Bugeye & Frogeye

Bugeye (pronounced buhg-ahy)

(1) A nautical term for a ketch-rigged sailing vessel used on Chesapeake Bay.

(2) A slang term, unrelated to the nautical use, used to describe objects or creatures with the bulging eyes resembling those of certain bugs.

1883: An Americanism, the construct being bug + eye, coined to describe the 1880s practice of shipwrights painting a large eye on each bow of the ketches used for oyster dredging in Chesapeake Bay, an estuary in the US states of Maryland and Virginia.  Bug dates from 1615–1625 and the original use was to describe insects, apparently as a variant of the earlier bugge (beetle), thought to be an alteration of the Middle English budde, from the Old English -budda (beetle) but etymologists are divided on whether the phrase “bug off” (please leave) is related to the undesired presence of insects or was of a distinct origin.  Although “unbug” makes structural sense (ie remove a bug, as opposed to the sense of “debug”), it doesn’t exist whereas forms such as the adjectives unbugged (not bugged) and unbuggable (not able to be bugged) are regarded as standard.  Eye pre-dates 900 and was from the Middle English eie, yë, eighe, eyghe, yȝe, eyȝe & ie, from the Old English ēge, a variant of ēage, from the Proto-West Germanic augā, from the Proto-Germanic augô (eye).  It was cognate with the German Auge & the Icelandic auga and akin to the Latin oculus (eye), the Lithuanian akìs (eye), the Slavic (Polish) oko (eye), the Old Church Slavonic око (oko) (eye), the Albanian sy (eye), the Ancient Greek ὄψ (óps) (in poetic use, “eye; face”) & ὄσσε (ósse) (eyes), the Armenian ակն (akn), the Avestan aši (eyes) and the Sanskrit अक्षि (ákṣi).  A related Modern English form is “ogle”.  Bugeye is a noun and bugeyed is an adjective; the noun plural is bugeyes.  Hyphenated use of all forms is common. 

Frogeye (pronounced frog-ahy or frawg-ahy)

(1) In botany, a small, whitish leaf spot with a narrow barker border, produced by certain fungi.

(2) A plant disease so characterized.

(3) A slang term, unrelated to the botanical use, used to describe objects or creatures with the bulging eyes resembling those of frogs.

1914–15: A descriptive general term, the construct being frog + eye, for the condition Botryosphaeria obtusa, a plant pathogen that causes Frogeye leaf spot, black rot and cankers on many plant species.  The fungus was first described by in 1832 as Sphaeria obtusa, refined as Physalospora obtusa in 1892 while the final classification was defined in 1964.  Frog (any of a class of small tailless amphibians of the family Ranidae (order Anura) which typically move by hopping and in zoology often referred to as “true frog” because in general use “frog” is used loosely or visually similar creatures) pre-dates 1000 and was from the Middle English frogge, from the Old English frogga, from the Proto-West Germanic froggō (frog).  It was cognate with the Norwegian Nynorsk fraug (frog) and Old Norse frauki and there may be links with the Saterland Frisian Poage (frog) and the German Low German Pogg & Pogge (frog).  The alternative forms in English (some still in regional use at least as late as the mid-seventeenth century were frosk, frosh & frock.  Eye pre-dates 900 and was from the Middle English eie, yë, eighe, eyghe, yȝe, eyȝe & ie, from the Old English ēge, a variant of ēage, from the Proto-West Germanic augā, from the Proto-Germanic augô (eye).  It was cognate with the German Auge & the Icelandic auga and akin to the Latin oculus (eye), the Lithuanian akìs (eye), the Slavic (Polish) oko (eye), the Old Church Slavonic око (oko) (eye), the Albanian sy (eye), the Ancient Greek ὄψ (óps) (in poetic use, “eye; face”) & ὄσσε (ósse) (eyes), the Armenian ակն (akn), the Avestan aši (eyes) and the Sanskrit अक्षि (ákṣi).  A related Modern English form is “ogle”.  Frogeye is a noun and frogeyed is an adjective; the noun plural is frogeyes.  Hyphenated use of all forms is common.

Bugeye or frogeye: The Austin-Healey Sprite

1960 Austin-Healey Sprite (left) & 1972 MG Midget (right).

The Austin-Healey Sprite was produced between 1958 and 1971 (although in the last year of production they were badged as the Austin Sprite, reflecting the end of the twenty year contract with Donald Healey's (1898–1988) eponymous company).  Beginning in 1961, the car was restyled and a more conventional frontal appearance was adopted, shared with the almost identical MG Midget, introduced as at the same time as a corporate companion and the Midget outlived the Sprite, the last built in 1980.  Upon release, the Sprite immediately picked up the nicknames frogeye (UK & most of the Commonwealth) and bugeye (North America) because the headlights were mounted as protuberances atop the hood (bonnet), bearing a resemblance to the eyes of some frogs and bugs.  The original design included retractable headlights but to reduce both cost and weight, fixed-lights were used.  As purely functional mountings, such things continue to be fitted to rally-cars.  The linguistic quirk that saw the Sprite nicknamed bugeye in North America and frogeye in most of the rest of the English-speaking world is a mystery.  Etymologists have noted the prior US use of bugeye as a nautical term but it was both geographically and demographically specific and that use, visually, was hardly analogous with the Sprite.  No other explanation has been offered; the English language is like that.

1963 Lightburn Zeta (left) 1964 Lightburn Zeta Sports (centre) & Lightburn Zeta Sports with "sports lights" (right).  Not everything in the 1960s was groovy. 

1949 Crosley Hotshot.

Although distinctive, the look wasn’t new, familiar from the use of the Triumph TR2 (1952) and Crosley in the US had used a similar arrangement for their "Hotshot" & "Super Sport" (1949-1952 and notable for being fitted with four-wheel disk brakes although heey didn't work very well) and in Australia, Lightburn (previously noted for their well-regarded washing machines and cement mixers) were in 1964 forced to adopt them for the woeful Zeta Sports to meet headlight-height regulations.  The Zeta Sports was better looking than the Trabant-like "two-door sedan" which preceded it but truly that is damning with faint praise.  An adaptation (development seems not the appropriate word) of the Meadows Frisky microcar of the mid-1950s, the Zeta Sports was built in South Australia and initially it wasn't realized headlight-height rules in New South Wales (NSW) were such that the low-slung Zeta couldn't comply, even were the suspension to be raised, an expedient MG was compelled to use in 1974 to ensure the bumpers of the Midget & MGB sat at the height specified in new US rules.  Instead "sports lights" were added to the bonnet (hood) which lent more more cartoon-like absurdity to the thing but did little to increase its appeal, only a few dozen built in the two years it was available.

1959 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale, Tipo (type) 101.20. 

Ungainly the bugeye lights may have been but they were a potentially handy addition given the original headlights doubled as bumper bars.  That seems a silly idea and it is but it wasn't unique to the Zeta and some examples had exquisite (if vulnerable) coachwork, such as the early (low-nose) versions of the much-admired Alfa Romeo Giulietta SS (Sprint Speciale, Tipo (type) 101.20; 1957-1962).  It was only the first 101 cars which were produced in lightweight, bumper-bar less form, that run to fulfil the FIA's homologation rules which demanded a minimum of 100 identical examples to establish eligibility in certain classes of production-car racing.

Lindsay Lohan in "bugeye" sunglasses, the look made popular by Jacqueline Kennedy (1929-1994; US First Lady 1961-1963). 

So aerodynamically efficient (the drag coefficient (CD) a reputed .28) was Carrozzeria Bertone's design that although using only a 1290 cm³ (79 cubic inch) engine with barely 100 hp (75 kW), the SS could achieve an even now impressive 200 km/h (124 mph).  Fitted with a 498 cm³ engine which yielded 21 hp (15.5 kW), the Zeta Sedan thankfully wasn't that fast but did feature a four speed manual gearbox with no reverse gear; to reverse a Zeta, the ignition key was turned the opposite direction so the crankshaft turned the other way.  All four gears remained available so top speed in reverse would presumably have been about the same as going forward but, as Chrysler discovered during the testing for the doomed Airflow (1934-1937), given the vagaries of aerodynamics, it may even have been faster, something which certainly may have been true of the Sports, (at least with the soft top erected) given the additional drag induced by the bugeye lights.  This was never subject to a practical test because unlike the sedan, the diminutive roadster had a reverse gear.  

The class-winning Austin-Healey Sprite, Coupe des Alpes rally, 1958.  With its goofy bugeyes and "grinning grill", the Sprite was often anthropomorphized.  It was part of the little machine's charm and, cheap to run and easy to tune, Sprites were for decades a mainstay of entry-level motorsport and still appear in historic categories.  For years they were cheap so predictably were repowered by more powerful engines including V8s, the transplantation of which could be challenging, as was the subsequent driving experience.

An Italian Bugeye: Pininfarina's Ferrari 330 GTC Speciale

1968 Ferrari 330 GTC.

Introduced at the 1966 Geneva Auto Show, the 330 GTC was an important model for Ferrari and something of a watershed, the model defining the template which would be used for a succession of grand touring models which profitably could be manufactured and sold in volumes which, by Ferrari’s historic standards, constituted mass-production.  Between 1966-1968 597 were built (the of-quoted 598 said to be a double-counting of one chassis number), buyers attracted not only by the style but also creature comforts like air-conditioning and electric windows.  Additionally, there had been refinements to extend the appeal beyond those drawn to the faster but more raucous sports cars, independent rear suspension meaning the ride was softer and the attention paid to NVH (noise, vibration and harshness although the acronym wasn’t then in use in Italy where all three qualities still had a following) meant merely the thing was less tiring (noise is a source of stress); the 330 GTC was said to be the first Ferrari in which the radio genuinely was usable.  Styled by Pininfarina, taking cues from the 500 Superfast (1964-1966) at the front and the 275 GTS (1964-1966) to the rear, it shared the 2,400 mm (94½ inch) wheelbase of the 275 GTB (1964-1968).  A lovely, elegant shape which aged well, it wouldn’t seem to need enhancement but Pininfarina did just that, using the 330 GTC as a test-bed for a number of design studies, some of the details almost imperceptible and some obvious.

1964 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 (left) and 1967 Ferrari 365 California Spyder (right). 

Of the latter, the most obvious was the addition of a pair of Supervis (super vision) driving lights in retractable housings, as used on the Ferrari 365 California Spyder (1966-1967).  By the mid 1960s, integrated quad headlights had for a decade been a part of mainstream design but their appearance on a Ferrari  had not met with universal praise, the 330 GT 2+2 (1964-1967) produced for its first two seasons with four but reverting to what was judged a more aesthetically accomplished pair for the rest of its run.  Speeds however were rising and the networks of European roads designed for high speed cruising rapidly were being extended and the need for better headlights was acknowledged.  Soon, technology would provide that but in the short term the solution was to add another pair and the retractable units on the Superfast were a way to do that without compromising the marque’s recognizable design language.  It was only on the Superfast the Supervis lights were standard equipment and they appeared on only two of the four 330 GTC Speciales along with a handful of regular production 330 GTC (fitted upon customer request, most sources suggest only three took up the option) and the clearly limited demand, coupled with the labor-intensive installation process, dissuaded Ferrari from extending availability as early as 1965 they appear to have vanished from the option list.  Not until compelled by US regulators a half-decade later would the factory return to retractable headlights, by then in a symmetrical quad.

Ferrari 330 GTC Speciale (serial number 8727, Pininfarina construction number CO 004, left) and in bug-eye mode (right).  This does hint why rarely are the the 365 California Spyders photographed with headlights raised. 

The brace of Supervis on chassis 8727 had a history.  Sometime prior to 1988 the front of the car had been damaged and when repairs were effected, the bug-eye lights simply were removed, the suddenly gaping apertures covered with a plug from sheet aluminium; once painted, the nose again resembled that of the standard 330 GTC the car had once been.  It was only during a later restoration the plugs were discovered and information was sought from Pininfarina which provided details of the history.  Obviously the rotating mechanisms were no longer available so those on one of the 14 365 California Spyders were removed and disassembled, allowing every part exactly to be duplicated, a process as expensive as it sounds and, adding to the cost, it was necessary to fabricate a new nose-cone because the existing metal surrounding the plugs had become too fragile to support the weight.

Skinnytoker Trindalyn Mackenzie skinnysplaining that "skinny isn't owned, it's rented".

The bug-eye look was adopted by the skinnytokers (the skinnytok community said to be "the acceptable pro ana") because the exaggerated size of the frames and lens creates the visual illusion of making the face appear thinner although Trindalyn Mackenzie seems anyway splendidly slender.  

A French bugeye: The Matra 530SX

Matra’s 1967 advertising copy for the last of the Sports Jets (left) and a 530 (right).

René Bonnet (1904–1983) was a self-taught French designer and engineer who joined the long list of those unable to resist the lure of building a car bearing his name.  It ended badly but his venture does enjoy a place in history because briefly he produced the first mid-engined road cars offered for general sale, some four years after the configuration had in Formula One racing begun to exert a dominance which endures to this day.  His diminutive sports car (marketed variously as René Bonnet Djet, Matra-Bonnet Djet, Matra Sports Djet & Matra Sports Jet) were produced by his company between 1962-1964 and by Matra for a further two years, the French manufacturer taking over the concern when Bonnet was unable to pay for the components earlier supplied.  While Matra continued production of the Djet, it used the underpinnings for a much revised model which would in 1967 emerge as the Matra 530.

Matra R.530 surface to air missile (1962, left) and René Bonnet Missile (1959-1962).

It was only force of circumstances which would lead Matra to producing the Djet.  As Bonnet’s largest creditor when the bills grew beyond his capacity to pay, the accountants worked out the only hope of recovering their stake was to take the equity and continue the operation.  Although asset-stripping wasn’t then the thing it would later become, there’s nothing to suggest this was contemplated and the feeling was the superior administrative capacity of Matra would allow things to be run in a more business-like manner although there was genuine interest in the workforce’s skills with the then still novel fibreglass.  However, although Djet production resumed under new management, Bonnet’s other offerings such as the Missile (1959-1962) were retired.  The missile, a small, front-wheel drive (FWD) convertible was a tourer in the pre-war vein rather than a sports car but while the idea probably had potential, the price was high, the performance lethargic and the styling quirky even by French standards.  In looks, it had much in common with the contemporary Daimler SP250 including the tailfins and catfish-like nose but while the British roadster was genuinely a high-high performance (if flawed) sports car, the missile did not live up to its name; under the hood (bonnet) sat small (some sub 1000 cm³) four cylinder engines rather than the Daimler’s sonorous V8.  One influence did however carry over: Matra named the 530 after one of their other products: the R.530 surface to air missile which had entered service in 1962 after a five year development.

Vis-à-vis: Matra 530: The LX (left) and the SX (right).

Using three-numeral numbers for car names is not unusual but usually the reference is to engine capacity (in the metric world a 280 being 2.8 litres, a 350, 3.5 litres etc while in imperial terms 350, 427 et al stood as an indication of the displacement in cubic inches).  Buick proved a contrarian, their 445 V8 gaining the name from its torque rating and the company used 225 in honor of the impressive 225 inch (5.7 m) length of the the 1959 Electra (Jayne Mansfield (1933–1967) died in a 225), sticking to to it for years even as the thing grew and shrunk and there have been many three-digit numbers which indicated a model's place in the hierarchy, the choice sometimes seemingly arbitrary.  Porsche in 1963 thought 901 was innocuous but Peugeot objected, claiming an exclusive right (for cars sold in France) to the use of three digit numbers with a central "0".  At that point Mercedes-Benz had in France been for a decade been selling the 300 and were about to release the 600 so it seemed an ambitious claim but, given the advice the case would be heard in a French court (which meant the French would win), Porsche renamed the thing 911 and the rest is history.  The "Letter Series" Chrysler 300 gained the name from its industry-leading 300 horse power, 331 cubic inch (5.4 litre) V8 and such was the reputation the thing soon established that even though over the following eleven years displacement and power both rose, the "300" model designation was retained, the allure so strong there was a twenty-first century revival.  Even now, 300 sounds an impressive number if linked to horsepower while the "110" used by both Austin and Wolseley doesn't stir the imagination, even though it denoted a useful 11% jump in horsepower from the previous 99.  The three-dozen odd models of the French Monica (1971-1975) were all called "560" because although Chrysler invoiced the company for "340 cid" (cubic inch displacement) V8s, to have called it the 340 would have baffled many in Europe for whom inches were mysterious so 560 it was, a familiar allusion to its 5.6 litres.  Unfortunately, after the ripples of the first oil shock washed over Europe after 1973, engines of that size become suddenly unfashionable and Monica was doomed along with most of the once lucrative trans-Atlantic ecosystem.  

1971 Chrysler (Australia) VG Valiant Regal 770 Hardtop.

Perhaps because 220, 440, 330 and such can be multiples of amicable numbers (and thus possess a beauty for mathematicians), they seem to have been used as model designations unrelated to the three numeral string’s usual function of (usually with some rounding up or down) indicating engine displacement (Kawasaki 440=440 cm3; Mercedes-Benz 220=2.2 litres; Oldsmobile 330=330 cid etc). AMC (American Motor Corporation) had the most complete sequence, using 220, 330, 440, 550, 660, 770, 880 & 990 to tag a model’s place in the hierarchy and in Australia Chrysler used 660 and 770 for their blinged-up Hillman Hunter and Valiant respectively; they also called the Hunter a “Royal” in case 660 was too abstract for the colonials. There, Ford's Mark 1 Cortina was sold as a 220 (the so-called "poverty" model which was a two-door without even a standard heater so it could be advertised at the lowest possible price) & 440 (the better equipped four-door version).  When a two door version with the 440 equipment levels was released, in stead of 330 it was called 240. 550 is also a footnote because the Mercedes-Benz R230 (2001-2011) was unusual because of the quirk of the SL 550 (2006-2011), a designation used exclusively in the North American market, the RoW (rest of the world) cars retaining the SL 500 badge even though both used the 5.5 litre (333 cubic inch) V8 (M273).

Nor is a link with the materiel of the military unusual, the names of warships have been borrowed and Chevrolet used Corvette as a deliberate allusion to speed and agility but an air-to-air missile was an unusual source although Dodge did once display a Sidewinder show car.  Eventually the Corvette did live up to its name although the humble Triumph Spitfire was a far cry from the fighter aircraft which became famous in the Battle of Britain (1940).  At the time though, it wasn't the Matra's name which attracted most comment.  There have been quite a few French cars which looked weirder than the 530 but the small, mid-engined sports car was visually strange enough although, almost sixty years on, it has aged rather well and the appearance would by most plausibly be accepted as something decades younger.  The automotive venture wasn’t a risk for Matra because it was a large and diversified industrial conglomerate with profitable interests in transport, telecommunications, aerospace and of course defence (missiles, cluster-bombs, rockets and all that).  As things transpired, the automotive division would for a while prove a valuable prestige project, the participation in motorsport yielding a Formula One Constructors’ Championship and three back-to-back victories in the Le Mans 24 hour endurance classic.

Matra 530: The LX (left) and the SX (right).

The road-car business however proved challenging and Matra never became a major player.  Although the British and Italians would prove there was a market for small, economical sports cars, buyers seemed mostly to prefer more traditionally engineered roadsters which were ruggedly handsome rather than delicately avant-garde.  Although as a niche model in a niche market, the volumes were never high, the 530 was subject to constant development and in 1970 the 530LX was released, distinguished by detail changes and some mechanical improvements.  Most distinctive however was next year’s 530SX, an exercise in “de-contenting” (producing what the US industry used to call a “stripper”) so it could be offered at a lower price point, advertised at 19,000 Fr against the 22,695 asked for the LX.  It was a linguistic coincidence the SX label was later chosen for the lower price 386 & 486 CPUs (central processing unit) by the US-based Intel although they labeled their full-priced offerings DX.

Yuri Gagarin (1934–1968; Soviet pilot and cosmonaut and the first human to travel to “outer space”) with his 1965 Matra Djet (left), standing in front of the Покори́телям ко́смоса (Monumént Pokorítelyam kósmosa) (Monument to the Conquerors of Space), the titanium obelisk erected in 1964 to celebrate the USSR's pioneering achievements in space exploration.  The structure stands 351 feet (107 metres) tall and assumes an incline of 77° which is a bit of artistic licence because the rockets were launched in a vertical path but it was a good decision however because it lent the monument a greater sense of drama.  Underneath the obelisk sits the Музей космонавтики (Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics (known also as the Memorial Museum of Astronautics or Memorial Museum of Space Exploration)) and in the way which was typical of projects in the Brezhnev-era (Leonid Brezhnev (1906–1982; Soviet leader 1964-1982) USSR, although construction was begun in 1964, it wasn't until 1981 the museum opened to the public.  In the Soviet Union, while it was common for projects to be delayed for years, they were usually described as "ahead of schedule". 

The reduction in the cost of production of the SX was achieved in the usual way: remove whatever expensive stuff can be removed.  Thus (1) the retractable headlights were replaced with four fixed “bugeyes”, a single engine air vent was fitted instead of the LX’s four, (3) the rear seat and carpet were deleted, (4) the front seats were non-adjustable, (5) the trimmed dashboard was replaced by one in brushed aluminium (which was much-praised), the removable targa panels in the roof were substituted with a solid panel and, (7) metal parts like bumpers and the grille were painted matte black rather than being chromed.  In the the spirit of the ancien regime, the Frensh adopted the nicknames La Matra de Seigneur (the Matra of a Lord) for the LX & La Matra Pirate (the Matra of a pirate) for the SX.

Who wore the bugeye best?  Austin-Healey Sprite (1958, left), Lightburn Zeta Sports (1964, centre) and Matra 530SX (1971, right).

The SX did little to boost sales and even in 1972 which proved the 530’s most prolific year with 2159 produced, buyers still preferred the more expensive model by 1299 to 860.  Between 1967-1973, only 9609 530s were made: 3732 of the early models, 4731 of the LX and 1146 of the bugeyed SX and, innovative, influential and intriguing as it and the Djet were, it was a failure compared with something unadventurous like the MGB (1963-1980), over a half-million of which were delivered.  One 530 however remains especially memorable, a harlequinesque 1968 model painted by French artist Sonia Delaunay (1885–1979), a founder of the school of Orphism (a fork of Cubism which usually is described as an exercise in pure abstraction rendered in vivid colors).  The work was commissioned by Matra's CEO Jean-Luc Lagardère (1928–2003) for a charity auction and still is sometimes displayed in galleries.  In 2003, after some thirty years of co-production with larger manufacturers, Matra’s automotive division was declared bankrupt and liquidated.

Swastika

Swastika (pronounced swos-ti-kuh (Germanic) or swas-ti-kuh (English-speaking world)).

(1) A figure used as a symbol or an ornament in the Old World and in America since prehistoric times, consisting of a cross with arms of equal length, each arm having a continuation at right angles.

(2) The official emblem of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (The NSDAP, the National Socialist German Workers' Party better known as the Nazi Party (1920-1945)) and (after 1935) the German state (Third Reich).

1850–1855: From the Sanskrit स्वस्तिक (svastika), from svasti (prosperity), the construct being सु- (su-) (good, well (cognate with Greek eu-) + अस्ति (asti) (that being as- (be) + -ti- (the abstract noun suffix)) + क (ka) (the diminutive suffix), hence "little thing associated with well-being", best understood in modern use as “a lucky charm".  It was first attested in English in 1871, a Sanskritism which replaced the Grecian gammadion.  After adoption in the early 1920s by the German National Socialist Workers’ Party (the Nazis), swastika was increasingly used to refer to the visually similar hooked cross which in German was the Hakenkreuz (literally "hook-cross"), English use first noted in 1932.  The su- element is from the primitive Indo-European (e)su- (good), a suffixed form of the root es- ("to be”); the asti element is from the same root.  It was known in Byzantium as the gammadion and in medieval heraldry as the cross cramponnee, Thor's hammer, and (although this is contested), the fylfot, a similar shape though most usually rendered in mirror image to the swastika.  Swastika is a noun (the rare adjective swastikaed is non-standard); the noun plural is swastikas.

Crate label advertising, Swastika brand fruit, L.V.W. Brown Estate, Riverside, California, 1930s.

For thousands of years, the swastika was used by almost every culture as a symbol of good fortune before, in the Western world, becoming synonymous the Nazis and thus a byword for racism and barbarism.  Translated literally as "well-being" in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit and for millennia shared between Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, it was the positive connotations associated with the shape, as well as its pleasing, adaptive geometry which inspired the early Western travelers visiting Asia to bring it home, examples found in the archaeological record of the Ancient Greeks, Celts, and Anglo-Saxons, some of the oldest examples in eastern Europe, stretching from the Baltic to the Balkans.  In the 1800s it became a popular shape among jewelry designers and by the turn of the twentieth century there was quite a fad for it among graphic designers who applied it from everything from tiled floors, fabrics, architectural motifs and advertising.  Carlsberg and Coca-Cola both used it on their bottles and Swastika was the title of the magazine of the Girls' Club of America, the young ladies being awarded swastika badges to wear as a prize for selling copies.  In one especially interesting example of timing and placement, some war planes of both the Aeronautical Division of the US Signal Corps (predecessor of USSAF & USAF) and the UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF) were adorned with swastikas, beginning in the 1920s.  Use declined, obviously, during the 1930s but there’s evidence the symbol was used as late as 1939.  The Finnish Air Force adopted it in 1918, discretely painting over the last examples in 1945 but the symbol continues to be used by some squadrons and on decorations.

Dirty laundry: Darty Laundry electric delivery van, rendered by Raidió Teilifís Éireann, (RTE, Radio & Television of Ireland, the Irish public service broadcaster) in “Swastika Laundry” livery for the television series Caught in a Free State (1983) a four-part drama about German spies in neutral Ireland during World War II (1939-1945), an event known in Ireland as “The Emergency”.  As late as the 1970s there were at least 600 electric delivery vehicles on the streets of Dublin alone, their numbers declining as private ownership of cars, washing machines, refrigerators and such increased.  In the UK, when milk was still every day delivered to houses, some 85% of deliveries were made by electric vehicles.

Anwar Sadat (1918–1981; president of Egypt 1970-1981, left) and Israeli foreign minister (and former IDF (Israeli Defence Force) general) Moshe Dayan (1915-1981, right), King David Hotel, Jerusalem, 19 November 1977.

It was the first visit to Israel by an Egyptian president and although the visit was successful, the “swastika” tie he on one occasion wore attracted comment.  During the visit he also chose neckwear in stripes and polka-dots so there were mixed messages but in Washington DC, on 26 March 1979, some 16 months after the visit and following the 1978 Camp David Accords, the Egypt–Israel treaty was signed, providing for mutual recognition and a cessation of the state of war that had existed since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.  Maybe, sometimes a tie is just a tie.

Playing cards, New, York, 1920s.

The Nazi’s use of the swastika is another example of the quasi-scientific links they claimed existed between Germans and ancient civilizations.  Nineteenth century German scholars translating old Indian texts had notice the structural similarities between their language and Sanskrit; their conclusions were equivocal but the some among the Nazis concluded this was proof of a shared ancestry with a race of white warriors they called Aryans.  Even at the time, the linguists and anthropologists were appalled at the misappropriation of their work; their findings had been about the structure of language and nothing more.  The Nazis however grasped at straws wherever they fell.  Single swastikas began to appear in the Neolithic Vinca culture across south-eastern Europe around some 7,000 years ago and during the Bronze Age were widespread across the continent but, when clay pots embossed with swastikas dating from circa 2000 BC were looted after the occupation of Kiev in WWII and were exhibited in Berlin as evidence of a shared Aryan ancestry.  Displays of the swastika have been banned in Germany since the end of the war but attempts to extend the ban EU-wide have never succeeded.

A K-R-I-T bus in New York City, taking a jury to luncheon, October 1912.  The matter on which the jury sat was a police corruption trial, the murder of Herman Rosenthal (1874–1912) who ran several small casinos which were subject to raids by the police who, in exchange for “protection money” (claimed to be 20% of the day’s take) allowed them illegally to operate, the money spread among police, Tammany Hall (headquarters of the Democratic Party machine) and some corrupt politicians (in NYC at the time, something of a tautology),  New York Police Department (NYPD) Lieutenant Charles Becker (1870–1915) and four members of the Lenox Avenue Gang ultimately were convicted of murder and “got the chair”, the executions carried out in 1915 in Sing Sing Prison’s death chamber.

US Army Air Corps Boeing P12 (F4B) (1929-1942), circa 1964 (left) and the flying jacket of a US Army observer, 45th Infantry Division, circa 1939 (right).  Obviously the swastika livery didn't endure but it wasn't the end of the symbol appearing on US and British warplanes, small versions of the symbol often stencilled onto the fuselage to indicate the count of a pilot's "kills".

Finnish Air Force Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 fighters, Latva Airfield, East Karelia, 9 September, 1943.

The Finnish Air Force introduced the blue swastika in 1918; it was known as the hakaristi, the construct being haka (hook) +‎ risti (cross).  The Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 was a French fighter, based on an airframe which first flew in 1935 and it was only marginally improved by 1938 when the pre-production models first flew.  Like some other aircraft in what was a transitional period, the construction was a mix of old and new, the rear steel-tube frame fabric-covered in the conventional manner but the remainder had a skin of plymax, (a plywood veneer bonded to light alloy).  Under-powered and lacking firepower, it was hardly state of the art but was valuable export for the French industry, two sent to Switzerland to be used as templates for local production and 30 to Turkey while 160 had been sold to Poland but the timing was unfortunate because they were in the process of delivery when the German invasion began in 1939.  Just before the fall of France, 30 had been dispatched to Finland and the Germans would later augment this with a further batch of 57 confiscated from the Armée de l-Air (the French Air Force), distributing others to Croatia and Italy.  As the combat record in the Battle of France suggests (400 losses for 175 kills), the M.S.406 was outclassed by more capable German designs and in the conflicts with the Soviet Union (1939-1940 & 1941-1944) Finnish pilots found then agile but under-powered as well as unreliable as a gun platform, instability noted when firing and the weapons of dubious reliability.  The solution for the lack of power was typical of the improvisations often adopted during war-time: re-fitting the sturdy airframe with the more powerful Soviet Klimov M-105 or M-103 engines, both in plentiful supply from crashed enemy aircraft and stocks captured by the Germans during the early successes in the invasion of Russia in 1941.  A typical Soviet rip-off, the Klimovs were improved versions of the Hispano-Suzia 12Y-31 V12 used in the M.S.406 and were thus able to be re-purposed with relatively little effort.  The change transformed the Finnish fighters, giving them a performance second only to the Messerschmitt BF-109s also in the fleet.

Years before there was a Nazi Party, the trademark of the short-lived (1909-1916), Detroit-based motor car company K-R-I-T (derived from Kenneth Crittenden (1889-1972) who provided financial backing and contributed to the design) was the swastika.  K-R-I-T (the name was simplified to Krit after 1912) was one of some 2000 concerns which entered the US motor industry during the first two decades of the twentieth century but the ancient symbol of good fortune, chosen “to ensure favor of auspicious gods” failed the export-dependent company and World War I (1914-1918) proved the final nail in the coffin.  That Mr Crittenden was born in the same year as Adolf Hitler (1889-1945; Führer (leader) and German head of government 1933-1945 & head of state 1934-1945) is one of history's many coincidences and he went on to a long career in the industry, in 1928 joining Chrysler where he remained until his retirement in the mid-1960s.

1912 K-R-I-T Model A Roadster.  From the automotive “brass era”, its fittings included a firewall mounted Solar acetylene spotlight, twin Solar acetylene headlight, E&J kerosene sidelights, tufted black leather upholstery, wood spoke wheels with 30 x 3½ inch tires and a cylindrical bolster fuel tank.

Krit’s business model was one which for more than a century has lured major manufacturers, independents and start-ups when came and went: “the modestly priced, full-featured automobile”.  Such a product obviously has huge market appeal and thus the possibility of achieving compelling economies of scale but it also attracts players so the sector tends to become crowded, accounting for a hundred-odd years of industrial churn.  Depending on the configuration, the K-R-I-T Model A was advertised between US$800-1000, just a little more expensive than Henry Ford’s (1863-1947) Model T (1908-1927) but offered more power from an engine almost identical in specification (177 cubic inch, L-head, in-line four-cylinder) and a three-speed sliding gear transmission, easier to use and affording greater flexibility than the Ford’s two-speed planetary gearbox.  Unfortunately for Krit, demand in its most receptive and lucrative domestic market fell precipitously after widespread crop-failure in the US west in 1913 and the outbreak of war in Europe some months later killed demand there; Europe had absorbed more than 80% of of the company’s export business.  Production ceased in 1915 and after for some month trying. And failing, to raise new capital, the concern was dissolved.

The K-R-I-T badge (1908, left) and The Nazi's Goldenes Parteiabzeichen (Golden Party Badge (1933, right).

That the detailing in some of Krit's swastika emblems was so similar to that adopted by the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (The NSDAP, the National Socialist German Workers' Party better known as the Nazi Party (1920-1945)) is not surprising because the color combinations and aspect ratios which most appeal to one graphic artist are likely to be judged as pleasing by another.  Adolf Hitler claimed he personally designed the escutcheon his movement would make infamous and while he told many lies and there are many myths about his role in the party’s early days, his claim is thought to be true and throughout his political career, even in the depths of war when thing were bad, he never ceased sketching and designing; he was a competent (if uninspired) artist (although the human form eluded him) and likely would have be a proficient architect.  Nor did Hitler claim his conceptual notions were original, admitting the combination of red, white and black was something he “stole” from the posters of his enemies, the German communists (whose propagandists seem to have settled on the scheme because it was used for the flag of the German Empire (the so-called “Second Reich” (1871-1918).  Especially among the right-wing, the symbol had been much used in the German Empire.

Grounds of the Mercedes-Benz factory decorated in honor of a visit to Stuttgart by Adolf Hitler (1889-1945; Führer (leader) and German head of government 1933-1945 & head of state 1934-1945), the display visible from his aircraft (1936, top left), a Mercedes-Benz showroom in Munich, Lenbachplaz (1935, top right) and 1938 Mercedes-Benz W125 Rekordwagen (bottom).  Although, tucked away in a corner of the corporate website there is a single page which contains a rather perfunctory acknowledgement of company’s complicity in some of the crimes against humanity committed by the Nazi regime between 1933-1939 there’s little attempt to discuss the matter, an understandable reticence and quite a gap in the otherwise extensively documented history which dates back to 1886 with the debut of what is claimed to be the world’s “first automobile”.  Brand-management can be as much about what is left unsaid or hidden as what is projected. 

When used in events other straight-line speed record attempts (ie where corners needed to be negotiated) the streamlined version of the W125 Formel-Rennwagen (race car built in accord with defined rules) didn’t use the spats (fender-skirts) covering the wheels.  It was used thus on Berlin’s high-speed Avusrennen with its two, uniquely long straights and differed from the conventional W125 in that it was powered by V12 engine rather than the usual big-bore straight-eight, the lower hood (bonnet) line further reducing drag.  Fitted with the spats, W125 Rekordwagen (record car) was used in 1938 to achieve a speed of 432.7 km/h (269 mph) over the flying kilometre, then the fastest timed speed achieved on a public road and a record which stood until 2017.  It’s now on display in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, although, the swastika with which it was once adorned has been removed from the aluminum skin (displays of the swastika banned in Germany except as authorized).

German U-boat (submarine) U-576 (left) flying the Kriegsmarine’s (German navy) War Ensign (1935-1945).

U-Boat U-576 was sunk on 15 July 1942, 30 miles (48 km) off Cape Hatteras, Hatteras Island, North Carolina.  The Kriegsmarine’s (German navy) War Ensign, flown from all combat vessels between 1935-1945, was raised when submarines were entering or leaving port but otherwise rarely displayed.  The swastika was never painted on the hulls, a point of some legal consequence in the first Nuremberg trial (1945-1946, heard before an IMT (International Military Tribunal) to try the surviving leading Nazis) when evidence was presented in the matter of the steam trawler Noreen Mary, sunk by gunfire from U-247 about 20 miles (32 km) west of Cape Wrath on the north Coast of Scotland.  The witness provided sworn testimony he saw a swastika painted on the submarine’s conning tower but it was proved no U-Boat had ever been so decorated and, combined with other evidence, this weakened the prosecution case against Großadmiral Karl Dönitz (1891–1980; Supreme Commander of the Kriegsmarine 1943-1945).

Hitler Youth & BDM members on camp together, circa 1937.

The Bund Deutscher Mädel (Band of German Maidens) was the girls' wing of the Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth), the Nazi Party's youth movement (membership of which, like much in the Third Reich, was obligatory), intended to train boys to be ready to become good soldiers and prepare girls for their traditional role of motherhood; it was abbreviated as BDM.  Perhaps unfortunately, some mixed activities such as the girls and boys going on camps together resulted in much practical preparation for motherhood, revelations of this promiscuity leading Germans to conclude BDM might be better understood as the Bund Deutscher Matratzen (Band of German Mattresses).

Bromide press print (circa 1911) of portrait by unknown photographer of Olave St Clair Baden-Powell (née Soames), Lady Baden-Powell (1889-1977), Leader of the world Girl Guide movement and wife of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts movement, National Portrait Gallery, London (left), the Edmonton Swastikas ice hockey team, 1916 (centre), and US actress Clara Bow (1905–1965) adorned in swastikas to ward off the bad luck of Friday the 13^th, photo-shoot for “Ancient Cross Defies Jinx Day” published on page 27 of the Los Angeles Times, 13 April 1928 (right).

Although in the West now most associated with the BDM, before the evilness of the Nazis tainted the association, girls had been wearing swastikas for centuries, sometimes because of the association with good fortune and sometimes because it was just another bolt shape, the distinctiveness of which made it adaptable to fashion.  As well as the Edmonton operation, there were two other Canadian ice hockey teams, the Fernie Swastikas out of Fernie, British Columbia and the Windsor Swastikas of Windsor, Nova Scotia.  In Nazi Germany, the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides movements associated with Lord & Lady Baden-Powell were absorbed respectively into the HJ & BDM and although many of the activities were carried over (tying knots, outdoor survival skills, pitching tents and all that), the political nature of the indoctrination was different.  Tellingly, although the Nazis had been marching under the swastika since 1920 and were already in Germany & Austria a byword for intolerance and violence, the LA Times in April 1928 made not one mention of events in Europe and it’s doubtful the movement, then still obscure in the US and well-known only to the few interested in international events, much registered in public consciousness.  Ms Bow seems never to have been interested in the politics of the right or left but she did in 1933 visit Germany on her honeymoon and film buff Hitler (like many, a Clara Bow fan) presented her a copy of his autobiographical manifesto Mein Kampf (My Struggle, 1925); it’s thought like most, Ms Bow probably didn’t trouble to read the work.  The swastika did not ward off her bad luck and she later went mad (suffering what would now be called “mental health issues”).

Mr Ye and Ms Censori, annual Grammy Awards, Los Angeles, 2 February 2025.

In recent years, the US rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, hip hop identity & fashion designer Ye, formerly known as Kanye West (b 1977) has (in a sense) “re-created” Australian architect & model Bianca Censori (b 1995) as a series of installations (which probably isn’t quite the right word but on the model of the art business, it’s close); the two may (at least in some jurisdictions) be married, the reports are contradictory.  What Mr Ye has done is to create photo opportunities using Ms Censori as a lure by having her dress (again that may not be quite the right word) in a style likely to attract photographers, vloggers, magazine editors and other content aggregators.  As an installation there to be photographed, the well-qualified Ms Censori certainly draws the lens and has taken the “nude dress” trend of the last decade-odd almost to its logical conclusion and whether the concept can be taken further than her recent appearance at the 2025 Grammy Awards has been debated; it certainly wouldn’t demand much fabric.  Although the coverage (in the media, not of Ms Censori’s skin) has been extensive, whether Mr Ye is much benefiting isn’t clear because the focus is, predictably, very much on the installation rather than the artist and the only mention he seems to gain is being condemned as exploitative or worse.  All the attention devoted to Ms Censori may also have engendered in him what Gareth Evans (b 1944; Australian Labor Party (ALP) senator or MP 1978-1999, sometime attorney-general & foreign minister) called RDS (relevance deprivation syndrome) because his latest on-line project is selling “swastika T-shirts” at US$20; it's a niche market but, given recent events, he may regard it as a growing one and the reaction to his venture was certainly focused on him.  The product code for the T-shirts was "HH01" and those who recall his comment: “There’s a lot of things that I love about Hitler" in a December 2022 podcast with the since bankrupted host Alex Jones (1974) probably deconstructed the code to mean “Heil Hitler” although to remove any doubt he also tweeted: “I love Hitler” and “I'm a Nazi”.  Swastika T-shirts must have been too much for Shopify which took down the page, issuing a statement saying Mr Ye had "violated" the company's terms.  It was an example of the dangers inherent in having a site administered by AI (artificial intelligence) with humans checking the content only in reaction to complaints.  The AI will improve but whether Mr Ye has thought better of offering the range remains to be seen, yeezy.com now displaying only the stylized message YEEZY STORES COMING SOON♡.

The artist formerly known as Kanye West in shirt, Los Angeles, February 2025.  As a device to attract photographers and generate an ongoing presence in print and on-line, a well-placed swastika remains potent.

In architecture and design, the swastika has been used for thousands of years.  Top row: Lampposts, Glendale, California, USA 1924-1927 (left), the unexpected juxtaposition of a swastika atop a Jewish Star of David (centre) and Coronado Naval Base, San Diego, California (not the “Albert Speer Memorial Retirement Home” as it has been tagged on the internet), (right).  Bottom row: Skillman Branch Library (1931), Detroit, Michigan, USA (left), nineteenth century floor in Roman Catholic church, Tamaulipas, Mexico (centre) and a floor mosaic with geometrical designs and swastikas, laid in the second or third century AD, Tarraco (ancient name of the city of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain), Archaeological Museum of Tarragon, Spain, (right).

The "Swasticar"

Elon Musk at the 2025 US Presidential Inauguration, Washington DC, January 2025.

So moved by the moment when on stage at the inauguration ceremony marking the beginning of Donald Trump’s (b 1946; US president 2017-2021 and since 2025) second coming (as the MAGA devotes seem to regard it) was tech titan Elon Musk FRS (b 1971) that to express to the adoring crowd “My heart goes to you”, spontaneously he gave a gesture which many noted was similar to the many “Sieg Heil!” (Hail Victory!) moments made infamous by Adolf Hitler (1889-1945; Führer (leader) and German head of government 1933-1945 & head of state 1934-1945) in Nazi Germany (1933-1945).  To reinforce his point, Mr Musk then turned to the crowd behind and repeated the gesture.  He did first place his right hand over his heart (as per the US Pledge of Allegiance's current protocol) but arm was raised ("palm-down" (as used by the Nazis)) rather than "palm-up" (the pre-1942 US protocol) although probably no intent should be inferred from this because the raised palm procedure hadn't be in use for almost two generations before Mr Musk was born. 

The reaction was swift and widespread.  Predictably, memes appeared but there was also direct action, Tesla dealerships picketed and the cars vandalized, sometimes by being daubed with swastikas, sometimes by being torched, a disturbing trend given they’re fitted with lithium-ion batteries which, when they burn, burn for hours.  The shift in the political association attached to the flagship of electric vehicles was remarkable.  Once it had been V8-powered pick-up owners south of Mason-Dixon Line who had despised the things, their suspicion being Teslas encapsulated much that was a threat to the American way of life: homosexuality, New York, California, trans-gender rights, environmentalism, Freemasonry and the Democratic Party; suddenly, it was the Tesla-driving (or aspiring) liberals embarrassed (or fearful) to be associated with the brand, some resorting to gluing on Honda or Hyundai badges to deter the attacks.

One of the most striking was an image by Portuguese graphic artist Ves Vaz (b 1986) which was based on the famous photograph of “Tank man” standing in front of PLA (People's Liberation Army) tanks sent in June 1989 by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) to “deal with” crowds of protesters gathered in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.  The photograph was taken by AP (associated Press) photographer Jeff Widener (b 1956) who initially was displeased at “tank Man” appearing in frame for what looked like a perfectly composed shot.  As things turned out, it became one of the best known images of the century and one often re-published when the Tiananmen Square Massacre (the “June Fourth Incident according to the CCP) is discussed.  For cartoonists and artists like Ves Vaz the Cybertruck is a gift because the shape is so distinctive instantly it’s recognizable as a Tesla, even by those unable to tell a Ferrari from a F-150.  Of course, that also means it’s pointless to stick on a Toyota badge which can make more anonymous looking Teslas “blend in”, to some degree protecting them from roving anti-MAGA vandals.

Soon, on London bus shelters there appeared posters dubbing Teslas “Swasticars” and urging people not to buy them, the political messaging including references to white supremacy, autocracy and allusions to the Third Reich.  Swastikas seem not to have appeared, presumable to avoid possible legal challenges although even without them, the meaning was lost on few.

Digital projection on Tesla Gigafactory, Berlin, Germany.

Other forms of direct action included the Tesla’s Gigafactory in Berlin having a depiction of Mr Musk’s “My heart goes to you” moment projected onto the façade with a “Heil” prefixed to the illumined “Tesla” although no swastika was added, the symbol banned in Germany for all but a few special purposes.  Interestingly, Tesla was there already the subject of controversy on environmental and social grounds, having a year earlier suffered an arson attack but the opposition has swelled after Mr Musk association with the second Trump administration has fuelled a growing perception of an alignment with the far-right.  Although computers would have made the stunt easier, this would have taken much preparation and some physical testing.

Hailing cab with dog on leash: Gloria Walker (b 1937), PotM (Playmate of the Month), Playboy magazine, June 1956; photograph by Herman Leonard (1923-2010).  Whether waving to someone or hailing a cab, the raised arm is one of humanity's more common gestures, meaning jurisdictions banning the act must base prosecutions on context and intent rather than merely the act. 

2024 Tesla Cybertruck AWD Foundation Series (left) and the suspect cant rail.  The term “cant rail” came from architecture and railway engineering and referred to an angled or sloped surface.  Cant rails (also often seen in fence construction) are those parts which are tilted or positioned at an angle rather than being strictly vertical or horizontal.  In automobile design specifically, a cant rail is the (sometimes structural and sometimes cosmetic) section running along the top edge of the side windows, connecting the A-pillar to the B-  C- or D-pillar; visually, it defines the roofline and can contribute to strength.  The early automobiles picked up the name from the reinforced horizontal member supporting the upper structure on railway carriages & horse-drawn carriages because the early techniques of construction were essentially the same.

To add to Tesla’s woes, in March 2025 came the news the company’s Cybertruck was subject to a global recall, needed to rectify a fault in which large stainless steel body panels can unexpectedly detach and (if the vehicle is in motion) “fly off”.  The recall notice issued by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) revealed the affected Cybertrucks were the 46,096 built between November 2023 & February 2025 and the issue was the adhesive used: “The Cybertruck is equipped with a cosmetic applique along the exterior of the vehicle, known as the cant rail, which is an assembly comprised of an electro-coated steel stamping joined to a stainless steel panel with structural adhesive. The cant rail assembly is affixed to the vehicle with fasteners. On affected vehicles, the cant rail stainless steel panel may delaminate at the adhesive joint, which may cause the panel to separate from the vehicle.”  According to a Tesla communiqué, the adhesive was “susceptible to environmental embrittlement” which pleased word nerds; although “embrittlement” is rare, it’s not a recent tech industry neologism and is seen most commonly as “hydrogen embrittlement” (HE), known also as “hydrogen-assisted cracking” (HAC) or “hydrogen-induced cracking: Hydrogen embrittlement (HE), also known as hydrogen-assisted cracking or hydrogen-induced cracking” (HIC), all of which describe the absorption of hydrogen into a metal, and subsequent weakening, as part of a pickling process.

1945 Heinkel He 162 Salamander (Volksjäger) National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC.

Recalls and “fix bulletins” from Tesla have not been uncommon but most have involved the need to patch software and these have been handled remotely.  The “flying panels” will however require a visit to a Tesla Service Center.  The company has thus far acknowledged 151 warranty claims related to the failed glue but said it was “not aware of any collisions, fatalities, or injuries.”  Coincidently, it was problems with an adhesive which afflicted the Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger (People's Fighter), a jet-powered fighter aircraft the Luftwaffe late in World War II (1939-1945) planned to be flown by aviators from the Hitlerjugend (HJ, the Hitler Youth) who had the benefit of a few hours training flying gliders.  For those intrepid youth, going from that to a jet-fighter was about as ill-advised as it sounds but by 1945 the Germany’s military position was dire and in many fields the bottom of the barrel was being scraped.  Heinkel used Salamander as the project name for the wing program and it’s that which military historians came to prefer despite the whole project being called Spatz (Sparrow), while the Air Ministry’s preferred Volksjäger never caught on.  With aviation-standard metals in short supply, the He 162 was built substantially from wood with only critical components such as the fuselage skin and wing edges made from aluminium.  This made it not only cheap to produce but also a genuinely “disposable” aircraft with damaged units intended to be discarded and replaced.  Remarkably, the first prototype flew in December 1944 only 38 days after the factory received the blueprints but while the early tests proved it was a capable (if sometimes tricky to handle because of the unusual layout) short-range interceptor, after only days structural failures in flight began to occur, leading to fatalities.  The issue was traced to environmental embrittlement, an acid in the adhesive used to bond the wood panels causing delamination of the layers, the subsequent fragmentation meaning vital parts would “fly off” compromising structural integrity.  Between February-May 1945, some 120 of the 1000-odd air-fames were delivered to Luftwaffe units but few ever saw combat and losses (most from accidents or structural failures) exceeded the small number of Allied aircraft it claimed.

With the anti-Tesla movement growing and sales declining by as much as half in some places, the company turned to what may seem an improbable but untapped market: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).  In invitations sent to prospective customers in the kingdom, recipients were requested to RSVP to a launch event at the Bujairi Terrace on 10 April 2025 where they could “Explore our global best-selling line-up and step into a world powered by solar energy, sustained by batteries, and driven by electric vehicles” and “Experience the future of autonomous driving with Cybercab, and meet Optimus, our humanoid robot, as we showcase what's next in AI and robotics.”  Assured real humans would be on hand to answer questions about “Tesla ownership, home charging and more”, the select few were urged: “RSVP now. Space is limited.”  Tesla’s previous neglect of Saudi Arabia was not related to the kingdom being one of the planet’s major producers of fossil fuels (and one which not long ago pledged to extract and sell “every last molecule”).  Instead, the estrangement dated from a 2018 rift between Mr Musk and Saudi Arabia’s PIF (Public Investment Fund the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund) over the failure of a funding deal which would have enabled him to take the company private.  To add insult to injury, the PIF subsequently invested in EV (electric vehicle) start-up Lucid, taking a majority stake and later announcing an intention to purchase as many as 100,000 Lucid EVs over a decade, apparently as part of an effort to reduce the government’s dependence on oil.  All that may not sound encouraging for Tesla and EV sales in Saudi Arabia constitute not even 1% of total but elsewhere in the Gulf, EV penetration in the taxi and ride-hailing sector has been impressive so, coming off a low base, there clearly some scope for growth and even before Tesla’s recent troubles, relations between the parties did seem to be improving.  Apart from all else, Mr Musk is one of nature’s optimists.

Mr Musk is known for his optimism, recently suggesting it was feasible for a settlement on Mars to be established, able to sustain a permanent population of a million people.  That does show an engineer’s faith in technological advances (as well as fiscal provision) because (1) to transport even one person to Mars would take well over a year (thus far the longest duration of one ways trips to somewhere else is the three-odd days it took the twelve Apollo programme astronauts over six trips in 1969-1972), (2) on Mars there is no breathable atmosphere, no known food sources and the availability of usable water is uncertain and (3) the climate is mostly not hospitable for human life with only the equatorial regions ever sometimes rising to what on Earth would be thought temperate (highs between 20°C (68°F) - 35°C (95°F) recorded at noon during summer but typically the whole place is cold especially the poles (-153°C (–243° F) and it’s there water sources (as ice) may exist.  So it’s a challenging place for human habitation and the extent of the challenge is emphasised here on earth with simply a rise on the global average temperature by 3^oC threatening to render certain regions economically unviable for a permanent human presence to be maintained.  It was in an interview with Ted Cruz (b 1970; US senator (Republican-Texas) since 2013) in which Mr Musk speculated about a million folk living on Mars under “glass domes” and the senator is well-aware of the difficulties of coping with extreme cold, having once jetted out of an icy Texas during a cold snap to enjoy the warmth of a Mexico beach, somewhat to the chagrin of the shivering voters he deserted.  On Mars, there are no sun-drenched beaches and whatever Mr Musk’s million souls find when they get there, that’s their life.

The "fascist salute"

The fascist salute has become so associated with Hitler and Nazism that in recent years some jurisdictions have banned its use, emulating the prohibition which has existed in Germany (the sanction pre-dating unification in 1990) for decades.  Because the salute is the same gesture as that used for purposes ranging from waving to one's mother to hailing a taxi, prosecutions are expected to be initiated only in cases of blatant anti-Semitism or other offensive acts.  The "salute" is so widely used that photographs exist of just about every politician in the act and they're often published; usually it's just a cheap journalistic trick but if carefully juxtaposed with something, it can be effective.     

Benito Mussolini's (1883-1945; Duce (leader) & prime-minister of Italy 1922-1943) reverence for the Ancient Rome of popular imagination accounts at least in part for the Fascists' adoption of the so-called "Roman salute" although the Duce did also object to the shaking of hands on the basis it was “effete, un-Italian and un-hygienic” and as the reduced infection rates of just about everything during the “elbow-bumping” era of the COVID-19 social isolation illustrated, on that last point, he had a point.  Other fascist regimes and movements also adopted the salute, most infamously the Nazis although none were as devoted as Hitler who, quite plausibly, claimed to have spent hours a day for weeks using a spring-loaded “chest expander” he’d obtained by mail-order so he’d strengthen his shoulder muscles sufficiently to enable him to stand, sometimes for a hour or more with his right arm extended as parades of soldiers passed before him.

A much-published image of the Duce, raising his arm in the fascist salute next to the bronze statue of Nerva (Marcus Cocceius Nerva) (30–98; Roman emperor 96-98) in the Roman Forum.

However, historians maintain there’s simply no evidence anything like the fascist salute of the twentieth century was a part of the culture of Ancient Rome, either among the ruling class or any other part of the population.  Whether the adoption as a alleged emulation of Roman ways was an act of cynicism of self-delusion on the part of the Duce isn’t known although he may have been impressed by the presence of the gesture in neo-classical painting, something interesting because it wasn’t a motif in use prior to the eighteenth century.  This “manufacturing” of Antiquity wasn’t even then something new; the revival of interest in Greece and Rome during the Renaissance resulted in much of the material which in the last few hundred years has informed and defined in the popular imagination how the period looked and what life was like.  By the twentieth century, it was this art which was reflected in the props and sets used in the newly accessible medium of film and the salute, like the architecture, was part of the verisimilitude.  Mussolini enjoyed films and to be fair, there were in Italy a number of statutes from the epoch in which generals, emperors, senators and other worthies had a arm raised although historians can find no evidence which suggests the works were a representation of a cultural practice anything like a salute.  Indeed, an analysis of many statues revealed that rather than salutes, many of the raised arms were actually holding things and one of the best known was revealed to have been repaired after the spear once in the hand had been damaged.

Adolf Hitler showing the "long arm" & "short arm" variants of the fascist salute (left) and examples of the long arm & short arm penalty being awarded in rugby union (right).

In fascist use, what evolved was the “long-arm” salute used on formal occasions or for photo opportunities and a “short-arm” variation which was a gesture which referenced the formal salute which was little more than a bending of the elbow and involved the hand rising at a 45^o angle only to the level of the shoulder; in that the relationship of the short to the long can be thought symbiotic.  Amusingly and wholly unrelated to fascism, the concept was re-appropriated in the refereeing of rugby union where a “short-arm” penalty (officially a “free-kick”) is a penalty awarded for a minor infringement of the games many rules.  Whereas a “full-arm” penalty offers the team the choice of kicking for goal, kicking for touch or taking a tap to resume play, a “short-arm” penalty allows a kick at goal, a kick for touch or the option of setting a scrum instead of a lineout.  The referee signals a “short-arm” penalty by raising their arm at an angle of 45^o.

Lindsay Lohan: Sometimes, a wave is just a wave.

A most unfortunate conjunction of imagery: Adolf Hitler on Berlin's newly opened East-West Axis in his Mercedes-Benz 770 K Grosser Cabriolet F open tourer (W150; 1938-1943) in a parade marking his 50^th birthday, opposite the Technical High School, 20 April 1939 (left) and David Bowie in his Mercedes-Benz 600 (W100, 1963-1981) Pullman Landaulet, Victoria Station, London, 2 May 1976 (right).

Sometimes a wave is just an excuse.  The pop star David Bowie (1947-2016) understood he was an influential figure in music but on more than one occasion explained to interviewers: “I am not an original thinker”.  Trawling pop-culture for inspiration nevertheless served him well but he later came to regret dabbling with history slightly less recent.  Not impressed with the state of British society and its economy in the troubled mid-1970s, he was quoted variously as suggesting the country would benefit for “an ultra right-wing government” or “a fascist leader”.  Although he would later claim he was captivated more by the fashions (the long leather coats said to be a favorite) than the policies of the Third Reich, the most celebrated event of this period came in 1976 in what remains known as the "Victoria Station incident".  Mr Bowie staged a media event, arriving standing in an open Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Landaulet, recalling for many the way in which Hitler so often appeared in his 770 K.  Unfortunately, a photographer captured a shot in what the singer later claimed was “mid wave” and it certainly resembled a Nazi salute.  He later attributed all that happened during this stage of his career to too many hard drugs which had caused his interest in the aesthetics of inter-war Berlin to turn into an obsession with politics of the period.  All was however quickly forgiven and his audience awaited the next album which is an interesting contrast to the cancel culture created by the shark-feeding dynamic of the social media era.

Now, were a pop star to tell interviewers: “Britain could benefit from a fascist leader” and “I believe very strongly in fascism … Adolf Hitler was one of the first rock stars”, their future career prospects might be "nasty, solitary, brutish and short".  Despite that orthodoxy however, the multi-media personality Ye (the artist formerly known as Kanye West (b 1977)) has expressed what seem to be pro-Hitler sentiments and been photographed wearing a "swastika T-shirt", even (briefly) offering them for sale on the (now apparently in abeyance) Yeezy website.  Rather than having him cancelled, Mr Ye's comments and products seem to have had at least a financial upside because in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) he stated: "...AND I MADE 40 MILLION THE NEXT DAY BETWEEN MY DIFFERENT BUSINESS. THERE'S I LOT OF JEWISH PEOPLE I KNOW AND LOVE AND STILL WORK WITH. THE POINT I MADE AND SHOWED IS THAT I AM NOT UNDER JEWISH CONTROL ANYMORE IN WAR YOU TAKE A COUPLE LOSES..."  That would seem to suggest that in the right circumstances, the Irish writer Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) and Dr Joseph Goebbels (1897-1975; Nazi propaganda minister 1933-1945) were right: "It doesn't matter what people are saying about you as long as they're saying something."

The US Pledge of Allegiance salute

Children in the US saluting the flag, circa 1892.  The non-saluting young chap in the centre of the photo is thought to have been distracted by the camera, rather than attempting to exercise his First Amendment rights.

In the US, the “Pledge of Allegiance” salute was visually similar to the fascist gesture but its adoption long predated the Italian and German dictatorships of the inter-war years.  Despite the name, the origin of the so-called “Bellamy salute” (1892) officially is credited to someone else and the true “inventor” (adaptor might be a better term) is contested, there being factions which attribute the honor variously to either (1) American Christian socialist Baptist preacher Francis Bellamy (1855–1931) or (2) confessed Freemason James Upham (1845-1905).  According to Bellamy's published instructions for the “National School Celebration of Columbus Day” (as the 400^th anniversary of the “discovery” of America), the salute was first demonstrated on 21 October, 1892.  It should also be added the text was a revision of the original Pledge of Allegiance, written in 1885 by Captain George Thatcher Balch (1828-1894), an officer in the Union Army during the US Civil War (1861-1865).

The Freemasons stake their claim to the pledge: Plaque at James Upham's grave.

The orthodox history long was the palm-out salute was created by Upham as the gesture to accompany the Pledge of Allegiance of the United States of America, a text written by Bellamy; known also as the “flag salute”, it gained the name by which it came to be known because it was Bellamy who most assiduously advocated its use.  Not until several years after Upham's death did his family found a copy of the pledge’s original draft, written in his hand, but by then there had already been a ruling attributing credit to Bellamy and a monument in his name erected.  Despite the documentary evidence, in 1939, a committee of the USFA (US Flag Association) ruled in favour of Bellamy and a review issued in 1957 by the Library of Congress in 1957 supported the committee’s findings.  The family never succeeded in gaining Upton official recognition but the Freemasons did have their revenge, “arranging for” the city of Malden to commission a plaque acknowledging his authorship, installing it at Upham’s gravesite in Forestdale cemetery.

The meme makers had much fun with Mr Musk's “My heart goes to you” moment and earlier, those editing fragments from the film Der Untergang (Downfall (2004), a dramatization of Hitler's last days in the Führerbunker) when making contributions to the Hitler Rants Parodies explored the comedic possibilities of the fascist salute. 

Little disquiet about the salute seem to have been expressed during the 1920s but fascism, then associated exclusively with Mussolini’s Italy, didn’t yet have the bad reputation it would gain when the nature of the Nazi regime became better understood (although not until after the end of World War II (1939-1945) were the horrors fully comprehended).  Interestingly, as late as June 1942, at the urging of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Congress had passed Public Law 77-623, which codified the etiquette used to display and pledge allegiance to the flag including the raised arm.  However, now at war with the fascist Axis powers (Germany, Italy & Japan) the controversy increased and, as a consequence, the protocol was revised by replacing the raised arm with an instruction the right hand should be placed over the heart when reciting the pledge, Congress amending the Flag Code on 22 December 22, 1942.  Even that wasn’t without controversy because, after all, the Americans were first and both the USFA and the Daughters of the American Revolution (then still in its pre-DEI (diversity, equity & inclusion) phase) asserted it was inappropriate for the nation to have to change the traditional salute just because foreigners had later adopted a similar gesture.

Context is everything.

Top left: Crooked Hillary Clinton (b 1947; US secretary of state 2009-2013) in Ralph Lauren pantsuit waving to her fans (it's believed, world-wide, there may be as many as a dozen), presidential inauguration ceremony, Washington DC, January 2017; Top right: A kitten, probably stretching but who knows, some cats seem really evil and these three could be an axis of evil; Bottom left: Australian sprinter Peter Norman (1942–2006, left) and US athletes Tommie Smith (b 1944, centre) & John Carlos (b 1945, right), on the podium after the 200 metres final, Summer Olympics Mexico City, 1968.  Smith and Carlos displayed the "Black Power" salute (with only one pair of gloves, Carlos used his left arm) while in solidarity, Norman wore the OPHR (Olympic Project for Human Rights) badge; Bottom right: Formula One champion Sir Lewis Hamilton (b 1985) who has adopted the Black Power salute to signify his support for BLM (the Black Lives Matter movement).

As well as the modification to the gesture, there have over the years been changes to the text and the most controversial by far proved to be the interpolation of “under God”, a change requested by Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969; US president 1953-1961), concerned about the spread of Godless (though more to the point, un-Christian) communism during the high Cold War.  Because of the “freedom of religion” guaranteed by the US Constitution (primarily protected by the First Amendment (1791): “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...”) challenges to that have reached the USSC (US Supreme Court) but as early as 1940 (in Minersville School District v. Gobitis, 310 U.S. 586 (1940)) the court ruled 8-1 students could be compelled to recite the pledge, Harlan Stone (1872–1946; associate justice US Supreme Court 1925-1941 & chief justice 1941-1946) issuing the only dissent: “The guarantees of civil liberty are but guarantees of freedom of the human mind and spirit and of reasonable freedom and opportunity to express them…The very essence of the liberty which they guarantee is the freedom of the individual from compulsion as to what he shall think and what he shall say.”

By implication, the ruling meant the state could demand at least an expression of obedience to the nation, even if it conflicted with the doctrine of one’s religion.  Justice Stone’s argument must have been persuasive because in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943), the court held the First Amendment guaranteed a right to non-participation in flag salutes although to solve several problems, that case was decided on the basis of protected “free speech” rather than “freedom of religion”.  In the twenty-first century, the cases (now usually based on the argument the phrase “under God” was an unconstitutional endorsement of monotheism have continued but none have succeeded and where possible, judges have found technical (such as a lack of standing) rather than substantive grounds to dismiss although in a lower court in 2015, it was ruled that because since 1943 participation has been “optional”, the pledge was thus a voluntary and patriotic exercise, not a religious one.