Swiss Gustav

[jankees]

J-701 (0002) by JanKees Blom, on Flickr


J-701 (0005) by JanKees Blom, on Flickr


J-701 (0006) by JanKees Blom, on Flickr


J-701 (0007) by JanKees Blom, on Flickr


J-701 (0009) by JanKees Blom, on Flickr

[Charl]

Ah the Swiss...
"OK we will destroy the top Secret 110 that accidentally landed in our country.
In exchange we would like a half dozen 109's, so that we can shoot down yours when they stray into our neutral airspace!"
True story.

[hasegawa]

That story about the Swiss and the “destroyed 110” reminded me of another episode — the Bf 109 deal in 1944.

Switzerland actually received a dozen brand-new Bf 109 G-6s from Germany as compensation for earlier border incidents.
“Brand-new,” though, turned out to be rather optimistic. The Swiss engineers found rough panel work, misaligned fittings, and even reused components.

They were so disappointed that the aircraft got the nickname “Schüttelbecher” — literally “shaker cup.”

After the war, the Swiss government even filed a lawsuit against Messerschmitt AG for poor workmanship. Messerschmitt blamed material shortages and bombing raids; the case was settled out of court.

A few of the aircraft were later rebuilt with Hispano-Suiza parts and flown for training, but the whole story became a bit of aviation folklore.

True neutrality — never cheap.

Sources (mostly in German):
– Fliegerrevue 6/1994, “Die Messerschmitt Bf 109 in der Schweiz”
– Flugzeug Classic 02/2004 (Peter Brotschi)
– Swiss Air Force Museum Dübendorf archives
– Max Dürrenmatt, Die Schweizer Flugwaffe 1914–2014, ISBN 978-3-85777-429-0