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Norman L Harms
12th Bomb Group, 82nd Bomb Squadron
North Africa
One of the first bomb groups in action in North Africa was the 12th "Earthquakers". This
medium bomb group had departed from the USA in July 1942 and arrived in Egypt in early August, based initially at Ismalia and Deversoir.
Their first mission was flown on the night of 16th August to strike Mersa Matruh. The group went on to excel itself in support of British and
Commonwealth troops fighting in the harsh and inhospitable desert terrain. Later the unit was transferred from the 9th Air Force to the 12th
and continued its fight over Siciliy and the Italian battle lines. Later still, it moved to fight against the Japanese in the Pacific region.
Somehow, at some time, in spite of the unbelievably difficult conditions, Norman Harms painted several nose art images on the unit's B25C
Mitchell medium bombers. His style is easy to see and we have dubbed him "Big Eyes". His use of cartoon style images incorporating big
eyes, often on a dog, was his distinctive trade mark. Sadly, he left no signature on his work.
Shown at left are several examples of the work this artist completed but there were many others. Captain Norman L Harms was a copilot,
and if anyone can any information on the history of any of the planes and their crews, or the origin of the cartoon I would greatly appreciate
hearing from them. I would also love to see any further examples of his impressive nose art work.
© Ray Bowden
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