Hillclimbers Vietnam War Nose Art

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image 01 This page is dedicated to Hillclimber Vietnam War era Nose Art. This is by no means the complete record. If anyone has something that was done between 1965 to 1972 that is not shown here please send it in to the webmaster.
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An explanation of just what “Nose Art” is all about.
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“Gook Stomper” with the broken cherry painted on the side. Photo by Ross Friend
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“Gook Stomper” Photo by Richard Davis
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“The California General” Photo by James Choate
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I think this is “Dry Place – Dry Time” before the name went on. Note the STP sticker.  Photo by Ross Friend
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Aircraft unit nose patch. Hillclimber trademark in 1967/68.  Photo by “Max” Grose
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“Nancy” (66-19027) in 1967/68. Photo by Newt Coryell
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“Flying Conex” Photo by Ross Friend
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“33” Photo by David Gale (FYI - "33" was a South Vietnamese beer brand)
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“Happy Hippi”
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“Pray” repairs during Operation Junction City in 1967. Photo by Ross Friend
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“Dry Place – Dry Time” Photo by David Gale
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“Pray for Peace”
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“Snoopy’s Place” Photo by Richard Davis
IMAGE_16-SMALL “Pink Pussy” Photo by James Choate
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“Cambodian Clearwater Revival” Randy Rushing 71 to 72
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“C” Sall – Photo by Jim Call
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“The Rebel General” Photo by Jim Call
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“Buzzards” Jim Call Photo. This, I believe, was my aircraft 657996 from August 67 to June/July 68. The “Buzzard” was already painted on the aircraft.
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“Queenie” Jim Call Photo. I think this was 657989. Brent Paulson was the Flight Engineer from August 67 to the summer of 1968. Like the "Buzzards" above this image was already painted on the aircraft when Paulson took over the ship.
IMAGE_22_SMALL "Gold Finger" Jim Call Photo. The last three numbers of this aircraft tail number was 007. This particular "Nose Art" was a play on the new Sean Connery James Bond movies that were taking over the movie theaters at the time.
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The next few slides contain Nose Art that has been traced using Adobe Illustrator. Check back periodically as I will be adding new images as I find time to do the artwork. Rodney Brown Webmaster
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This was the nose art for 66-19027, a CH-47A model Chinook. The aircraft was later transferred to the Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) and did not survive the war. (When I was a Hillclimber Flight Engineer this aircraft was under the control of Newt Coryell.)
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This was the nose art for 66-19033, a CH-47A model Chinook. The aircraft was later transferred to the Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) and did not survive the war.

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“The Happy Hippi”  Another example of Hillclimber nose art. Aircraft number 66-00074.
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An updated version of “The Happy Hippi.” Aircraft misnamed 66-60074 instead of 66-00074.
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The “Pink Pussy.” Aircraft number unknown.
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This is “The Rebel.” It appears to be unfinished around the hands. It is hard to make out the outlines from many of the old pictures but I do the best I can. The source photo is from Jim Call.
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This is “The Rebel” rendered from a later picture that showed the finished image.
IMAGE_31_SMALL "The Flying Conex"
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The “California General.” Aircraft number unknown.
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65-7996 – I was the Flight Engineer from August 67 to July, give or take a month, 1968. The Buzzard was already painted on the aircraft when I took the job. Rodney Brown
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