The shark mouth design refers to the iconic nose art that was painted on the front of some Panavia Tornado GR1 aircraft used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other air forces. This design mimicked the appearance of a shark's open mouth with teeth, giving the aircraft a distinctive and aggressive look.
The shark mouth nose art has a long history in aviation and is often associated with fighter aircraft from World War II, such as the P-40 Warhawk and the famous Flying Tigers. The Tornado GR1's adoption of the shark mouth design was a nod to this tradition, and it became a recognizable feature of certain Tornado aircraft in service with the RAF.
The shark mouth design was not applied to all Tornado GR1 aircraft but was rather a form of squadron or individual aircraft decoration. It's worth noting that the design was primarily a visual embellishment and did not have a direct impact on the aircraft's performance or functionality.
The Panavia Tornado was a multi-role combat aircraft developed by a consortium of European countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy. It was used for a variety of missions, including ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense. The Tornado GR1 was one of the earlier variants of the aircraft and was later upgraded to the GR4 standard with improved capabilities.
This miniature paper model is simplified by Rawen with only 2 sheets of paper but still retains the most distinctive features of this aircraft.
Download and build your own Panavia Tornado GR1 Shark's Mouth aircraft paper model by Rawen.
Photo: Rawen
