Quax the Crash Pilot

{{Short description|1941 film}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Quax the Crash Pilot

| image = Quax the Crash Pilot.jpg

| caption = Film poster

| director = Kurt Hoffmann

| producer = Heinz Rühmann

| writer = {{ubl|Hermann Grote (novel)|Robert A. Stemmle}}

| narrator =

| starring = {{ubl|Heinz Rühmann|Karin Himboldt|Lothar Firmans}}

| music = Werner Bochmann

| cinematography = Heinz von Jaworsky

| editing = Walter Fredersdorf

| studio = Terra Film

| distributor = Terra Film

| released = {{film date|1941|12|16|df=y}}

| runtime = 92 minutes

| country = Germany

| language = German

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Quax the Crash Pilot ({{langx|de|Quax, der Bruchpilot}}) is a 1941 German comedy film directed by Kurt Hoffmann and starring Heinz Rühmann, Karin Himboldt and Lothar Firmans.Hoffmann p. 109 It is also sometimes translated as Quax the Test Pilot.Chapman p. 192 It features the popular song "Homeland, Your Stars".

The film set in the 1930s before the outbreak of the Second World War. It is based on an aviation story by Hermann Grote about an everyday man who wins a newspaper competition that offers free flying lessons. Despite initial struggles, he gradually shows himself to be a good pilot.

Much of the film was shot on location in Bavaria. Interiors were shot at the Tempelhof and Babelsberg Studios in Berlin and the Bavaria Studios in Munich. It was followed by a sequel Quax in Africa which was also made during the Nazi era, but not released until 1947.

The film appears to have been popular with wartime Luftwaffe crews. Nightfighter pilot Wilhelm Johnen recalled it being shown at Venlo airfield on the evening of his unit's first operation over the Ruhr in late March 1942.{{Cite book |last=Johnen |first=Wilhelm |title=Duel under the Stars |date=1975 |publisher=NEL |isbn=450-02193-9 |location=London |publication-date=1975 |pages=28–9}}