Bob Welbaum: Disney Exhibit at National Museum of the United States Air Force
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Disney Exhibit at National Museum of the United States Air Force
A special exhibit of more than 50 of Walt Disney’s original World War II insignia designs is currently being shown at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, adjacent to Wright-Patterson AFB, six miles northeast of downtown Dayton, Ohio. Although entitled “Disney Pins on Wings,�? no collectibles have been created for this exhibit; “pins�? is used as a verb, not a noun. The exhibit opened December 13 and will continue through June 11, 2006.
I visited the Museum recently to get the details myself. The exhibit is located in what is normally called the Hall of Honor, just outside the “Early Years Gallery,�? which covers early military flight to the beginning of World War II. Although not huge, it is very well done, and is one of the larger temporary exhibits I’ve seen there.
At the entrance is an animator’s workstation, complete with a mannequin animator pondering his latest design. The drawing space on his light table is a TV screen showing a one-minute newsreel-type film clip about how insignias were designed (with a young Walt supervising), followed by examples of the artwork.
In addition to the insignia artwork, also on display is actual fuselage art (the Air Force calls this “nose art�?) removed from scrapped B-52s from a more recent era, flight jackets displaying patches with Disney insignias, and period war posters.
One particularly interesting display features a letter from a former Air Force staff sergeant from the “Snow White Squadron�? (343 Squadron, 98th Bomb Group). This squadron had decorated its bombers with artwork of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. While stationed in Italy, they’d had souvenir ceramic figures made, and he was offering a set to the museum. Next to the letter was the set of ceramics, each sitting on top of a photo of the corresponding character gracing an airplane’s fuselage.
How these insignias were created is a story in itself. Here is an abridged version, taken from information published by the Museum in connection with this exhibit (unless otherwise noted).
Walt Disney Productions actually created its first military insignias in 1933 for a Naval Reserve Squadron at Floyd Bennett Field in New York. Other random requests followed over the next several years. With the 1940-41 mobilization following the beginning of World War II in Europe, hundreds of new military units were formed, and requests for insignia designs began to pour into the studio. Approximately 1200 designs were eventually created free of charge for military units, civil defense, and war industries as part of the company’s contribution to the war effort. Designs were also created for military units from Great Britain, Canada, China, France, New Zealand, South Africa, and Poland.
Virtually all the Disney characters available at that time were used. Donald Duck was most requested, with at least 216 appearances. Pluto appeared in 45 designs, Goofy in 38 designs, and Dumbo in 20. Mickey himself was used in 37 designs, but none were for combat units. Even then, Mickey’s nice-guy image seemed more suited for industry and the home front. Snow White was featured once for a medical unit. (Of course, no one tracked unofficial appearances like the one mentioned above.) The only major character that did not appear was Bambi.
Insignia designs also included many original characters. There were 90 new cats, 50 dogs, and assorted apes, owls, octopi, roosters, fish, and storks. Some of these were even done in a more traditional style of artwork in accordance with the best commercial art of the time.
Walt Disney took a personal interest in the insignia work, creating a special six-person team of artists and animators to develop the insignias in addition to their regular duties. (The book Disney Dons Dogtags mentions a five-artist team.) They were led by Hank Porter, who created many famous designs. Also contributing was Roy Williams of “The Mickey Mouse Club�? fame, Bill Justice, Van Kaufman, Ed Parks, and George Goepper.
Units were free to contact Disney directly. When a design was accepted, the unit was provided with the final full-color original art, which could then be used for stationery, signage, and other items. The last step was supposed to be design submission to the War Department (as the Department of Defense was then known) for approval. Of course, the war effort was more important than paperwork, so many designs remained unofficial.
When the U.S. Air Force was created as a separate service in 1947, new rules governing insignias were instituted. These rules favored a more traditional approach, and cartoon designs were no longer considered appropriate. Officially approved Disney designs were fortunately continued, but designs which had never been approved could no longer be used. This policy has been consistently applied ever since.
In his autobiography Justice for Disney, Bill Justice described his contribution this way:
“Hank Porter did hundreds of beautiful insignias in full color. Hank took great pride and care in his work, but occasionally he was swamped. Since by then I could draw almost every character, I was asked to help. We simply developed a design based upon the unit’s wishes, mission, and military guidelines. Sometimes we used our regular characters and sometimes we created something appropriate like a bulldog. Then they were carefully inked by assistants and painted in brilliant colors. I did about twenty or thirty designs. We received many messages of thanks from servicemen overseas.�?
But even if you’re not a Disney collector, the National Museum of the United States Air Force (simply the Air Force Museum to us locals) is well worth a trip, with over 300 aircraft and aerospace vehicles from all eras, plus associated equipment and memorials. Visited by over 1.2 million people each year, the collection includes the B-29 which dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, President Kennedy’s Air Force One, and a B-2 stealth bomber. It is open seven days a week from 9 am to 5 pm (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day). Admission is free, although there is a charge for the IMAX theater. For more information, visit www.wpafb.af.mil/museum.
For more information:
- Disney Dons Dogtags: The Best of Disney Military Insignia from World War II by Walton Rawls, Abbeville Press, 1992.
- Justice For Disney by Bill Justice, Tomart Publications, 1992
- Toons At War: World War II Disneyana Collectibles by David Lesjak, 2001 ([email protected])
- Bob Welbaum is a longtime Disneyana fan and NFFC member from the Dayton, Ohio area. He is also a retired U.S. Air Force captain.
Discuss It
-- Bob Welbaum
Bob Welbaum is a longtime Disneyana fan and NFFC member.
-- January 31, 2006