Dubendorf

Airfield
A B-17 Flying Fortress (QJ-D, serial number 42-32073) formerly of the 337th Bomb Squadron, 96th Bomb Group, in service with the Swiss Air Force. Handwritten caption on reverse: '42-32073, Dübendorf, 13-4-44.' media-408584.jpg FRE 3942 A B-17 Flying Fortress (QJ-D, serial number 42-32073) formerly of the 337th Bomb Squadron, 96th Bomb Group, in service with the Swiss Air Force. Handwritten caption on reverse: '42-32073, Dübendorf, 13-4-44.' Roger Freeman Collection

IWM, Roger Freeman Collection

Object Number - FRE 3942 - A B-17 Flying Fortress (QJ-D, serial number 42-32073) formerly of the 337th Bomb Squadron, 96th Bomb Group, in service with the Swiss Air Force....

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Detailed History

The search for a suitable site for an airfield started in 1909. [1] On 1 August 1910 geography improvement of the swamp started and on 22 October 1910 the first airshow was held on the Airfield Dübendorf. Since 1914 Dübendorf has been used as an air base by the Swiss Air Force.[2] From 1919 on Dübendorf was also an airport for civil airlines, first for the predecessor of the Swissair, the Ad Astra Aero, and from 1932 on for Swissair.



During World War II there was virtually no civil flight activity. Any foreign military aircraft that was interned by Switzerland was held at Dübendorf, including about 120 US B-17s and B-24s, together with one German Me 262. From 1943 Switzerland shot down American and British aircraft, mainly bombers, overflying Switzerland during World War II: six aircraft by Swiss Air Force fighters and nine by anti-aircraft cannons; 36 American and British airmen were killed. Besides, there were 137 emergency landings to May 1945 resulting in about 120 US aircraft that were interned at the Dübendorf airfield. The officers were interned in Davos, airmen in Adelboden. Although US military attaché Barnwell Legge instructed the soldiers not to flee, many soldiers ignored his warning; after their escape from the internment camps, the airmen usually were detained in the Wauwilermoos penal camp near Luzern.[3][4] Repaired by USAF technicians, on 7 September 1945 around 60 US aircraft started from Dübendorf to return to their bases,[3] where they were scrapped.[5] The Swiss Air Force used in this time Me-109E, Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 and so on.



After World War II, civil aviation moved to the new Zurich Airport, opened in 1948, and Dübendorf became a purely military airfield. Dübendorf had been considered for expansion as Switzerland's primary international airport, but the Federal government reportedly preferred the development of a new Zurich airport for dedicated civil use for technical reasons including the difficulties inherent in a shared military and civil facility.[6]

People

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Pistol Packin Mama
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 702nd Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Miss Carriage/Ole King Cole
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 328th Bomb Squadron
B-24 Liberators of the 389th Bomb Group and (serial number 42-7571) of the 392nd Bomb Group flyn in formation during a mission.
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Lillian Ann II
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 700th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Flying Termite
  • Unit: 446th Bomb Group 705th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Virginia lee II
  • Unit: 447th Bomb Group 711th Bomb Squadron

Revisions

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Sources

"Strangers In A Strange Land - Volume II" - Hans-Heiri Stapfer/Gino Kunzle

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Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Date
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes

Dubendorf: Gallery (15 items)