Dübendorf Military Airport (german: Militärflugplatz Dübendorf) was a

military airfield An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

of the

Swiss Air Force The Swiss Air Force (german: Schweizer Luftwaffe; french: Forces aériennes suisses; it, Forze aeree svizzere; rm, Aviatica militara svizra) is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces, established on 31 July 1914 as a part of the army and ...

northeast of

Dübendorf Dübendorf is a municipality in the district of Uster in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is a suburb of Zürich in Switzerland with a population of about 30,000 (2021). It is the fourth largest city in the canton, after Zürich, Winter ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, located east of

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

History

Forced Landing - Flugplatz Dübendorf B17 and B24 ~1944

The search for a suitable site for an airfield started in 1909. 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

. From 1919 on Dübendorf was also an airport for civil airlines, first for the predecessor of the Swissair, the

Ad Astra Aero Ad Astra Aero (Latin for "to the stars air") was a Swiss airline based at Zürichhorn in Zürich. Early years Initiated by Oskar Bider and Fritz Rihner, in July 1919 the "Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Lufttourismus" (literally: Swiss ...

, and from 1932 on for

Swissair Swissair AG/ S.A. (German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne) was the national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002. It was formed from a merger between Bal ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

there was virtually no civil flying activity. Any foreign military aircraft that was

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

by Switzerland was held at Dübendorf, including about 120

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF)

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

and

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

bombers, together with one

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

Me 262 The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed ''Schwalbe'' (German: "Swallow") in fighter versions, or ''Sturmvogel'' (German: "Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the German ...

jet fighter. From 1943 Switzerland shot down USAAF and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

aircraft, mainly bombers, overflying Switzerland during the war: six aircraft by Swiss Air Force fighters and nine by anti-aircraft cannons; 36 American and British

airmen An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred as a soldier in other definitions. In civilian aviation usage, t ...

were killed. Besides, there were 137 emergency landings to May 1945 resulting in about 120 USAAF aircraft that were interned at the Dübendorf airfield. The officers were interned in

Davos , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Bergün/Bravuogn, Klosters-Serneus, Langwies, S-chanf, Susch , twintowns = } Davos (, ; or ; rm, ; archaic it, Tavate) is an Alpine resort town and a municipality in the Prättigau/Davos R ...

, airmen in

Adelboden , neighboring_municipalities= Diemtigen, Frutigen, Kandersteg, Lenk im Simmental, Leukerbad (VS), Sankt Stephan , twintowns= } Adelboden is a mountain village and a municipality in Switzerland, located in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administ ...

. Although U.S.

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

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 Wauwilermoos was an internment camp and prisoner-of-war penal camp in Switzerland during World War II. It was situated in the municipalities of Wauwil and Egolzwil in the Canton of Lucerne (Luzern). Established in 1940, Wauwilermoos was a penal ...

near Luzern. Repaired by USAAF technicians, on 7 September 1945 around 60 U.S. aircraft started from Dübendorf to return to their bases, where they were scrapped. The Swiss Air Force used in this time

Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 Aéroplanes Morane-Saulnier was a French aircraft manufacturing company formed in October 1911 by Raymond Saulnier (1881–1964) and the Morane brothers, Léon (1885–1918) and Robert (1886–1968). The company was taken over and diversified ...

and so on. After World War II, civil aviation moved to the new

Zurich Airport Zürich Airport (), french: Aéroport de Zurich, it, Aeroporto di Zurigo, rm, Eroport da Turitg is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the airline hub, principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zürich, Switze ...

, 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. FA18 Hornet

During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, Dübendorf was the home of

Aérospatiale Alouette II The Aérospatiale Alouette II (, "lark"; company designations SE 313 and SA 318) is a French light helicopter originally manufactured by Sud Aviation and later Aérospatiale. It was the first production helicopter powered by a gas turbine en ...

and

Alouette III Alouette or alouettes may refer to: Music and literature * "Alouette" (song), a French-language children's song * Alouette, a character in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar'' Aerospace * SNCASE Alouette, a utility helicopter developed in France i ...

helicopters and jets such as the

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and ...

de Havilland Venom The de Havilland DH 112 Venom is a British post-war single-engined jet aircraft developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Much of its design was derived from the de Havilland Vampire, the firm's first jet-powered combat ...

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-R ...

Dassault Mirage III The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizonta ...

and

Northrop F-5 Tiger II The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models, the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants and t ...

. Also, the Swiss-built fighter jet

FFA P-16 The FFA P-16 was a Swiss prototype ground attack jet fighter designed and produced by aircraft manufacturer Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein (FFA). It was Switzerland's second attempt to develop a domestically designed and manufactured jet fig ...

took off from Dübendorf for its first supersonic flight. Dübendorf was the home base for the

Patrouille Suisse The Patrouille Suisse is an aerobatic team of the Swiss Air Force. The team flies six Northrop F-5E Tiger II fighter/bomber jets. History The Patrouille Suisse was founded on August 22, 1964 with four Hawker Hunters. Two displays were also fl ...

aerobatic team until they moved to

Emmen Air Base Militärflugplatz Emmen (Emmen Military Air Base) is a military airfield of the Swiss Air Force north of Emmen, Switzerland, located northwest of Lucerne. History After several previous projects in the 1920s by the federal government and the ...

. With the move of

Fliegerstaffel 11 Fliegerstaffel 11 (Fightersquadron 11) (''Tigers'') of the Swiss Air Force is a Berufsfliegerkorps squadron equipped with F/A-18 combat jets and, together with Fliegerstaffel 8, is part of Fliegergeschwader 13. The home base of Fliegerstaffe ...

(Fighter Squadron 11) ''Tigers'' with the

F/A-18C Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twin-engine, supersonic, carrier-capable, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). Designed by McDonnell Douglas (now p ...

to Meiringen AB in 2005 the history of fighter aircraft in Dübendorf ended. The air base was equipped with retractable

arresting gear An arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is a mechanical system used to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOBA ...

devices at both ends of the runway, which were used by the F/A-18 and, in case of a problem, by the F-5. This was removed after 2005. On 26 June 2009, the long-range

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

solar-powered aircraft An electric aircraft is an aircraft powered by electricity. Electric aircraft are seen as a way to reduce the environmental effects of aviation, providing zero emissions and quieter flights. Electricity may be supplied by a variety of methods, ...

Solar Impulse 1 was first presented to the public at Dübendorf Air Base. Following taxi testing, a short-hop test flight was made on 3 December 2009, piloted by Markus Scherdel. In August 2013, after setting several records including a cross-U.S. flight, the aircraft returned to Dübendorf to be placed in storage. During 2013, the largest aircraft to land at the airport, a

Boeing 747-400F The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747. The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeting ...

belonging to

cargo airline Cargo airlines (or air freight carriers, and derivatives of these names) are airlines mainly dedicated to the transport of cargo by air. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines. In 2018, airline cargo traf ...

Cargolux Cargolux, legally ''Cargolux Airlines International S.A.'', is a Luxembourgian flag carrier cargo airline with its headquarters and hub at Luxembourg Airport. With a global network, it is one of the largest scheduled all-cargo airlines in Europe ...

made a stop at the air field, carrying the Solar Impulse aircraft. On 22 September 2015 the

Airbus A310 The Airbus A310 is a wide-body aircraft, designed and manufactured by Airbus Industrie, then a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers. Airbus had identified a demand for an aircraft smaller than the A300, the first twin-jet wide-bod ...

Zero-G

reduced gravity aircraft A reduced-gravity aircraft is a type of fixed-wing aircraft that provides brief near-weightless environments for training astronauts, conducting research and making gravity-free movie shots. Versions of such airplanes were operated by the NAS ...

flew from Dübendorf Air Base, in the first operational flight of a Zero-G Airbus outside France. It is planned to continue using Dübendorf for these flights. The first public parabolic flight in Switzerland with the ZERO-G, with starts from Dübendorf took place on 22 October 2016.

Today

Today Dübendorf AB is the home of Lufttransport Staffel 3 and Lufttransport Staffel 4 (Air Transport Squadron 3 and 4) with

Eurocopter EC635 The Eurocopter EC635 (now Airbus Helicopters H135M) is a multi-purpose light helicopter developed by Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) as a military version of the Eurocopter EC135. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up to 8 people, ...

Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma The Airbus Helicopters H215 (formerly Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma) is a four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-size utility helicopter developed and initially produced by the French aerospace company Aérospatiale. It has been subsequently manufactu ...

Eurocopter AS532 Cougar The Eurocopter AS532 Cougar (now Airbus Helicopters H215M) is a twin-engine, medium-weight, multipurpose helicopter developed by France. The AS532 is a development and upgrade of the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma in its militarized form. Its civil ...

De Havilland Canada Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarte ...

Beechcraft 1900 The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With c ...

and

Beechcraft Super King Air The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The Model 200 and Model 300 series were originally marketed as the "Super King Air" family; the "Super" designation was dropped in 1996. ...

. Dübendorf is, together with Locarno AB, the home base of the

PC-7 Team The PC-7 Team is an aerobatics team of the Swiss Air Force. It derives its name from the Pilatus PC-7 trainer, the team's primary aircraft. History Soon after the PC-7 was introduced in 1982, the Swiss Air Force started to present the new a ...

and the Super Puma/Cougar Display Team. Other Swiss military aircraft such as the

Pilatus PC-6 Turbo-Porter The Pilatus PC-6 Porter is a single-engined STOL utility aircraft designed by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. First flown in 1959, the PC-6 was produced at Pilatus Flugzeugwerke in Stans, Switzerland. It has been built in both piston engine- an ...

and

Pilatus PC-9 The Pilatus PC-9 is a single-engine, low-wing tandem-seat turboprop training aircraft manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. Designed as a more powerful evolution of the Pilatus PC-7, the PC-9's first flight was made in May 1984 after ...

are often seen in Dübendorf, less often the

Dassault Falcon 900 The Dassault Falcon 900, commonly abbreviated as the F900, is a French-built corporate trijet aircraft made by Dassault Aviation. Development The Falcon 900 is a development of the Falcon 50, itself a development of the earlier Falcon 20. Th ...

Cessna Citation Excel The Cessna Citation Excel is an American midsize business jet built by Cessna. Announced in October 1994, the Model 560XL first flew on February 29, 1996, certification was granted in April 1998, and over 1,000 have been delivered. The , 20,20 ...

or the

Armasuisse The Federal Office for Defence Procurement (Armasuisse) is a federal agency of the Swiss Confederation. It is the procurement organization for armaments of Switzerland and is affiliated with the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection ...

Diamond DA42 The Diamond DA42 Twin Star is a four seat, twin engine, propeller-driven airplane developed and manufactured by the People's Republic of China, Chinese-owned, Austria-based company Diamond Aircraft Industries. It was Diamond's first twin engin ...

and

Pilatus PC-12 The Pilatus PC-12 is a pressurized, single-engined, turboprop aircraft, manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland, since 1991. It was designed as a high-performance utility aircraft that incorporates a large aft cargo door in ad ...

. Under supervision of the Swiss Air Force, Dübendorf is also used by friendly nations in the context of exercises or joint missions (e.g.

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

CH-53 The CH-53 Sea Stallion (Sikorsky S-65) is an American family of heavy-lift transport helicopters designed and built by the American manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. It was originally developed in response to a request from the United States N ...

). Dübendorf acts also as parking space for private business jets and government jets during the

WEF The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international non-governmental and Lobbying organization, lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 197 ...

. Also located at Dübendorf AFB is: *The Swiss Air Force Command (AOC) *Air Defense & Direction Center (the peacetime air defense C3 airops center) *Skyguide National (military air traffic control) *

Skyguide Skyguide (Swiss Air Navigation Services Ltd.) is an air navigation service provider which manages and monitors Swiss airspace. The company, which was formerly known as Swisscontrol, changed its name to skyguide (officially written lower-case) i ...

(civil air traffic control for Switzerland (except western part of Switzerland, which is monitored by skyguide Geneva) and southern Germany) *

Berufsfliegerkorps The ''Berufsfliegerkorps'' (BFK) ( en, professional flying corps, french: corps of the aviateurs professionnels, it, corpo degli aviatori di professione) are the professional pilots of the Swiss Air Force. History In the early 20th century, Sw ...

Other users

(see above) *Police Helicopter Unit *JuAir Operating 3 historical

Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German aeron ...

*Base 1 of the

Rega (air rescue) Swiss Air-Rescue (German: ''Schweizerische Rettungsflugwacht'', French: ''Garde aérienne suisse de sauvetage'', Italian: ''Guardia aerea svizzera di soccorso'', Rega) is a private, non-profit air rescue service that pro ...

* Solar Impulse 1 (HB-SIA) was built, tested and is now stored at Dübendorf Air Base. *

Touring Club Suisse The Touring Club Suisse (TCS) is a Swiss association representing the interests of drivers in Switzerland. With approximately 1.5 million members, the non-profit is the largest mobility club in Switzerland and one of the largest grassroot orga ...

Anti skid driving ranch. *

Flieger-Flab-Museum The Flieger Flab Museum (English: Swiss Air Force Museum) is located in the Canton of Zurich in Dübendorf on the grounds of Dübendorf Air Base. In the museum, 40 airplanes and helicopters are displayed, with the collection divided into distin ...

Future

Current plans are that from 2016 on, only the Swiss Air Force will use helicopters at Dübendorf and that the Rega and the Kantons Polizei will have to move their helicopters to the opposite side of the airfield (next to the military helicopter hangars). The government has allowed a mixed civil/military use of Dübendorf AB and the joint use of aircraft maintenance companies such

Jet Aviation Jet Aviation is a Basel-based provider of business aviation services. Founded in Switzerland in 1967, it provides aircraft sales, Aircraft maintenance, maintenance, and Air charter, charters using its fleet of more than 200 aircraft. Since 2008, J ...

is hoped to ensure the continued existence of the fixed wing aircraft operating in Dübendorf. Since the capacity of

will (according to the Monitoring Report published by FOCA ) hit a limit wall, Dübendorf Air Base has been proposed as a future

relief airport A relief airport or reliever airport is an airport that is built or designated to provide relief or additional capacity to an area when the primary commercial airport, commercial airport(s) requires additional capacity, on a long-term or temporar ...

, preferable to

Linate Airport Milan Linate Airport is the third international airport of Milan, the second-largest city and largest urban area of Italy, behind Malpensa Airport and Orio al Serio Airport. It served 9,233,475 passengers in 2018, being the fifth busiest airp ...

. Otherwise the use of the Dübendorf Air Base has been proposed as "the 4th runway of Zurich Airport". As far as the Dübendorf Airfield seems to be one of the oldest worldwide still existing, it is proposed to be evaluated as

UNESCO World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. One part of the property will be used to build a so-called Innovationspark (factory, office rooms and apartments for start up enterprises). The further development of the airfield area was judged to be inadmissible by the administrative court of the

canton of Zürich The canton of Zürich (german: Kanton Zürich ; rm, Chantun Turitg; french: Canton de Zurich; it, Canton Zurigo) is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton in the ...

in July 2020 and the cantonal design plan “Innovation Park Zurich” was repealed. The Zurich government council referred the judgment to the federal court.

Books

* ''Fliegermuseum Dübendorf'', VFMF, Dübendorf 1989 (ISBN none). * Ernst Frei: ''Erlebter Aktivdienst 1939–1945''. Novalis, chaffhausen2010, . * Max Hügli: ''Fliegermuseum'' – BAMF, Dübendorf 1981 (ISBN none). * ''Uno Zer Zero'' Aero Publications 2013, *'' Menschen Maschinen Missionen'' Geschichten vom Militärflugplatz Dübendorf 1914–2014, published by Schweizer Luftwaffe 12014

Notes and references

External links

Homepage LSMD

Air Force Museum and JuAir

Taskforce Flugplatz Dübendorf

Flugplatz Dübendorf AG
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dubendorf Air Base Airports in Switzerland Dübendorf Buildings and structures in Zürich Transport in Zürich Military airbases in Switzerland