# Which planes did I see? (probably WW2 era, LA area)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-planes-did-i-see-probably-ww2-era-la-area/687232
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 29, 2014, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-planes-did-i-see-probably-ww2-era-la-area/687232 "2014-04-29T00:40:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2014, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-planes-did-i-see-probably-ww2-era-la-area/687232/1 "2014-04-29T00:40:07Z")
I was hiking to the Hollywood sign the other day and saw [these four planes](http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b314/spcutler/planes.jpg) circling around. I don’t know if they took off from there, but the Bob Hope Airport was the closest airport I could spot.
I have zero knowledge of such things, but they look to me WW2 era, two of them German and two American. Oddly though, it looks like the planes are all the same model but with different paint jobs.
So, two questions:
- What model planes are these?
- Presumably, these are part of some known WW2 reenactment group, air show, etc. Any idea who they are? Or, given that I _was_ near Hollywood, maybe they were used for a movie?
Thanks!
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### Author:  [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2014, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-planes-did-i-see-probably-ww2-era-la-area/687232/2 "2014-04-29T00:48:34Z")
My WAG is that they’re some type of patrol (go find the enemy fleet) trainer, or light bomber aircraft. The long cockpit means they’re two seaters, and the military’s very frugal with highly trained personnel like pilots.
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### Author:  [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-planes-did-i-see-probably-ww2-era-la-area/687232/3 "2014-04-29T00:51:57Z")
They look like the Dauntless dive bomber or the North American Texan trainer on this page.
If the picture were clearer I could give you a more detailed answer.
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### Author:  [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-planes-did-i-see-probably-ww2-era-la-area/687232/4 "2014-04-29T00:55:25Z")
The aircraft are [T-6 Texans/SNJ Harvards](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-6_Texan).
Not idea why two are painted as German planes but at a guess they probably do mock dogfights at airshows.
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### Author:  [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-planes-did-i-see-probably-ww2-era-la-area/687232/5 "2014-04-29T01:02:54Z")
Pretty popular planes and you can even get a ride in one if you would like.
> **[SNJ Ride](https://www.cafsocal.com/product/snj-ride/)**
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### Author:  [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2014, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-planes-did-i-see-probably-ww2-era-la-area/687232/6 "2014-04-29T01:10:27Z")
They look like Texans to me. Weird that the two in the middle have German markings, so maybe it’s for a film. I suppose they could be associated with The Commemorative Air Force. They fly out of Camarillo Airport…that isn’t too far as the crow (or Texan) flies.
(rats, ninja’ed by the previous posts!)
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### Author:  [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-planes-did-i-see-probably-ww2-era-la-area/687232/7 "2014-04-29T01:21:23Z")
Thanks everyone! It’s apparently the [Condor Squadron](http://www.vg-photo.com/airshow/2013/Camarillo/condors.html), and they are indeed T-6 Texans.