Special Edition Volume 19, No

COMMEMORATIVE AIR FORCE / Swiss Wing

Special Edition Volume 19, No. 74 CAF Swiss Wing Newsletter August 2014 D-DAY Normandy 70 Year Anniversary

On June 5th 32 members of the Swiss impression of participating in the ac- Wing met at Zürich Airport where our tion from the open door of a C-47. guide Peter Winkler briefed us on the Where ever you looked individual program for the day. There was time camps covered every free meadow, for coffee and croissants before we each representing a particular unit boarded our fl ight at 10:10. Landing with its vehicles and arms and uni- in Paris at 12:00 and boarding a bus forms of the time. direction Le Havre, over the famous bridge at Tancarville, 1420 meter long Next we drove to Sainte-Marie- spanning the river Seine (built 1959) du-Mont and the property of Ray and onwards via Caen and Bayeux to Mitchel which had served as the Cherbourg where we were based for command post of the Germans and three days. later as the Head Quarters of the 101st Airborne. After lunch we con- Early next morning we visited Saint- tinued to the cemetery of Orglandes Mère Eglise where the festivities were where 10152 German soldiers are bu- held with speeches parades and me- ried, many just 18-19 years old. morial services. Of course the effi gy of Know to use this the luckless Paratrooper was still sus- The third day an early start took us to English version pended on the church spire and was UTAH beach which was the main landing site of the American 4th Infantry photographed fom all angles. 1st : Go to the German part of the division. The museum depicts the se- homepage and print out the Ger- quence of events of the invasion with Despite a long queue we decided to man Version of the Contact visit the new AIRBORNE museum. charts, exhibits and equipment all of June 6th 1944. The exhibit includes a An audio-visual exhibit gave you the 2nd : Follow the pages and read the B-26 bomber. This is the beach where German/English title General Bradley encountered parti- Table of Contents cularly strong German resistance and 3rd : Not all Pictures legends suffered heavy losses. and articles are translated in full Page 1 D-Day length Korea, Jet‘s im Einsatz Page 5 Next we proceeded to Pointe Hoc, the Page 7 strategic defense point of the Germans KAPO Aargau 4th : Have fun and enjoy the Con- Page 8 which still shows massive concrete Im Haslital tact Page 10 remnants and craters. We continued Biel-Kappelen Col Werner Meier Page 11 on to Arromanches. Many houses were Zufi kerfäscht Col Jost Schneeberger News / Veranstaltungen Page 12 decorated with fl ags to welcome some

CAF Swiss Wing August 2014 Page 2

Command post of the Germans and later as the Head Quarters of the 101st Airborne. CAF-Group in front of the building from Mitchell

the dead. The view over the immacu- 50’000 visitors for the fl ight display of lately maintained site and the sea bey- the Patrouille de France and a fl y-by of On the last and longest day we visited ond made a deep impression an all of a Lancaster. From a vantage point one the American Military cemetary at us. The OVERLORD Museum was could make out the remnants of the Coleville-sur-Mer where 9387 soldiers our next stop. It depicts the battle of artifi cial harbor which had served the are laid to rest. The day before the sta- the Normandy until the liberation of invasion forces. te guests had gathered here to honor Paris. And a last stop was made at the PEGASUS MEMORIAL near Ranville-Benouville where the British sixth Airborne Division comme- morates their assault with their Horsa Gliders. And soon we were back on the road to Paris and an une- ventful fl ight back to Zü- rich.

Peter, Dani and Rita CAF Swiss Wing August 2014 Page 3 CAF Swiss Wing August 2014 Page 4

Auch ich grüsse und danke. Ich hatte die Qual der Wahl: aus den unendlich vielen Fotos konnte ich nur eininige auswählen. Wenn sie mehr sehen möchten, nehmen sie bitte Kontakt mit Rita auf. (Red.) CAF Swiss Wing August 2014 Page 5 report

Korea The Korean Flag is white, a symbol of purity. It carries a blue and red Yin and Yang circle in the center fl anked clockwise from upper left with the signs for Heaven, Water Earth and F9F cabin interior left side and F9F fuel system Fire. are heated electri- cally. (Indeed our Jet fi ghters in Action Morane DH-405 (part 2) had the same pro- blem in low tem- peratures). In the fi rst part we covered the Grum- man F9F Panther in general and the External electri- training of its pilots. Although the cal power con- F-86 was developed at the same time, nections must be the F9F was the fi rst to see action in in place for the Korea. system and sepa- rately for the en- How does one operate an F9F? gine start. Check of clock, gyro, altimeter, battery and lift-off would be at 115 kts, at 105 kts (shortened!) After the outside check, radio follow. Starting the Allison tur- a light tug at the stick would lift the pitot cover removed, airframe clear of bine requires external power and acce- nose wheel, gear is retracted promptly dirt and ice, no loose dirt or gravel in lerated rapidly to 8-10%. Moving the and fl aps at 130-150 kts, acceleration front of the plane which might be su- power lever to the starting position to 330 kts for best climb. cked by the turbine and of course an opens the high pressure fuel valve and absolutely clean windshield as even activates the ignition. Exhaust tem- More to follow in the next issue of a small speck might be mistaken for perature rises to 400°C and power is CONTACT another plane. Access to the cockpit set to idle at 28% For taxi about 51% is by a ladder, seat belts are fastened, is needed, steering is by differential Col Werner Meier oxygen mask is connected and tested, braking. After start-up electrical- hy- knee board fastened in position and draulic- and pressurizing systems are ready for the following checks: All checked. switches «Off», especially the master for cannons and arms. The check for Checks were carried out from left to ammo load is most important as it right, switches and instruments with affects the center of gravity. The four positions and readings memorized. At cannons can fi re 190 rounds each. To around 70 kts the rudder becomes ef- prevent malfunctioning the cannons fective, at 17’000 lbs take-off weight CAF Swiss Wing August 2014 Page 6

A short history of Korea: (Part 2) Die Geschichte Korea 1876 Japan forces the opening of Korean harbors for foreign trade. Teil 2 1894-1895 Sino-Japanese war over infl uence in Korea, China loses out. • 1876 Japan erzwingt die Aufhebung 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese war over control of Korea, Russia loses out. der Isolation, Öffnung der Häfen für 1910 Annexation of Korea by Japan, End of Yi dynasty. fremde Mächte 1945 End of WW-II, Japan capitulates, Korea is divided by the 38th • 1894–1895 chinesisch-japanischer Parallel . The North is occupied by Russia, the South by the USA Krieg um den Einfl uss in Korea, Chi- 10.05.48 Elections for a central government, the North boycotts the elec na unterliegt und muss die japanische tions Oberherrschaft in Korea anerkennen. A new Constitution is drafted for the whole of Korea. • 1904–1905 russisch-japanischer 15.08.48 Following elections the Republic of Korea is proclaimed in the S Krieg um den Einfl uss in Korea, Russ- south. land unterliegt. 09.11.48 In the North the People’s Democratic Republic is proclaimed. • 1910 Japan annektiert Korea als Ge- 25.06.50 North Korean troops enter the South. A major confl ict ensues neralgouvernement Chôsen (Choson), with the USA and its Allies and the Chinese taking sides. Ende der Yi-Dynastie. • 1945 Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs, Japan kapituliert, Korea wird längs des 38. Breitengrads geteilt, der Nor- den wird russisch besetzt, der Süden durch die USA. • 10.05.1948 Wahlen in ganz Korea für eine handlungsfähige Regierung, Nordkorea boykottiert die Wahlen. • Juli 1948 neue Verfassung für Korea • 1 5.08.1948 in Folge der Wahl wird (nur in Südkorea) die Republik Korea proklamiert. • 09.11.1948 in Nordkorea wird die Volksdemokratische Republik Korea proklamiert. • 25.06.1950 nordkoreanische Trup- pen marschieren in Südkorea ein, es entwickelt sich ein grösserer Konfl ikt, in den ausser Südkorea auch China die USA und jeweilige Verbündete mit hineingezogen werden. • 27.07.1953 Waffenstillstand von Panmundjom, das Land bleibt entlang Werner Meier (l)and Scott McLeod, LtCdr. USNavy who piloted this F9F in Korea der Waffenstillstandslinie zwischen Phot taken at the “Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum” Titus Ville /Fl. Scott has Nord- und Südkorea geteilt. told me a lot about his time fl ying the F9F • 1961 Militärputsch • 1963 Präsidentenwahlen • 1965 Wiederaufnahme diplomati- scher Beziehungen zu Japan • 1966 Südkorea beginnt sich am Vi- etnamkrieg zu beteiligen • 1972 Kriegsrecht, neue Verfassung, Präsidialdiktatur • 1979 Militärputsch • 1985 kleinere Abkommen zwischen beiden Koreas CAF Swiss Wing August 2014 Page 7 report

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Diese Werkzeuge wurden den «bösen Buben» abgenommen. CAF Swiss Wing August 2014 Page 8 report

Flying visit to the Haslital

The Old Timer meeting this year took place on May 31st at Meiringen, one of the few remaining air bases in Swit- zerland. As usual our Stinson was on its way with Ruedi Lang as pilot and of course the CAF stand was manned by Theo Arter. Some members took the opportunity of visiting some of the tourist attractions in the vicinity such as the Aare Canyon, Lake Brienz or the Waterfalls of Reichenbach..

Present were among others: Pilatus Super Connie with Swiss and canton of Bern ﬂ ags, and the DC-3 P-3, Junkers Ju-52, Boeing Stearman, Stampe, Travel Air 4000, Globe Su- per Swift, Pilatus PC-9, Piper L-4, D.H.Chipmunk, Stinson, Luscombe 8A, Max Holste Broussard MH.1521, Antonov An-2, Beech 18s and DC-3 and of course the Super Constellation. All told 21 radial engines!

But back to the ﬂ ight of the Stinson which started at 09:00 in Birrfeld via Langenthal and Burgdorf, weaving around clouds, the direct route over the Brünig pass being closed with nor- therly winds and low clouds. From the lake of Thun onwards the weather cleared and contact with Meiringen gave a wind of 060° and 17 to 22 kts.

At this point we were overtaken by the Super Constellation, what an ex- perience! Tower told us to hold and gave the Super Connie clearance for runway 28. Certainly a NO-GO for us and an alternate would have been Bern. As it turned out we were cleared for runway 10 and on touch down the wind was 030° and 10 kts. The return ﬂ ight was routine by the The Super Connie had to use runway same way. 28 due to terrain clearance and the 2000 m runway would till be safe. Kuno Gross and Ruedi Lang CAF Swiss Wing August 2014 Seite 9

Stinson on the ramp, The CAF Swiss Wing tent. CAF Swiss Wing August 2014 Page 10 report Biel - Kappelen From Friday to Sunday June 13 to 15 this airﬁ eld in the «Three Lake» area was for once the center of Swiss Aviati- on. Perfect weather with at times a fre- shening eastern wind attracted some 30’000 visitors. The main attraction of course was the Patrouille Suisse with its Tiger F-5 formation which practiced on Friday and ﬂ ew a perfect program on Saturday.

Among the visiting aircraft were: Yak- 52, Yak-9, C-3605, Morane D-3801, TBM Avenger, Cap-10, Chipmunk, Arrow-Copter A-10, PC-6, Antonov AN-2, PC-6 of the Swiss Air Force with Parachutists. Based at Biel Kap- pelen: Boeing Stearman, Bücker Squa- dron (5 aircraft), Max Holste Brous- roll. After sunset and a darkening sky Patrouille Suisse Tigers, REVA Canards, sard, Extra 300 Aerobatic and scale the Swift glider S-1 released from its Stinson, AIR-Festival model. tow performed a «Sky Dance» with pyrotechnic lights streaming from its The program was tight but still left wing tips, truly a phenomenal sight. slots for arrival an departures of pas- As night fell colorful balloons lit the senger fl ights. The Bücker squadron area and to round out the days true performed well despite the gusting to its name the festival continued in wind, die Extra 300 fl ew a perfect the hangar with live music, food and aerobatic program in formation with drinks. a model controlled from the ground. At times it was diffi cult to distingu- Col Yost Schneeberger ish between the real plane and the scale model. The low pass of a DC-3 fl anked by two Beech 18 was a ma- jestic sight after roar of the aerobatic displays.

Similarly the three REVA canards earned a great applause for their per- fection. A French husband and wife team in their two CAP –Tens painted ﬁ gures in the sky with smoke in an aerial ballet and of course Werner Meier demonstrated the evasive tactics with our Stinson. Of great interest was the demonstration of the Arrow-Copter A-10 with its coupled rotor during take-off resulting in very short ground CAF Swiss Wing August 2014 Page 11

Zuﬁ ker Party 18-22 June

Only a week later another event, which takes place every seven years in the Canton of Aargau, gave aviation another chance to for displays.

The Swiss Air Force performed with its PC-7 Team, the Eurocopter and Parachute team. Scale models had a chance to demonstrate their skills followed by the well known aerobatic champions Vogelsang with their Vo- tec aerobatics. Max Vogelsang also demonstrated the newly rebuilt AT-16.

Col Henry Saladin

Heart in Sky, PC-7 team, AT-16, Stinson L-5, Raising the fl ag CAF CAF Swiss Wing August 2014 Page 12 news 2014 Veranstaltungen / Reisen 23. August Simmenshake, St. Stephan Flight OPS 30.-31. August Air 14, Payerne 100 Years Dübendorf 30.-31. August Oldtimerclassics Hittnau Flight OPS June 27, 2014 06.-07. September Air 14, Payerne 13. September Besuch Mirage-Verein, Buochs CAF SW One hundred years ago Frenchman 11.-12. Oktober Midland, Texas Jaboulin founded a cooperative to 22. November Jahresendanlass CAF SW fi nance the purchase of a one square kilometer property between Wangen and Dübendorf, 10 km north-east of Zürich. At the time aerial activity consisted of ballooning and airships, gliders and powered fl ight still was in its infancy. T

The military and the Aeroclub had divergent interests. However at the outbreak of WW-I Dübendorf was declared a national airﬁ eld and the Air Force was founded. In fact all the pilots had to report with their own planes to serve under the command of Theodor Real a cavalry ofﬁ cer. In fact this anniversary was a small gathering

Mitﬂ iegen in unserem Warbird «Stinsy» as the main event to commemo- rate the 100 year existence of the Koordinator: Swiss Air Force will take place Henry Saladin 044 853 0533 at the AIR14 show in Payerne at Piloten: the end of August. Roger Burri 056 667 3843 Ruedi Lang 052 343 8153 Col Henry Saladin Werner Meier 056 633 6181 Ferdi Nietlisbach 079 200 7260 Dübendorf 1914 and 2014 Jost Schneeberger 031 911 8177 Max Schönenberger 044 858 2051 Marc Siegenthaler 079 628 9122

CAF Swiss Wing CAF Swiss Wing - Shop www.caf-swisswing.ch tinsy-Wein Rotwein , Cabernet Sauvignon, California Präsident: CAF Col Hansjörg Engler S Weisswein, Chardonnay , France Dorfstr. 26, 8165 Oberweningen Geniessen Sie diesen Stinsy-Wein an einem lauen Sommerabend und denken Sie daran: Mit jedem Schluck unterstützen sie den Editor: CAF Col Werner Meier CAF Swiss Wing. Info über den Wein und Bestellformulare ﬁ n- Itenhard 47, 5620 Bremgarten den sie auf unserer Homepage oder rufen Sie mich einfach an. «Contact» ist das Publikations- Diese 0.5 Liter Flasche eignet sich auch sehr gut als Geschenk für organ des Swiss Wing der CAF Flieger-Fans. Minimum-Bestellung 6 Flaschen. in Midland TX, USA Werner Meier, Itenhard 47, 5620 Bremgarten [email protected] Druck: Knapp AG, 8918 Unterlunkhofen Viele weitere Artikel ﬁ nden Sie auf unserer Homepage: www.caf-swisswing.ch