May 2010 - CAF Swiss Wing

n
o
i
t
COMMEMORATIVE AIR i
FORCE
/ Swiss Wing
d
E
l
a
i
c
e
p
S
Volume 15, No. 57
CAF Swiss Wing Newsletter
May 2010
Annual General Meeting CAF Swiss Wing
On March 13th. 2010 the annual
meeting of the CAF Swiss Wing was
held at the Dübendorf Air Museum. Present were 41 members and 7
guests. The morning hours were spent
in the museum and attending a most
interesting presentation by Otto
Janser on the subject of testing in the
Swiss Air Force (detailed report later
in this issue).
After a lunch at the restaurant «Holding» our chairman Thomas Lutz
opened the meeting with a review of
the events during 2009 and expressed
thanks to all who made the year a success.
Membership is at 131 (plus 3) with
36 CAF Cols, 1 CAF supporter (very
active), 1 junior member, 17 US Cols
and 3 supporters. The annual accounts presented by Kurt Bolli show
a small loss of CHF 572.20 and were
accepted. Henry Saladin covered the
Seite
Seite
Seite
Seite
Know to use this
English version
Thomas Lutz covered the 2010 program and Kurt Bolli presented the
2010 budget.
1st: Go to the German part of the
homepage and print out the German Version of the Contact
The committee was given the ok for
its activities and the meeting ended at
15:15 hours.
2nd: Follow the pages and read the
German/English title
Col Theo Arter
Table of Contens
GV 2010
Vortrag von Otto Janser
Japanische Luftwaffe
News / Veranstaltungen
Stinson operations with 68 hours and
143 landings with thanks to the pilots
for a safe and trouble free season.
1
4
6
8
3rd: Not all Pictures legends
and articles are translated in full
length
g
4th: Have fun and enjoy the Contact
Col Werner Meier
Col Jost Schneeberger
CAF Swiss Wing
The various illustrations show the
committee with (from left to right)
Kurt Bolli,
Henry Saladin,
Hansjörg Engler,
Thomas Lutz,
Max Schönenberger
Werner Meier.
Theo Arter is missing in this picture.
Werner Meier, standing,
Kurt Bolli smiling.
May 2010 Seite 2
CAF Swiss Wing
May 2010 Seite 3
Animated discussions during the meeting.
The model Stinson L-5 and the «Stinsy» wine.
CAF Swiss Wing
Weapon Testing in the Swiss Air
Force
Low Level Drops from Hunter
J-4013,
Presentation by Otto Janser, (first picture) graduate of the Technical Institute of Lucerne was instrumental in
his 25 year career with the Swiss Air
Force Unit for Weapon Testing.
a Swiss design had to be optimized. It
consisted of tubular wing pod, each
containing 10 spherical fragmentation
bombs. The release was by dynamic
pressure thru a calibrated opening at
the front end of the pod and ignition by a retractable pole antenna. The
interval of release and the resulting
bombing pattern could be optimized
by the design of the opening (third
picture showing two bombs being released).
From a vast archive of films he extracted the most interesting events in the
development of airborne weaponry
in the days of the Vampire, Venom,
Hunter and Mirage aircraft. The audience had a choice and opted for the
Mirage and Hunter video sequences
which Col Werner Meier summarized
for this issue of Contact:
The Mirage J-2302 was shipped to
and re-assembled at Holloman Air
Force Base in New Mexico for a test of
the Taran system specially developed
for the Swiss Air Force. The White
Sands missile range was ideal for this
purpose from a safety and telemetric
point of view. There exists a complete
film of the entire campaign and parts
of it were shown (second picture).
Mirage J2201 Rocket System:
The picture shows the specially painted Mirage with two rocket pods
(fourth picture). Each pod contained
twelve unguided 10 cm rockets. The
job was to integrate the whole system
and establish reliability with varying
loads and prove effectiveness of targeting. Similar tests had also been
carried out on a contract basis for the
Venom and Hunter.
Maverick: The specially painted Tiger F-5 (fifth picture) is shown shortly
May 2010 Seite 4
before firing a Maverick L-B guided
missile over the Dammastock range.
The AGM-65 Maverick is a tactical
air-ground rocket for ground support,
anti tank and troop concentration targets. It is an effective weapon against
tactical targets such as armored vehicles, anti aircraft stations, ships and
fuel depots. It is produced by Hughes
Aircraft and Raytheon of the USA.
Its counterpart is the Russian AS-10
Karen.
Maverick A: The Maverick AGM65A was the first production series of
1972. It made use of an electro-optical
guidance system, its main component
being a swiveling camera wired to a
screen in the cockpit (until it is fired)
for target identification and aiming by
the pilot. Alternatively the camera can
be locked to a target identified by on
board radar. Once the missile is fired
it locks onto the target by integrating
deviation angle sensed by the camera
and the direction of the missile path.
The same happens if the target is moving.
Col Werner Meier
CAF Swiss Wing
May 2010 Seite 5
CAF Swiss Wing
report
Japanische Luftwaffe
In the last issues of Contact I tried to
cover the development of the Japanese Air Force as well as the way of life
and attitude towards the West of the
Japanese in general. In this issue we
reprint the experience of a Japanese
pilot who fought for his country with
dedication.
Japanese Zero-Ace Saburo Sakai’s report of the air action over New-Guinea in the summer of 1942.
From mid-April to mid-August the
days seemed to follow a recurring
routine. Endless and repeating engagements of our fighters over Moresby
or emergency take-offs against enemy
incursions. The Allied Forces seemed
to have an inexhaustible supply of aircraft and logistic support. There never
was a week with substantial enemy
losses, yet they
came back again
and again in
two’s or three’s
and at times in
dozens of aircraft.
In 1942 none
of our airplanes
had protective
armor plating
of the cockpits
nor were our Zero/Mitsubishi A6N-2
equipped with self sealing fuel tanks
like the American machines.
As the enemy found out quickly, a
short burst of their 12.7 mm machine
guns would suffice to ignite our fuel
tanks. Despite this, none of our pilots
carried parachutes. The West concluded that the Japanese did not particularly value the lives of their pilots.
This was not so. Each pilot was issued a parachute. The decision to use it
or not was mostly up to the pilot. In
some units they were urged to use it.
Some pilots used it as cushion but never strapped it on as they felt restricted
in their movements in cockpit. There
was however another reason for many
not to carry a parachute. The main action area was over enemy territory and
to bail out would be synonymous with
surrender, a term that in the Bushido
or Samurai code of conduct just did
not exist. A man who did not return
from combat was dead. To let oneself
be taken prisoner was unthinkable.
May 2010 Seite 6
to reach Moresby overland across the
mountainous jungle area however
ended in failure. The problems of
logistics had been completely under
estimated. With some 20 to 30 serviceable aircraft it was impossible to
maintain presence over Buna with the
minimum of six to nine machines in
the air at all times. Yet we were able
to prevent the loss of the bridgehead.
Buna was a shock to me when I flew
the first mission. I had covered many
landing operations but never had I
witnessed such disastrous attempt to
resupply a entire division with two
small vessels and only one sub chaser
as cover. The following weeks were
spent entirely on the defense of Buna.
Towards the end of June a new phase of the war began. We began to fly
with parachutes. Further orders were
ominous. We were no longer allowed
to cross the Owen Stanley Mountains
and all offensive actions were discontinued.
In the next issue of Contact a further
story of a second «Ace of the JAAF».
Col Werner Meier
During the months of June we encountered an ever increasing number
of enemy bombers and fighters. We
were told that the enemy build-up
would mean that every «Zero» which
we could get hold of would be needed.
The enemy had begun to clear jungle areas around Moresby to establish
forward bases. When on 21st of July
a Japanese invasion at Buna, 180 km
south of Lae was in progress, a new
phase of our engagement began. The
original plan to take Moresby by seaborne invasion was dropped after the
Japanese defeat in the battle of the Coral Sea on May 7th and 8th.
Headquarters in Rabaul had ordered
to discontinue action against Moresby and to concentrate on the defense
of the Buna bridgehead. The attempt
CAF Swiss Wing
May 2010 Seite 7
CAF Swiss Wing
news
We would like to draw your attention
to the following events in which CAF
Swiss Wing is participating:
In connection with the 100 year anniversary of Swiss Aviation an Air Show
will take place at Emmen Air Base 2224th of July.
On August 6-8 a Military Old Timer
event in Birmensdorf under the Motto «5th Convoy to Remember» will be
held. Military vehicles with a parade
over 30 km is a sight not to be missed.
Our Stinson L-5 will also be in the air.
2010
May 2010 Seite 8
Veranstaltungen / Reisen
17.-18. Juli
17.-18. Juli
22.-24. Juli
31. Juli
6.-8. August
19.-22. August
28. August
16. September
Flugshow Fairford
CAF SW
20. RIO Oldtimer / Ecuvillens
Flight OPS
Meeting in Emmen
Flight OPS
BBQ in Buttwil
CAF SW
Convoy to Remember / Birmenstorf Flight OPS
Ballontage Wynau / Temp. Feldflugplatz
Flight OPS
100 Jahre Dufaux / Lac Léman
Flight OPS
Besichtigung Sonnenbergtunnel / LU, CAF SW
einst grösster Luftschutz-Bunker der Welt
7.-11. Oktober
27. November
Airsho Midland / USA
Jahresendanlass
CAF SW
CAF SW
Last but not least a photograph of the
AC-4 the first Swissair Aircraft with
its rebuilt Armstrong Sideley engine
being tested at Dübendorf.
Der revidierte «Amstrong Sideley» im AC-4 ist erwacht, Standlauf am 22. 4. 2010 in Dübendorf
Mitfliegen in unserem Warbird «Stinsy»
Koordinator:
Henry Saladin 044 853 0533
Piloten:
Roger Burri 056 667 3843
Ruedi Lang 052 343 8153
Werner Meier 056 633 6181
Ferdi Nietlisbach 079 200 7260
Jost Schneeberger 031 911 8177
Max Schönenberger 044 858 2051
CAF Swiss Wing - Shop
CAF Swiss Wing
www.caf-swisswing.ch
Präsident: CAF Col Thomas Lutz
Brunnenwies 53, 8132 Egg
Editor:
CAF Col Werner Meier
Itenhard 47, 5620 Bremgarten
«Contact» ist das Publikationsorgan des Swiss Wing der CAF
in Midland TX, USA
Druck:
Knapp AG, 8918 Unterlunkhofen
S
tinsy-Wein Rotwein, Cabernet Sauvignon, California
Weisswein, Chardonnay, France
Geniessen Sie diesen Stinsy-Wein an einem lauen Sommerabend
und denken Sie daran: Mit jedem Schluck unterstützen sie den
CAF Swiss Wing. Infos über den Wein und Bestellformulare finden sie auf unserer Homepage oder rufen Sie mich einfach an.
Diese 0.5 Liter Flasche eignet sich auch sehr gut als Geschenk für
Flieger-Fans. Minimum-Bestellung: 6 Flaschen.
Werner Meier, Itenhard 47, 5620 Bremgarten
[email protected]
Viele weitere Artikel finden Sie auf unserer Homepage: www.caf-swisswing.ch