we have updated and redesigned the graffiti type graphics to include modern day weapons and verbiage. Even though we have not duplicated the nose art work identically as it appeared in original form, we have been respectful of the overall design and graphic styles of the squadron’s graffiti artists. ABOUT NOSE ART Nose art is a decorative painting or design on the fuselage of a military aircraft, usually located near the nose, and is a form of aircraft graffiti. Many squadron members reproduced this art onto their flight jackets and other aviation gear. While begun for practical reasons of identifying friendly units, the practice evolved to express the individuality often constrained by the uniformity of the military, to evoke memories of home and peacetime life, and as a kind of psychological protection against the stresses of war and the probability of their ultimate sacrifice for their country. The appeal, in part, came from nose art not being officially approved, even when the regulations against it were not enforced. Commanding officers: Commander James V. Barry (January 1944 to April 1945); Lieutenant Commander Gordon R. Egbert (April 1945). Based at Tinian (December 1944); Morotai ( January to February 1945); Tacloban (February to April 1945); Palawan (April to August 1945). VPB-111 started as a European-based PB4Y-1 squadron. During it's second tour of duty in the Pacific, the squadron flew PB4Y-1s and 2s.