The Blohm and Voss BV-38 was a German flying wing sent to Egypt to transport the Ark of the Covenant to Berlin.
Description[]
The BV-38 was sent to Tanis, Egypt, in 1936, as part of the German expedition to locate the Ark of the Covenant, with the Germans intending to use the aircraft to transport the Ark to Germany. Unfortunately, the aircraft was destroyed through the actions of Marion Ravenwood and Indiana Jones, resulting in the death of the pilot and one mechanic, before the Ark could be loaded.[2]
Behind the Scenes[]
Original Design sketch[3]
The Flying Wing was designed for Raiders of the Lost Ark by production designer Norman Reynolds. It was inspired by the Horten Ho 229, a prototype German fighter/bomber that never entered production during World War II, and modeled after a Horten VII by the German brothers Reimar and Walter Horten. It was built in 1944 as a test bed for a bigger jet propelled Horten IX. [4]
The design of the aircraft is similar to the Junkers G 38 that came out in the late 1920's, particularly with regard to the landing gear, general shape and appearance. It was a flying wing based on Prof. Junkers own patent that predate Jack Northrop's theories, that the Horton Brothers used for their Ho 229.[5]
The elaborate prop was built in England by Vickers Aircraft Company and painted at EMI Elstree Studios in London, before being disassembled and sent in parts to Tunisia, then rebuilt on location for filming.[6]
After the Flying Wing was destroyed in the film in 1981, the remains sat quietly in the Tunisian desert, where parts of it was salvaged by prop collectors. In 1991, ten years after the production of Raiders Of The Lost Ark, the Flying Wing was finally bulldozed and its remains destroyed.[7]
There was also at least one scale model of the aircraft used for filming.
Merchandise[]
There are a number of commercially available model kits of the BV-38.
1/72 Scale[]
- Resin model by Black Sun Models
- Paper model available as download from Paper Replika
Unknown scale[]
- Paper model available as download from Papermodels
- Rc model available at Valuehobby.com.
References[]
- ↑ Photobucket
- ↑ Raiders of the Lost Ark - Tanis section - Indiana Jones Wiki
- ↑ Images - Indy Gear
- ↑ Trivia page - Raiders of the Lost Ark IMDB entry
- ↑ Goofs page - Raiders of the Lost Ark IMDB entry
- ↑ Props - Indy Gear
- ↑ Flying Wing - Indiana Jones Wiki