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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 2119.PDF
140 FUGHT International, 23 July 1964 Swiss Air Force Celebrates Its Fiftieth Anniversary By Dr U. HALLER The Hunters of the Patrouille Suisse at the display I N 1914, at the outbreak of war, Switzerland built up her firstmilitary air force squadron, enlisting some private pilotswho had been flying successfully. Eight aircraft of six different types were assembled at Berne. In command of the first Flieger- abteilung was Fl Hptm Theodor Real, with the famous pioneer pilot Oskar Bider as chief instructor. During the war this little air force carried out 40,100 flights with a heterogenous collection of aircraft, some built later in Switzerland being added to the nucleus. In the years after the war some batches of surplus Fokker D. VIIs, Hanriot HD.ls, Nieuport 28C.ls and Zeppelin C.IIs (the last named built by the famous airship works) were purchased, while the Federal Aircraft Works at Thun produced its own Hafeli DH.3 and DH.5 observation biplanes in considerable numbers. The late twenties saw the introduction of Dewoitine D.27 fighters and Fokker C.V-E observation biplanes, both types being built under licence in Switzerland. At the beginning of the Second World War the Fliegertruppe consisted of 224 front-line aircraft, of which only the 30 Messer- schmitt MelO9E-3s were of contemporary design. A further batch of 50 more Messerschmitts were delivered between October 1939 and April 1940, together with the first licence-built D-38OO, a Swiss version of the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406. During 1940 many interceptions of German aircraft violating neutral airspace were undertaken. One of these developed into a hard fight between Swiss MelO9s and German Mel 10s which had been ordered by Goering to fly over Switzerland to demonstrate German "supremacy." Despite the numerical superiority of the Germans the Swiss fighters succeeded in destroying several Mel 10s, with only some damage to the Swiss aircraft. In the following years Switzerland served as a sanctuary for many damaged Allied aircraft. No fewer than 154 American B-17 and B-24 bombers crowded the Diibendorf Airfield at the end of the war. A total of 253 aircraft landed or crashed in Switzerland. In 1945 the Swiss Air Force consisted of about 500 front-line aircraft (MelO9E and G, D-38OO and D-3801, C-3603) which were supplemented after the war by more than 130 North American P-51D Mustangs, which filled the gap until the delivery of Vampires (1947), Venoms (1953) and Hunters (1958). Today, the introduction of the Dassault Mirage HIS and IIIRS awaits the result of the inquiry ordered by the Swiss Parliament as a result of financial and political objections. To commemorate its 50th anniversary this year the Air Force held an open day at Dubendorf on June 27, followed by a similar display at Payerne on July 4 and a smaller one at Magadino/ Locarno the following week. In a public address the C-in-C spoke of the 200 pilots and observers who had lost their lives on duty since 1914. He also greeted eight guests of honour: the first Com- mander of the Air Force, Theodor Real; Edmond Audemars, who in 1913 made the first flight from Berlin to Paris; Ernest Burri; Alfred Comte; Francois Durafour, who accomplished the first landing on Mont Blanc; Henri Kramer; Moebius; and Wild, the designer of the first Swiss military aircraft. Formations of Vampires, Venoms and Hunters flew over a memorial to the pioneers. The show was opened by simulated attacks and formation flying by Venoms, followed by the Swiss aerobatic champion Hansruedi Riiesch, also a military pilot, in his yellow Biicker Jungmeister. A speciality of Swiss pilots is their precision flying in the ground- attack role, a result of their hard training in the narrow alpine valleys. With spectacular cannon-fire, rockets and napalm bombs the Hunters and Venoms destroyed targets laid out in the centre of the airfield, which was surrounded by more than 100,000 spectators. A less warlike note was then struck by two Pilatus P-3 trainers, performing formation aerobatics 1,500ft apart from each other. For the first time for many years the Swiss Air Force now has a special aerobatic team: the four Hunters of the Patrouille Suisse demonstrated excellent formation flying and aerobatics. Low- flying demonstrations of a solo Hunter and a Mirage IIIBS trainer snowed the qualities of the two aircraft. The Mirage produced a sonic boom from 30,000ft at Mach 2 only a short time after take-off. Alouette II and newly delivered Alouette III helicopters flew around while 48 jet aircraft took off for a final mass fly-past. To supplement the flying display the Fliegertruppe had arranged on the airfield a rich collection of well-preserved historic aircraft, ranging from the Dufaux of 1910 (used experimentally for military purposes in 1911) and Bider's Bleriot XI to the aircraft of the Second World War, together with current equipment. In about three years most of these aircraft will rest permanently in the projected hall of the Swiss Transport Museum at Lucerne. Swiss Federa Factory C-3603; some are still airworthy The Swiss-designed C-3S owed much to Fokker The Junkers Ju52]3mg4e—still active—and a Bucker Jungmeister Swiss-built version of the Fokker C.V-E
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