In 2014 the Swiss military aircraft celebrated three important events: the 100th anniversary of the Swiss Air Force, the 50th anniversary of the Patrouille Suisse, and the 25th anniversary of the PC-7 Team .

For this multiple celebration the Swiss Air Force prepared one of the largest airshows ever done in Europe. Besides the 2 weekends additional events took place during the week, especially on Friday. Besides the Swiss aerobatic teams, participations included the Red Arrows, the Breitling Wingwalkers, Patrouille de France, the Flying Bulls, Al Fursan, Frecce Tricolori, Breitling Jet Team, Patrulla Aguila, Midnight Hawks and the Royal Jordanian Falcons. Interesting historical and modern aircraft included a B-17, the only airworthy in Europe, a replica of a Me 262, Hawker Hunter, PBY Catalina, Super Constellation, Airbus A380 and F-15 Eagle.

With over 1000 photos and videos, this is the largest internet website about the event!

100 Years Swiss Air Force

For the Swiss Air Force everything started in 1914, at the eve of the First World War. The then called Swiss flying corps was formed by a group of pilots, mostly coming from the French-speaking part of Switzerland. They initially installed their own aircraft and support personnel at a balloon hangar near Bern and later re-located to Dübendorf from where tactical missions limited to the country’s border area were launched during the war.

In the interwar period, the flying corps gained in importance and in addition to Dübendorf, additional airfields were set up at Thun, Lausanne (1919) and Payerne (1921). The first aircraft ordered officially, the Haefeli DH-3, made it possible to establish a relatively compact fleet.

During World War II the Swiss aircraft were engaged in military operations both with German and Allied fighter planes to protect the neutrality of the Swiss territory. Several Swiss pilots were shot down by German and American fighters during these missions. Despite the brave intervention of the Swiss pilots, equipped with inferior equipment, a few Swiss cities suffered minor bombing attacks from the American forces which were caused by navigational errors.

Throughout the last century the Swiss Air Force acquired increasingly capable aircraft like the P-51 Mustang, the de Havilland Vampire, the Hawker Hunter and the F/A-18 Hornet which is currently operated.

50 Years Patrouille Suisse

The Patrouille Suisse is the Swiss Air Force’s national display team and flies six Northrop F-5E Tiger II fighter/bomber jets. It all began 5 decades ago, in 1964 on the occasion of the national exhibition in Lausanne, at the same time as the Swiss Air Force celebrated its 50th anniversary, the Patrouille Suisse was officially formed. At the time, they flew four Hawker Hunter aircraft. Since 1978, the team has flown in its current configuration of six aircraft. 1978 was an important year, as the Patrouille Suisse also performed abroad for the very first time at Salon de Provence in France. In 1991 the team had the undersides of their aircraft painted in the Swiss national colours, red and white and three years later, the Hunters were replaced by the current F-5E Tigers.

25 Years PC-7 Team

The 2014 airshow was the culmination of 25 exciting years for the PC-7 Team. Everything started in 1995 during the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the Swiss Air Force when the desire to have a permanent aerobatic team lead to the creation of the PC-7 Team. The first international appearance happened in 1992 at an airshow in France. When the F/A-18 was introduced the discontinuation of the PC-7 Team was considered due to financial reasons but after government intervention the team’s future was secured.

Payerne Air Base

Switzerland