Border violations, Aerial combat And Internments ins Switzerland 1944 & 1945
Initial 'Contacts' with the P-51 Mustang by the Swiss Air Force happened during the Years 1944 and 1945, when either aircraft of this type crashed or landed in Switzerland, but also in aerial combat between USAAF P-51's and Swiss fighters during September 1944. The landing of an intact P-51B Mustang in July 1944 (see header photo) gave the Swiss Air Force and the Swiss aircraft industry valuable first-hand insights and knowledge of this modern fighther aircraft type. This knowledege massively influenced the decision to acquire this type for the Swiss Air Force significantly.
Below you will find the story of the P-51 Mustangs interned in Switzerland:
During World War 2 in Europe, the Swiss borders often were violated by foreign Aircraft of both the Axis and Allied Forces, but usually these were only overflights. In 1940, after the German attack on France, the Northwestern borderland of Switzerland often saw aerial combat between Swiss Air Force and Luftwaffe units. Beginning from 1943, British bomber formations crossed Swiss airspace at night, and from Fall 1943, USAAF bomber formations and escort fighters were registered more often. The number of interned USAAF B-17 and B-24 started to rise. Starting from Spring 1944, with the alliied preparation for the Invasion in Normandy (France), the number of border violations and atacks on Swiss railway installations increased.
.Crash at Lütisburg SG
27 MaY 1944: During an escort mission for Boeing B-17's to Ludwigshafen, the famous 357th Fighter Group, known as "Yoxford Boys", stationed at Leiston, England, was involved in aerial combat in the vicinity of Strasbourgwith German interceptors, during which the P-51B-7-NA with serial 43-6556 of the 362nd Fighter Squadron, marked G4-B, flown by Capt. Robert D. Brown, was damaged by debris from a damaged German Focke-Wulf FW-190 This was Capt. Brown's 3rd aerial victory. The damage to the flight controls of his Mustang prevented a safe return to England, so he decided to steer is crippled P-51 with nickname "Chicago gun Moll" toward Switzerland, to bail-out over this neutral country.
Shortly after crossing the Swiss border near Lake Constance, the P-51 started to become increasingly difficult to contrl, but Capt. Brown waited with abandoning his aircraft to prevent being drifted off into German territory. After he had left his aicraft, the P-51B crashed almost vertically near Lütisburg SG, while the pilot landed nearby in a tall fur tree. During bail-out, Capt. brown had hit the empennage of his Mustang with his leg, which led to a severe fracture. The pilot was rescued by local peaople, who brought him to a nearby hospital for treatment. There he eventually was interrogated by the Siss Authorities.
Capt. Brown stayed in Switzerland for the duration of the War. Interestingly, he became the ferry pilot for another P-51 Mustang that had landed in Switzerland. After the War, Switzerland had to return all flyable USAAF aircraft, and in October 1945, Capt. Brown flew this Mustang back to England.
Emergency Landing at Ems-Plarenga - Arrival of an intact P-51 Mustang !
19 July 1944: On this day, the Swiss Air Force came into termporary possession of an intact P-51B-10-NA Mustang, when an emergency-landing occurred on the small airfield of Ems-Plarenga. Below are two photographs taken shortly after this incident.
This Mustang quickly was repaired and subsequently put through extensive tests, and a number of pilots were able to fly this modern fighter aircraft. For flight testing purposes, this Mustang received Swiss Nationality markings, but an individual aircraft number never was applied.
Emergency landing in River Rhine near Buchs SG
22 February 1945: Wet Landing in the River Rhine.
