Some nice color photographs of Boeing B-17G nose art from the 490th Bomb Group (Heavy). For the most part these Flying Fortresses are in unpainted natural metal with red identification markings. These photographs are one of the seemingly rare cases where all the relevant attributions are known. The artist was Master Sergeant Jay D. Cowan and the photographer was Captain Arnold Delmonico, both of the 490th Bomb Group. The photographs are preserved as part of the Roger Freeman Collection, Imperial War Museum.
In late August 1944 the 490th Bomb Group traded their Liberators for B-17Gs and began bombing German industrial targets. They were based at Eye, Suffolk until the end of the war. The Group then participated in food drops to famine-stricken Holland. After the war most of the aircraft pictured here were flown back to Kingman, Arizona and scrapped.
Part II here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2019/06/05/color-b-17g-flying-fortress-nose-art-of-the-490-bomb-group-part-2/
Inch High Guy 
Great photos. I assume the color bands around the nose of some of the aircraft were squadron designators.
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I think you’re right. “The Wish Bone” was a replacement aircraft transferred in from another unit. She was in OD/NG camo which was touched up, and her chin turret (actually a Bendix turret this time!) is black.
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This blog as well as Preserving the Past was created for Clarence Simonsen’s research about aviation and nose art. He is an expert on the subject. He has been researching this for 50 years.
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