Fliegerstaffel 8 «Vandalos» is a Swiss Air Force

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

squadron, equipped with

Northrop F-5 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 ...

E and forms ''Fliegergeschwader 13'' with

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 ...

. The home base of the unit is Meiringen Air Base. As

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

, the Fliegerstaffel 8 carries as a red

sawfish Sawfish, also known as carpenter sharks, are a family of rays characterized by a long, narrow, flattened rostrum, or nose extension, lined with sharp transverse teeth, arranged in a way that resembles a saw. They are among the largest fish ...

, floating through the lower opening of a black number 8 on a white ground. The sawfish is called '' Vandalo''.Staffel 8 – Vandalen!
Cockpit 12/2010

History

In 1925, ''Fliegerkompanie 8'' was founded. Their first aircraft were

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 ...

until 1933 and Häfeli DH-5 from 1926 to 1934. From 1934 to 1940, the unit used Fokker CV and the

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 ...

for reconnaissance and air to ground missions. From 1940 to 1949 the Messerschmitt Bf 109 E was used. In 1945, Fliegerstaffel 8 was created out of the pilots within Fliegerkompanie 8. The squadron was equipped with De Havilland DH-100 Vampire from 1950 to 1959. In the fall of 1956, Fl St 8 completed a training course at Meiringen, flying their first missions out of

Aircraft cavern Aircraft cavern, a calque of the German word ''Flugzeugkaverne'', is an underground hangar amongst others used by the Swiss Air Force. Historical During World War II, the neutral Swiss military airfields were for the first time equipped with sim ...

s. During the retraining phase on the Hawker Hunter in Emmen and the following services, Oblt Paul Habegger shot an 8-mm film named "Bambini Vandalo". The film documents the work of the pilots of a Hunter squadron in the sixties. From 1959 to 1975 the flight operation with Hawker Hunter took place from Meiringen Air Base, from 1976 until 1980 from

Alpnach Air Base The Air Base Alpnach ( ICAO code LSMA) is a Swiss Air Force airfield near the town Alpnach in Canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. It has a concrete runway with a length of and a width of , as well as several taxiways and hangars. History As ...

. Since 1980, the squadron has his home base at the Meiringen Air Base. During the planned dismantling of the Hunter fleet, two Tiger squadrons should be re-trained for ground combat in a second role. In addition to the professional pilots ''Fliegerstaffel 1'', the militia Fliegerstaffel 8 was selected for this task but cancelled shortly later. In 1993, the first F-5E Tiger with the tailnumber J-3088 (now wearing the colors of 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 f ...

) received the Fliegerstaffel 8 badge. Like all Swiss squadrons, however, the Fliegerstaffel 8 does not have any aircraft specifically assigned to it. However, as a militia squadron of the Swiss Air Force, it has, with the F-5E J-3073, an aircraft with a permanent squadron painting. Air policing and identification of foreign aircraft became a major task of the Fliegerstaffel 8. The future of the Fliegerstaffel 8 is, like for the other two F-5 squadrons, the

Fliegerstaffel 19 Fliegerstaffel 19 (No 19 squadron) of the Swiss Air Force is a militia squadron equipped with Northrop F-5E and forms together with Fliegerstaffel 18 ''Fliegergeschwader 14''. The home base of the fliegerstaffel 19 is Sion Airport. The "Fliegerst ...

and

Fliegerstaffel 6 The Fliegerstaffel 6 (Fightersquadron 6) of the Swiss Air Force is a militia squadron equipped with Northrop F-5E and is together with the Fliegerstaffel 18 part of the Fliegergeschwader 14. The home base of the Fliegerstaffel 6 is Payerne Ai ...

uncertain. This is because the F-5 is expected to be phased out in 2018. It is planned to introduce a successor model for the F-5 and F /A-18 for the Swiss Air Force by 2025. It is not yet clear which squadrons will continue. With the procurement of modern, complex combat aircraft, it is foreseeable that they can't be used effectively by non-professional militia pilots.

Aircraft

* Häfeli DH-5 *

Fokker C.V The Fokker C.V was a Dutch light reconnaissance and bomber biplane aircraft manufactured by Fokker. It was designed by Anthony Fokker and the series manufacture began in 1924 at Fokker in Amsterdam. Development The C.V was constructed in the earl ...

* Messerschmitt Bf 109 * De Havilland D.H. 100 * Hawker Hunter *

References

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 dist ...

Official VBS page of the FlSt 8

Report on the history of the FlSt8 in the cockpit magazine December 2000
*Farbgebung und Kennzeichen der Schweizer Militäraviatik 1914-1950 (Georg Hoch) {{Swiss Air Force Squadrons & Units Squadrons of the Swiss Air Force Military units and formations established in 1925