Small plane with markings reminiscent of Nazi Luftwaffe crashes on Los Angeles highway

[THE_DEVIL]

small plane crash on the 101 highway in Los Angeles County Monday resulted in lane closures and many confused viewers who observed that it resembled a Nazi Luftwaffe craft.


KTLA 5 reported that the pilot of the “vintage aircraft with camouflage paint” was removed from the craft and did not sustain any injuries from the crash that occurred near Calabasas, California.


Many who saw photos of the crash on Twitter, however, noticed that the plane’s unique markings — especially the black “iron cross” with a partial white outline — made it look a lot like a Nazi Luftwaffe (German for “air force”) plane.


“A plane with the markings of the WWII Nazi Luftwaffe just crashed on a Los Angeles freeway,” user Leah McElrath tweeted. “Yes, really.”



LeAhhhhhh! McElrath@leahmcelrath
https://twitter.com/leahmcelrath/status/1054849152092299264

So...

A plane with the markings of the WWII Nazi Luftwaffe just crashed on a Los Angeles freeway.

Yes, really.

Cole Puente@colepuente

Just saw a plane crash on the 101


4:36 PM - Oct 23, 2018

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“I thought today had a lot of overwrought Nazi comparisons, but then [Luftwaffe planes] started falling out of the sky,” Jim Geraghty of the conservative National Reviewmagazine tweeted.


View image on Twitter


Jim Geraghty

✔@jimgeraghty
https://twitter.com/jimgeraghty/status/1054850113217220608

I thought today had a lot of overwrought Nazi comparisons, but then a Luftwaffe planes started falling out of the sky.

4:40 PM - Oct 23, 2018

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Another user noted that this isn’t the first time a Nazi Luftwaffe-themed craft had crashed onto a highway, linking to a July 2017 article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about a similar crash outside of Atlanta.

 

[Run&Blade]

Time warp?

 

[Lone Clone]

There are some of them out there still flying, just as there are some WW2 American aircraft.

Or maybe the pilot was going for an endurance record, and grew so old he forgot how to land.

It's California, after all.

Seriously, the story explains it. The plane is an AT-6 painted to look like a Nazi plane. It's one of the WW2 vintage aircraft flown by a flying club in Van Nuys.

 

[SalAunese]

The Iron Cross is a Prussian symbol predating the Nazi era by quite some time.

 

[HawkeyeGold]

The Iron Cross is a Prussian symbol predating the Nazi era by quite some time.

Iron Cross

Luftwaffe Cross

 

[The Tradition]

Iron Cross

Luftwaffe Cross

Kriss Kross

 

[SalAunese]

It’s all the same. The black cross is a Prussian symbol.

Roughly 700-800 years ago:

 

[anon_8rcdnbko1jbe0]

 

[bagdropper]

It's not painted to look like a Nazi plane for I highly doubt it was ever purchased by them pre-WWII.

I'm betting it's painted to look like a West German training aircraft, probably used by the West German Air Force.

From Wikipedia...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_T-6_Texan

 

[ft254]

The Iron Cross is a Prussian symbol predating the Nazi era by quite some time.

The Luftwaffe cross on that plane that crashed was the WW2 Luftwaffe cross at least in the dozens of reference books I have.

 

[h-hawk]

I agree it was painted to look like a WWII fighter - camouflage and WWII markings. I thought the front of the plane resembled a Focke Wulf 190..

 

[SalAunese]

The Luftwaffe cross on that plane that crashed was the WW2 Luftwaffe cross at least in the dozens of reference books I have.

It’s a typical straight bar cross of that era. It wasn’t just the Luftwaffe but the entire Wehrmacht as well. They started to use that cross in WW I (1918)

 

[Lone Clone]

It's not painted to look like a Nazi plane for I highly doubt it was ever purchased by them pre-WWII.

I'm betting it's painted to look like a West German training aircraft, probably used by the West German Air Force.

From Wikipedia...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_T-6_Texan

Entirely possible. I was going by the article. The T-6 has been used for this kind of thing fairly frequently in the past. I'm thinking it was what was tricked up as a Zero in more than one movie.

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

Entirely possible. I was going by the article. The T-6 has been used for this kind of thing fairly frequently in the past. I'm thinking it was what was tricked up as a Zero in more than one movie.

correct....T-6 used in Tora Tora Tora, Midway and Baa Baa Black sheep amongst others.

 

[Lone Clone]

correct....T-6 used in Tora Tora Tora, Midway and Baa Baa Black sheep amongst others.

Always wanted a ride in a T-6 or something similar, but don't want to spring for the cost when the CAF comes around from time to time. I did score a ride in a B-17 once, which was quite an experience. Was in the nose (bombardier station).

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

Always wanted a ride in a T-6 or something similar, but don't want to spring for the cost when the CAF comes around from time to time. I did score a ride in a B-17 once, which was quite an experience. Was in the nose (bombardier station).

Wow, a B-17? That's awesome....definitely bucket list stuff right there.

Not to brag but I've had a couple incentive flights in F-16's. Don't want to do it ever again but it's cool....almost puked both times.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

Just what I was thinking. Maybe this is one of the planes that bombed Pearl Harbor and is now continuing it's attack on California. It's just a very slow plane.

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

I agree it was painted to look like a WWII fighter - camouflage and WWII markings. I thought the front of the plane resembled a Focke Wulf 190..

As long as they didn't include the swastika on the back I'm ok.

 

[h-hawk]

OT but one of my film pet peeves are war movies that make no attempt to make aircraft and tanks look like the actual thing. Several well known 60s and 70s films just used painted Spanish M48 tanks (made in America) for Panthers, Tigers and even Shermans! .
And often you will see aircraft that are obviously modern trainers or private passenger models only painted to a WWII era camouflage scheme.
I am not one of those people who are super picky about these things but they are very obvious to any WWII buff worth his or her salt. (And don't get me started on "fireball" explosions

M48 Patton

 

[Lone Clone]

Wow, a B-17? That's awesome....definitely bucket list stuff right there.

Not to brag but I've had a couple incentive flights in F-16's. Don't want to do it ever again but it's cool....almost puked both times.

One of the advantages of working for a newspaper. I was taking flying lessons at the time, and one of the memorable things was that the speeds of the B-17 and the Skyhawk I was training on are relatively close. So it felt familiar in a way until I looked down and saw the shadow

Unfortunately, I retired before the B-29 came to town, so I didn't get that ride free and wasn't going to pay for it. Also flew right seat in a Ford Tri-Motor, and got a ride in a Curtis Swallow that was crossing the country as part of the United Airlines 50th anniversary flight. I turned down a chance to stand on the wing of a Stearman during air show aerobatics, and I missed a chance to fly with the Blue Angels. In both those cases, other reporters did it. The guy who did the Stearman thing said it was really hairy because he had trouble breathing.

The one remaining on my bucket list is a DC-3. Some of them are still in service in the Caribbean, so I may yet get my ride.

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

OT but one of my film pet peeves are war movies that make no attempt to make aircraft and tanks look like the actual thing. Several well known 60s and 70s films just used painted Spanish M48 tanks (made in America) for Panthers, Tigers and even Shermans! .
And often you will see aircraft that are obviously modern trainers or private passenger models only painted to a WWII era camouflage scheme.
I am not one of those people who are super picky about these things but they are very obvious to any WWII buff worth his or her salt. (And don't get me started on "fireball" explosions

M48 Patton

Yeah, that's what I like about recent WW2 movies....they use more authentic looking stuff.

 

[SalAunese]

Like when they used an actual running Tiger I in Fury?

 

[Hawk_4shur]

And don't get me started on "fireball" explosions

M48 Patton

Oh, why not? It's HROT. Go for it.

 

[h-hawk]

One of the many reasons I love Saving Private Ryan as that they had an explosives expert and listened to him. No silly fireballs coming from bombs or shells. And they also used authentic looking Tiger tanks built on T34 chassis-they made the effort.
An example of a bad explosion from a Michael Bay film.

Probably over the top but at least they are not fireball explosions from what I think is an underrated A Bridge Too Far.

 

[CarolinaHawkeye]

 

[ft254]

I agree it was painted to look like a WWII fighter - camouflage and WWII markings. I thought the front of the plane resembled a Focke Wulf 190..

I was going to add this comment, then noticed one of the photographs in a news story cited "fw 190 crashes".

 

[ft254]

One of the many reasons I love Saving Private Ryan as that they had an explosives expert and listened to him. No silly fireballs coming from bombs or shells. And they also used authentic looking Tiger tanks built on T34 chassis-they made the effort.
An example of a bad explosion from a Michael Bay film.

Probably over the top but at least they are not fireball explosions from what I think is an underrated A Bridge Too Far.

Good points. The least factually accurate modern WW2 movie made was Patton. It was ridiculous. WW2 vets had to be sick to their stomachs.