# That Nazi Plane in "Indiana Jones"
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [February 19, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955 "2005-02-19T22:47:56Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/1 "2005-02-19T22:47:56Z")
I the first Indiana Jones movie, those evil Nazis have a cool-lookink twin-engine plane, ready to fly the Ark back to Germany. It looked like a flying wing…was there actually such an aircraft? The movie was just on AMC…and I spotted a blooper! Jone’s girlfriend locks herself in the cockpit (and can’t get out). She mysteriously appears in the machine gun turret in the next frames…how did she get there?
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### Author:  [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2005, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/2 "2005-02-19T22:55:46Z")
According to [this site](http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_1683101/anchors_1683166/mpage_1/key_/anchor/tm.htm#1683166), “In Raiders of the lost ark the Nazi ‘Flying Wing’ was created to reflect Hitler’s advanced state of aeronautics and was built using a Flying Wing prototype created by Northrop-Grumman.It is based on a Northrop prototype design, probably the n1m.”
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/3 "2005-02-19T23:22:02Z")
[Picture of the plane](http://www.indianajones.com/raiders/bts/news/img/20031014_2_bg.jpg)
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2005, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/4 "2005-02-19T23:27:53Z")
I seem to recall (no cite) that the plane was supposed to be a (fictional) ground-attack plane.
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### Author:  [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2005, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/5 "2005-02-20T00:42:26Z")
No, it’s not a real plane, but it’s based on several German [flying wing aircraft](http://www.pilotfriend.com/century-of-flight/Aviation%20history/jet%20age/flying%20wings.htm) designed by the Horten Brothers before and during WW II.
As for Marion getting from the plane’s cockpit to the tail gunner position, I’d assume there was a passage between them inside the plane.
Eric
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2005, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/6 "2005-02-20T00:53:49Z")
A model.
[http://www.indianajones.de/pictures.php?pic=http://www.indianajones.de/indy1/pics/indy\_behind\_prop\_03.jpg](http://www.indianajones.de/pictures.php?pic=http://www.indianajones.de/indy1/pics/indy_behind_prop_03.jpg)
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### Author:  [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2005, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/7 "2005-02-20T01:07:07Z")
The amazing thing is that I was thinking about this just this afternoon. I managed to find the following:
[http://www.luft46.com/lippisch/lip04106.html](http://www.luft46.com/lippisch/lip04106.html)
The horton thing is fairly close too.
Though I do wonder exactly WHY they have such a plane at a dig site…in British Controlled Egypt of all places. Wouldn’t a standred transport plane do just as well?
But I will say that it’s a great scene and a cool plane.
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### Author:  [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/8 "2005-02-20T03:08:36Z")
[Simulated version.](http://www.x-plane.org/registry/6026.shtml)
She’s actually pretty tricky to control in flight. Pretty, though.
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### Author:  [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/9 "2005-02-20T04:08:48Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#):
>
> A model.
>
> [http://www.indianajones.de/pictures.php?pic=http://www.indianajones.de/indy1/pics/indy\_behind\_prop\_03.jpg](http://www.indianajones.de/pictures.php?pic=http://www.indianajones.de/indy1/pics/indy_behind_prop_03.jpg)
Its only a model.
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### Author:  [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2005, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/10 "2005-02-20T04:43:56Z")
> [@Zebra](#):
>
> Its only a model.
_Shhh!_
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### Author:  [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/11 "2005-02-20T15:40:26Z")
A model?!?! You mean to tell me that “Raiders of the Lost Ark” isn’t a documentary? 😉
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### Author:  [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/12 "2005-02-20T17:12:43Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#):
>
> A model?!?! You mean to tell me that “Raiders of the Lost Ark” isn’t a documentary? 😉
Whew! That means I don’t have to worry that someone is going to uncover the crate the Ark is stored in one day while looking for “Rosebud”.
😃
Stranger
“Oh, Marcus. What are you trying to do, scare me? You sound like my mother. We’ve known each other for a long time. I don’t believe in magic, a lot of superstitious hocus pocus. I’m going after a find of incredible historical significance, you’re talking about the boogie man. Besides, you know what a cautious fellow I am.” ::throws loaded gun across the room::
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### Author:  [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2005, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/13 "2005-02-20T17:54:32Z")
> [@ralph124c](#):
>
> Jone’s girlfriend locks herself in the cockpit (and can’t get out). She mysteriously appears in the machine gun turret in the next frames…how did she get there?
The gun turret has an opening in its back. She went through the fuselage from the cockpit and climbed in. Simple, really.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/14 "2005-02-20T18:28:13Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#):
>
> [Simulated version.](http://www.x-plane.org/registry/6026.shtml)
How does it work? Is the file data to use with another app?
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### Author:  [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/15 "2005-02-20T23:55:26Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#):
>
> How does it work? Is the file data to use with another app?
It’s for the [“X-Plane” flight simulator.](http://www.x-plane.com/) You’d have to have it—or at least, the demo—the fly the Wing.
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### Author:  [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2005, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/16 "2005-02-21T00:48:58Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#):
>
> [Simulated version.](http://www.x-plane.org/registry/6026.shtml)
>
> She’s actually pretty tricky to control in flight. Pretty, though.
For what’s it’s worth, there’s a plane that looks very much like it(That you can fly) in the Computer game “Crimson Skies”
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### Author:  [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/17 "2005-02-21T01:32:21Z")
It doesn’t look like a cargo plane, so I never got why they’d be using it to ship the Ark.
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2005, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-nazi-plane-in-indiana-jones/290955/18 "2005-02-21T01:53:35Z")
> [@Fiver](#):
>
> It doesn’t look like a cargo plane, so I never got why they’d be using it to ship the Ark.
Most aircraft with internal bomb bays could be used as light cargo carriers, in the pre-WW2 era.
As for why, it was armed, fairly fast, & probably long-ranged. And Herman Goering was always hustling for publicity.