Which side would you fly for?....... (1 Viewer)

[vikingBerserker]

I would have loved to fly with the Finns, if nothing else you were busy.

 

[imalko]

Exactly. BTW, did you know the Swiss fought large battles in the air with the Luftwaffe?

I know that Swiss Air force had several confrontations with the Luftwaffe over the years, but I'm not familiar with details about these encounters or with the scale of it.

 

[HerrKaleut]

Just a quick question...what is the signifigance of the Red inserts ?

 

[Amsel]

I would have like to have flown fighters for the USN. That was good duty; hot chow every night served by stewards and some of the best training available.

 

[imalko]

Just a quick question...what is the signifigance of the Red inserts ?

If you are refering to the red/white stripes on the wings and fuselage of Swiss aircrafts which were used during the war this was done for identification purposes. Swiss were flying German fighters (often in original German camouflage colors) and their national insignia includes white crosses so this could under certain circumstances have been confused with Luftwaffe aircrafts. Colorful stripes were aimed to avoid this from happening.

 

[Soundbreaker Welch?]

Exactly. BTW, did you know the Swiss fought large battles in the air with the Luftwaffe?

I didn't know that. I thought the Swiss were always neutral in WWII. Didn't Germany get angry when they got their fighters shot down by the Swiss?

 

[wheelsup_cavu]

Like Amsel I would liked to have flown for the USN.


Wheelsup

 

[Marcel]

I didn't know that. I thought the Swiss were always neutral in WWII. Did't Germany get angry when they got their fighters shot down by the Swiss?

Well, they provoked it themselves. I must have a story about it somewhere. I'll look it up and post it if I can.

 

[wheelsup_cavu]

I would be interested in it too Marcel.
This is the first time I have heard of this myself.


Wheelsup

 

[imalko]

Until Marcel find story about Swiss vs. Luftwaffe confrontations, here's a preview. Unfortunately artist is unknown.

Btw, I too would like to read this story because (as I wrote) I know that this did happen but don't know details about it.

 

[Juha]

The Swiss vs LW confrontation began when Swiss shot down a or a couple He 111(s), which had intruded into their airspace during the Battle of France in June 40, IIRC. LW decided to give a hard lesson to Swiss and sent a force of Bf 110Cs to ambush them but to the surprise of LW they were bested by Swiss. I also had an article from a French aviation magazine on the skirmishes somewhere.

Juha

 

[Marcel]

Found it, a long story, but here the summary:
First encounter was on May 10th 1940 when a Swiss bf109e intercepted a Ju-88, flying towards Basel. The Bf109 fired a warnig shot in front of the nose of the Ju-88. The Ju-88 fired back, but neither side damaged the other.
Same day, a He111 was intercepted near Altenheim and shot at it, damaging an engine. The He111 escaped.
Next week a He111 was shot down bu bf109e's.
Same month two others.
Goering threatened the Swiss with retaliation for the 4 lost aircraft. To keep his word, the first week of June 1940, He-111 formations, escorted by Bf110's flew over Switzerland. 2 German 110's and 1 He111 was shot down, while the Swiss lost 1 Bf109C.
4 days later, German fighters entered Swiss airspace to hunt down Swiss AF aircraft. 1 biplane was shot down and 32 bf110's patroled the sky. Swiss Bf109's attacked these 32 Bf110's. At least 14 Bf109's were involved and it came to a big dogfight. 5 Bf110's were shot down for the loss of 1 Swiss Bf109e.

 

[Soundbreaker Welch?]

Thanks for telling. I guess Goring backed down after that.

Funny how the Germans couldn't beat their own aircraft. Of course if the Germans were smart, which Going wasn't, they would have sent Bf 109's into Swiss airspace.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Nothing worse then sending in a force to teach somebody a lesson and you end up getting your arse kicked - lol

 

[Soren]

I'd probably choose flying the Ta-152H as none were ever shot down by enemy a/c yet they accounted for atleast 11 Allied a/c lost, all fighters.

Either that or fly something really fast like the Me262 so I can choose any fight

I just wanna fly the a/c I'd feel the safest in..

 

[GrauGeist]

The Swiss also intercepted wayward U.S. bomber formations as well. American bombers would mistake Swiss cities for German targets occasionally, and would be attacked to drive them off. Also stories of Swiss fighters intercepting lost bombers to "force" them to a nearby airfield and the bomber's gunners mistook the Swiss fighters for Germans (not sure how they could miss the markings), resulting a brawl.

 

[Soren]

I wonder what a/c the Swiss would be attacking the US with in 44, the many Emils on hand or the newly acquired G-6's they had. By 44 they had 6 squadrons of Emils while having only 1 squadron of G-6's.

 

[Soundbreaker Welch?]

When you are a scared gunner in a bomber any Bf 109 looks like an enemy Bf 109!

Though I feel sorry for the Swiss getting their cities bombed by the US, Switzerland was a good refuge for escaping POW's. Luckily it probably didn't happen too much?

Just wondering, was Britain ever bombed by a mixed up US bombing force?

 

[GrauGeist]

Aparently, Switzerland operated Bf109D and Bf109E as well as M.S. 405 aircraft from the start of the war onwards. But as the war progressed, they operated a number of impounded aircraft as well.

 

[Soren]

They bought a dozen Bf-109 G-6's in 1944 GrauGeist. They impounded some Bf-109F's in 1943.