On Tue, 03 May 2011 00:41:43 +0100, Ramsman wrote:

Never heard that before, the pilots probably just thought it looked
good.

AIUI the sharkmouth in WWII was used by ZG76 Haifischgruppe (Shark
Gruppe)on their Bf 109D aircraft and transferred it to the Bf 110C in
February 1940 (see http://www.virtualwings.org/bf110/m8dp.htm).

I should always google before I ask. The following link discusses
both the "fear factor" theory and the "looks good" theory:

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...ad.main/61374/

But before this thread, I did not know that such patterns are
called "sharks mouth" patterns. They could just as well be the
snarling jaws of any wild animal.