Byron Long
Military | Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 94th Bomb Group
INT Had mechanical failure and landed in Switzerland on 7/12/44 in B-17 'Gloria' #42102457
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Dubendorf
Military site : airfield
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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.'
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B-24 41-28629 'Blondes Away' F8-P in Switzerland where it was interned and then scrapped.
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B-24 41-28629 'Blondes Away'. An original Project 92311 aircraft which landed and was interned at Dübendorf, Switzerland 13 Apr 44.
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Flying Fortress B-17G 42-31632, 335th BS, 95th BG, 8AF. Forced landed Dubendorf, Switzerland having sustained battle damage. 24 april 1944.
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Flying Fortress B-17G 42-31632, 335th BS, 95th BG, 8AF. Forced landed Dubendorf, Switzerland having sustained battle damage. 24 April 1944.
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Crew #711 Norman C. Flynn Crew 466th BG - 787th BS Standing Left to Right: Wade Hull (NG), Lloyd Garrison (N), Norman Flynn (P), Lowell Bruhns (B), Mark Fortune (CP) Kneeling Left to Right: Howard Greer (TG), Harry Miller (R/O), unindentified person, William Lloyd (WG), Vern Gottschalk (WG) This crew had a relatively short, but eventful combat tour. A combat tour that lasted 16 days included, on their first mission, having their a/c seriously damaged by a flak burst that possibly detonated a just released bomb. Flynn managed to bring back "Oh Mona" to crash landing at Attlebridge. On 13 April 1944, flying with two fill-in gunners, the Flynn a/c was again seriously damaged by flak over the target forcing Flynn to make for Switzerland, interning the crew.
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42-37793 SO-X, SPIRIT OF WINSOME WINN II. Interned in Switzerland, 18 March 1944.
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A B-17G Flying Fortress at Dübendorf airbase in Switzerland. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'B-17G at Dübendorf. Official Swiss Photo.'
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A 335th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group P-51 Mustang (WD-U, serial number 42-106438) at Dübendorf airbase in 1944. Handwritten caption on reverse: '42-106438, Dübendorf, 1944.'
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A B-24 Liberator (serial number 42-78439) of the 484th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force after a forced landing in Dubendorf, Switzerland. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Dubendorf 3-8-1944.' B-24G-16-NT #42-78439 484th Bomb Group - 825th Bomb Squadron Interned in Switzerland 3 August 1944
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]
English Heritage's record description
Not yet known
Service
People
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Michael Rodman
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 94th Bomb Group
INT Had mechanical failure and landed in Switzerland on 7/12/44 in B-17 'Gloria' #42102457 -
Tazwell Wingfield
Military | Flight Officer | Navigator | 94th Bomb Group
INT Had mechanical failure and landed in Switzerland on 7/12/44 in B-17 'Gloria' #42102457 ...
Aircraft
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41-28629 Blondes Away
B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 733BS, 453BG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 734, 453BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission 13-Apr-44. Last seen 12 miles past IP heading across lake near Friedrickshafen in direction of Switzerland. Oil leak on #4 engine and oxygen... -
41-28692 Hell's Wagon
B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 576BS, 392BG, 8AF USAAF. 10 x Missions. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Friedrichshafen, attacked by Bf109's and Fw190's after breaking formation 18-Mar-44, landed in Dubendorf, Switzerland. 10 x Interned. MACR 3318. -
41-29127 Li'l Gypsy
B-24 Liberator
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42-100284
B-24 Liberator
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42-100330
B-24 Liberator
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42-100332 Gallloping Katie
B-24 Liberator
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42-100400
B-24 Liberator
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42-106438
P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. Lost 19-Jul-44 on bomber escort to Munich, suffered glycol leak, aborted and forced landed at Ems, Switzerland pilot Lt Curtis Simpson Interned. A/C was subsequently dismantled by Swiss air force mechanics and... -
42-107021
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Tulsa 31/1/44; Kearney 5/2/44; Assigned 710BS/447BG [IJ-L] Rattlesden 3/3/44; Missing in Action Augsburg 13/4/44 with Joe Thornbury, Co-pilot: Albt Cowey, Navigator: Dominick Padula, Bombardier: George Filush, Flight engineer/top turret... -
42-29127
P-47 Thunderbolt
Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 17 November 2016 22:35:39 | 466thHistorian | Changes to aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
"Strangers In A Strange Land - Volume II" - Hans-Heiri Stapfer/Gino Kunzle |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 17 November 2016 18:24:47 | 466thHistorian | Changes to aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 17 November 2016 18:23:36 | 466thHistorian | Created entry with name, latitude, longitude, construction date, history and media associations |
| Sources | ||
