It's a tradition that goes back to the earliest days of military history. They are the objects of desire who help balance the effects of the hardships and horrors that are a part of every soldier's endurance test in war: a source of fantasy and fond recollection to pass the long hours of boredom; softness to soothe hands too accustomed to the touch of steel; perfume to chase the acrid scents of gun powder, close quarters, fuel... and death; warmth to comfort both the physical cold of foreign winters and the chilling psychological confrontations with loneliness, violence, and death; and beauty to wipe away the ugliness of the sights and memories of combat. The favorite decoration for military aircraft, the pin-up girls, appear as nose art and have also been hidden inside the helmets of foot soldiers, pasted on the bulkheads of ships and submarines, and have graced the insides of millions of locker doors and lids. And so, here too, documenting military tradition and history, they take their rightful place.

The skin of the fighter jet pictured above has been treated for electronic detection and is sensitive to the scan and click of your pointer, programmed to respond with various countermeasures.