757flyer Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 World Air Power Journal Vol 5, Spring 2001 has a small photo of an unidentified Tornado with the name Memphis Belle II and a stick figure added. It is not painted artwork (appears to be permanent marker) , and below includes "Happiness is a missile called Patriot" Above are black painted bomb (23 vertical bombs), palm tree (8), and several unidentified mission markings (JP233?). There doesn't appear to be a shark's mouth. Does anyone happen to know which Tornado this was? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 I'd go through this webpage: https://www.dstorm.eu/pages/en/gb/tornado.html Memphis Belle is a US bomber name afaik! (used on B-17 up until the B-52..) probably also on fighters you can have e.g. Alarm Belle: https://www.dstorm.eu/pictures/nose-arts/tornado/gb/alarm_belle_2.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
757flyer Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 exdraken, Thanks for the reply. I did check the Desert Storm website, with no luck. I also checked the mission markings on the various Tornados on that site, and couldn't find any that were close to what is in the WAPJ photo. The Memphis Belle name has indeed been used on a slew of aircraft since the original B-17F of WWII fame. These have included an F-105D, four B-52s (three -Gs and an -H), two FB-111s, an F-15E, a B-1B, a C-141B, a C-5A and a C-17A. There have been two well-known warbird B-17s that wore the name (but incorrect nose art lettering on at least one of them), and even a Northwest Airlink CRJ commuter airliner that was named "Spirit of the Memphis Belle" (the name reappeared on that one in Delta Connection colors after the merger of Northwest and Delta). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 any photos of what you have and looking for? not all that is marketed also has a real background..... did you check also for the 2003 Iraqi freedom campain? (RAF operation Telic) I fear there is a reason why you can't find anything..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 Stick figure suggest possibly a 16 Sqn machine?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
757flyer Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 The caption says XV (Composite) Squadron. I went through all the photos I can find of what I have found were XV Sqdn aircraft, and none fit the bill. Based on the number of mission markings, I can rule out the three that were lost in first few days of combat action. The fourth one lost on 2/14 had Gulf Air markings where the Memphis Belle name would be (and different mission markings), so I think that one is out as well. I would post a scan of the image, but I am not sure if that would be a copyright violation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 I have just looked through Dstorms photos and cannot find it. It is in WAPJ Vol 5 Spring 1991, got me foxed for a little while. I have also looked on the book "Gulf Graffiti" which also throws up nothing. I am just wondering if this was an early form of nose art and it was painted over, as some of the mission markings on some aircraft are. Mind you I would have thought that these would have been repainted also. I will try and look further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
757flyer Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 Thanks Jabba for looking. I too wondered if it might have been an early art that was later overpainted, but as you can see, it has a pretty hefty mission tally. Many of the ones I saw that might have been contenders for having been overpainted have fewer mission marks - would they have dropped mission marks and shown less than an aircraft had shown before? Hard to tell from a black and white photo, but it does not look like the Memphis Belle markings were painted over something else. Below the RESCUE stencil is where many of the more colorful nose art markings were applied, and in this photo, that doesn't look freshly painted as if something had been there before. The Triffid Airways ones all have their banner above the RESCUE stencil, right where the mission marks are on this one... On a related note, what do the palm tree mission markings denote? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
757flyer Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 Found this image from Muharraq of a variation of the shark's mouth I haven't seen before: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougC Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 Are you sure it wasn't "Alarm Belle"? https://www.dstorm.eu/pages/en/gb/tornado.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
757flyer Posted March 13, 2021 Author Share Posted March 13, 2021 I think I just found it. I believe Belle II became Black Magic - ZD745 / BM. Memphis Belle would make sense if you reversed the tail letters I guess. The top few palm trees (the 5 at the very top, and the three faded ones in row 2) are exactly where they are on the photo of Memphis Belle II, and the painted out horizontal rows above the witch's head in the photo above are exactly where groupings of 5 bombs are marked on Belle II. The two big pod stencils on Belle II are right above the CUE in RESCUE, which is a painted out area in this photo of Black Magic. Thanks to everyone who responded and researched their refs on this one! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 14 hours ago, 757flyer said: Found this image from Muharraq of a variation of the shark's mouth I haven't seen before: This was a unique shark mouth and after time the Port side one was painted over. I have made a model of this using xtradecals with the weapons load configuration. Good find with your original request. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
757flyer Posted March 13, 2021 Author Share Posted March 13, 2021 Jabba, Did the Xtradecal sheet have that shark's mouth? If so, which sheet? Which aircraft was this? I had been leaning towards MiG Eater markings for my kit, but this one had grown on me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 Yes it has the shark mouth and is on Xtradecal X024-72 Gulf War Special #3 and the aircraft is ZA475/P. More photos can be seen here:- https://www.dstorm.eu/pages/en/gb/tornado.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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