Nose Art
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BCATP
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Lancaster
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Media
Nose Art
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BCATP
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Lancaster
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Media
Museum Collections
Clarence Simonsen Nose Art Collection
Nose Art Replica Paintings
Nose Art
Designated "PT-C", No. 420 Squadron Halifax MZ-587 was referred to as "C for Champ" and given corresponding nose art. The aircraft was involved in a Category "A" accident on 8 August 1944 after completing 56 operations. "Champ" was repaired and then served with No. 1666 Heavy Conversion Unit and No. 1664 HCU as a training aircraft. On 13 January 1945, MZ-587 made a hard landing that collapsed the undercarriage and set the outer port engine on fire. The Halifax was then flown to an RAF base at Rawcliffe on 21 January 1945 and eventually scrapped. Nose artist Floyd "Skip" Rutledge got his "The Champ" idea from a 1943 issue of The Saturday Evening Post magazine that featured an article regarding the "Battling Bulldogs" of the 355th Fighter Squadron, U.S. Army Air Force. The "Pugnacious Pup" image was their official insignia.