''Eidgenössische Konstruktionswerkstätte'' English: "Federal Constructions Works", short K+W, was a Swiss state-owned enterprise, with the aim of making the Swiss military independent of foreign sources for its equipment needs. It was established in 1867 in

Thun , neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg , twintown = , website = www.thun.ch Thun (french: Thoune) ...

and produced artillery, vehicles and other typical military equipment. In 1914 Switzerland put in an effort to make itself independent of foreign suppliers of military aircraft and started the production of the DH-1 in Thun. Long-standing connections to the

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

ensured the necessary know-how. 1940 the aviation department moved from Thun to Emmen and in 1943 it became a separate unit of the

Swiss Armed Forces The Swiss Armed Forces (german: Schweizer Armee, french: Armée suisse, it, Esercito svizzero, rm, Armada svizra; ) operates on land and in the air, serving as the primary armed forces of Switzerland. Under the country's militia system, re ...

independent under the name of Eidgenössisches Flugzeugwerk (F+W) (Federal Aviation Works). The Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette focused now on the production of

armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured car ...

s for the Swiss Army, both of its own designs and licensed production of M113 armored personnel carriers and

Leopard 2 The Leopard 2 is a 3rd generation main battle tank originally developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s for the West German army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West Germ ...

tanks and other land systems for the Swiss Army. Since 1995 it changed its name several times, started exporting and is now part of RUAG Defence. There is a museum of the company tanks in Thun, Bern, Switzerland.

Aircraft

Häfeli DH-1 The Häfeli DH-1 was a 1910s Swiss two-seat reconnaissance aircraft, built by the aircraft department of the Federal Construction Works (''Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette'', K+W) at Thun, Switzerland. Development and design In 1915 K + ...

* Häfeli DH-2 *

Häfeli DH-3 The Häfeli DH-3 was a 1910 Swiss two-seat reconnaissance aircraft, built by the aircraft department of the Federal Construction Works (''Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette'', (K+W)) at Thun, Switzerland. Development and design Following th ...

* Häfeli DH-4 * Häfeli DH-5 * Militär-Apparat MA-7 *

EKW C-35 The EKW C-35 was a 1930s Swiss two-seat reconnaissance biplane aircraft built by the Swiss Federal Construction Works (Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette, K+W), Thun. Development Two aircraft were designed by the Eidgenössische Konstrukti ...

EKW C-3600 The EKW C-36 was a Swiss multi-purpose combat aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s, built by the Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette. It was a single-engined monoplane with a crew of two. It entered service during World War II in 1942, and desp ...

EKW C-3602 The EKW C-36 was a Swiss multi-purpose combat aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s, built by the Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette. It was a single-engined monoplane with a crew of two. It entered service during World War II in 1942, and despit ...

EKW C-3603 The EKW C-36 was a Swiss multi-purpose combat aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s, built by the Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette. It was a single-engined monoplane with a crew of two. It entered service during World War II in 1942, and desp ...

EKW C-3604 The EKW C-36 was a Swiss multi-purpose combat aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s, built by the Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette. It was a single-engined monoplane with a crew of two. It entered service during World War II in 1942, and desp ...

F+W C-3605 The F+W C-3605, nicknamed ''Schlepp'' ("Tug") or "Alpine Anteater", was a target towing aircraft operated by the Swiss Air Force from 1971–1987. The aircraft was developed during the latter half of the 1960s by the Swiss Federal Construction Wo ...

* Morane-Saulnier D-3800

Armored vehicles

Nahkampfkanone 1 {{commons, Nahkampfkanone I at the Panzermuseum Thun The Nahkampfkanone 1 was an experimental Swiss tank destroyer that saw service between 1944 and 1947. Only one was ever built. History and development The designed heralded from early exp ...

Panzer 58 The Mittlerer Panzer 1958 or Panzer 58 was a medium tank of Swiss design. Twelve tanks were produced and later converted to Panzer 61s. History and development After World War II, Switzerland was only equipped with outdated fighting vehicles of ...

Panzer 61 The Panzer 61 was a Swiss Cold War era medium tank later reclassified as a second-generation main battle tank. The tank had a weight of 36.5 tons and was powered by a 630 hp diesel engine, which gave it a top road speed of . The primary ar ...

Panzer 68 The Panzer 68 was a Swiss main battle tank developed by the Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette in Thun in the late 1960s, and was the main tank of the Swiss Army until the late 1990s. History The Panzer 68 was based on the Panzer 61, ...

Zielfahrzeug 68 The Zielfahrzeug 68 ("Target tank 68") was a decommissioned Panzer 68, which was converted to the target vehicle role. A total of ten of these vehicles were in use. Conversion The Swiss Army ordered from the company Eidgenoessische Konstru ...

Entpannungspanzer 65 The Entpannungspanzer 65 (EntpPz 65) is a Swiss armored recovery vehicle developed by '' Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette Thun'' in the late 1960s. The vehicle served as a traveling workshop for the Swiss military. The prototype for the ...

Brückenpanzer 68 The Brückenpanzer 68 (Bridge Tank 68) is an armoured vehicle-launched bridge manufactured by the Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette, which was used by the Swiss Army. It is the bridge-laying version of the Panzer 68 tank. History A proto ...

Fliegerabwehrpanzer 68 Fliegerabwehrpanzer 68 was a Swiss self-propelled anti-aircraft gun which was tested but did not enter service. History and development In 1977, a project of Contraves AG Oerlikon-Buehrle, Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette and Siemens ...

Panzerkanone 68 The Panzerkanone 68 ("Armoured gun 68") is a Swiss self-propelled howitzer produced by the Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette (Federal Manufacturing Works) to meet a Swiss Army requirement. Only four were manufactured; they served for three ...

References

Military vehicle manufacturers Firearm manufacturers of Switzerland Aircraft manufacturers of Switzerland Defence companies of Switzerland Companies owned by the federal government of Switzerland {{Switzerland-company-stub