A new exhibit at the Museum of Flight showcases how Walt Disney Studios dedicated approximately 90 percent of its output to supporting the World War II effort, driven by Walt Disney's personal commitment.
The studio produced a wide range of materials, including training films on technical skills and military tactics, as well as propaganda and morale-boosting cartoons, posters, and comic strips for both military personnel and the home front.
Disney artists created over 1,300 custom military unit insignias, utilizing popular characters like Donald Duck and designing new ones such as Fifinella, the mascot for the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).
When World War II broke out, everyone in America did their part for the war effort—including Walt Disney.
You can see it for yourself at the Museum of Flight (MOF) in Seattle in the new exhibit The Walt Disney Studios and World War II. The exhibit is made possible through a partnership with the MOF and The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
