T-Shirt - 442nd Bomb Sqnd "Shoo-Shoo-Baby" - Yellow

Nose art was not an official part of the USAAF's visual programme. It was personal — produced by crew members, maintenance staff, or contracted painters, and applied to aircraft in the field before missions. By the time the United States was flying sustained bombing campaigns from England, North Africa, and Italy, nose art had become close to institutional — a way of marking the relationship between a crew and their aircraft that the official record never captured. Each image was specific, immediate, and documentary in its own way.

Buzz Rickson's, the replica division of Toyo Enterprise in Tokyo, has been reproducing WWII-era American military garments and insignia for three decades. Their graphic T-shirt programme extends that work to the imagery that appeared on aircraft — nose art, squadron insignia, and theatre-specific graphics reproduced as screen prints on heavyweight cotton built to the original GI specification. The work begins with archival research: original photographs, squadron records, and surviving examples of the original imagery.

'Shoo Shoo Baby' was the name painted on a B-17 Flying Fortress of the 442nd Bomb Squadron — an aircraft that flew bombing missions over occupied Europe and survived the war. The name comes from a song of the era; the impulse to use it — to make a heavy bomber say something personal — is characteristic of the relationship between American aircrew and their aircraft throughout the European air war. The image has survived as one of the most widely documented pieces of nose art from that campaign.

The base garment is Buzz Rickson's standard heavyweight cotton tube-knit jersey — ribbed set-in collar, lockstitched seaming throughout, short sleeves with hemmed cuffs. Lot No. BR79512. Made in Japan by Toyo Enterprise.

In yellow, the graphic arrives with force. The colour is unexpected on a military T-shirt — which is exactly why it works. Lot No. BR79512. Made in Japan by Toyo Enterprise.

• Buzz Rickson's reproduction WWII military graphic T-shirt
• Screen-printed graphic
• Heavyweight cotton tube-knit construction
• Ribbed set-in crew neck
• Short sleeves with hemmed cuffs
• Lockstitched seaming throughout
• Made in Japan

100% cotton. Heavyweight tube-knit jersey. Lot No. BR79512. Made in Japan.

• Machine wash cold
• Do not tumble dry
• Iron on reverse if required
• Made in Japan