WWII Planes and Tiki

Not sure why but besides Pirates, Monkeys with Fezes and so on, WWII stuff sort of (to me) goes with TIKI.

I suppose it's alot to do with the period of time when it was popularized as a fad.

I love having the B24 or Corasir mixed in with the prints, and mugs...

Anybody else have this sort of thing going on, and if so what WWII stuff

And...what's yer favorite plane of that era?

My favorite plane of that era is the P-38.

I think that the huge Broadway hit "South Pacific" had a lot do with popularizing tiki culture.

Tikis and military adventure in WWII do seem to go together.

I do remember the last time I went to the Officers' Club at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, there were two big giant tikis flanking the entrance, along with a few torches. An excellent use of taxpayers' money, in my humble opinion. The tikis and the balmy night and the white naval uniforms went together quite as naturally as ice cream does with cake.

[ Edited by: Satan's Sin 2005-10-08 17:29 ]

I am working on "The Secret Tiki Tour"! I plan to gather all the info I can on tikis on military bases on Oahu. Then when TC folks come to town I can take them on military bases to see the hidden stuff! There are several on Hickam. Of course this tour will be required to end at La Mariana for my payment of a Mai Tai!

I've always loved the B-24 Liberator. Built here in San Diego at the Consolidated Aircraft plant (which later became Convair). Other faves are the P-38 Lightening, P-51 Mustang and on the other side of the pond Avro Lancaster (heavy bomber), the Spitfire ('natch) and the Mosquito (a all-wood, two engine, light bomber, fighter and re-con plane).

the Liberator looked fantastic, I guess so many of those planes were just pretty.

The Tamahwak was another aircraft with wonderful lines, like the Spitfire.

Most people like the Corvair, with it's gullwings. It really is perfect for any display of stuff from the pacific.

I have a thing for the p47. Lots of funny stories about them being so bullet riddles (over 400 holes) that the pilot could not escape, but was able to fly home anyway.

The Mosquito was splendid, Good knowledge! I was lucky enough to inherit a commemorative mosquito ashtray my grandfather took from an airbase in Scotland he was stationed at. It's really cool.

One of my favorite planes is the P-51. I was working with the "Gathering of Warbirds" in Madera, CA in 1980 and scored a ride! My friend was supposed to go. The pilot showed up to get her, she had run for a last minute pee break and he couldn't wait! He said: "You've got pretty blue eyes!" to me. Grabbed my hand and off we went! I turned around to wave good-bye to my husband and all he could say was: "But I'm gonna' be a pilot..."

The best part was flying upside down and the sweat running backwards up my legs! The owner/pilot was a rich farmer from Bakersfield.

I love those air shows! I also used to be the one to drive out and pick up the aircrews when they came in the night before the air shows. We would have a cooler of beers and sodas in the back seat! You haven't had fun 'til you've driven on the taxiway with a bunch of old guys bringing in their planes!

Did any of the old nose art have tiki stuff on it? I only remember scantily clad women and the occasional Angel of Death.

I dig the nose art from that era. Specially the ones that play on words.

I dont what era theyre from, but I like the ol fully polished DC3s (?) (like the jail bird in con air). The style is just so sweet.

Oh yeah, I forgot about those fantastic Flying Boats and sea planes made from the '30s to the '50s, . Those have a fantastic look about them, both in military use, and early airlines.

Those are really great too.

Here's another Tiki & WWII thread that may be of interest:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=6317&forum=1

There's a pic of some Don The Beachcomber nose art on page 2.

Sabu