The Gustav was the Flugwaffe's final encounter with Prof. Messerschmitt's famous fighter. Unfortunately it was also the least successful, as late war production quality grounded the whole group of aeroplanes more than once.
The Swiss Airforce had been flying Me 109 Ds and Es since late 1938/early 1939. It was now spring 1944 and these 109s were obsolete when compared to the latest designs of Allied, German or Italian origin. The Swiss purchasing commission tried to acquire British Spitfire Mk. IXs or Typhoon IBs but these attempts amounted to nothing.
The Germans were utterly reluctant to negotiate sales of their latest 109 G model, after Swiss pilots had 'dared' to shoot down numerous Luftwaffe aircraft intruding their neutral airspace.
How the Swiss managed in the end to coax the Germans into selling them twelve brand new 109 G-6s is a rather remarkable story.
On 28 April 1944 the pilot of a German Me 110 G-4 nightfighter of NJG 5 (C9+EN) landed in Duebendorf/ Switzerland after having been caught and tracked by anti-aircraft searchlights.
The aircraft was undamaged and equipped with the latest and highly classified
FuG 220 'Lichtenstein' SN-2 radar. The Germans feared Allied intelligence operations and demanded the immediate return of this aircraft. The Swiss refused, which brought them to the edge of a military confrontation with the 'Third Reich'.
In the end the two countries agreed on a secret deal: The Swiss Army would blow up the Me 110 under German supervision on 18 May 1944 and Messerschmitt would sell twelve brand new Me 109 G-6 to the Swiss immediately after
Anyway, enjoy the CS on Maxx2504's superb EA.
The Swiss Airforce had been flying Me 109 Ds and Es since late 1938/early 1939. It was now spring 1944 and these 109s were obsolete when compared to the latest designs of Allied, German or Italian origin. The Swiss purchasing commission tried to acquire British Spitfire Mk. IXs or Typhoon IBs but these attempts amounted to nothing.
The Germans were utterly reluctant to negotiate sales of their latest 109 G model, after Swiss pilots had 'dared' to shoot down numerous Luftwaffe aircraft intruding their neutral airspace.
How the Swiss managed in the end to coax the Germans into selling them twelve brand new 109 G-6s is a rather remarkable story.
On 28 April 1944 the pilot of a German Me 110 G-4 nightfighter of NJG 5 (C9+EN) landed in Duebendorf/ Switzerland after having been caught and tracked by anti-aircraft searchlights.
The aircraft was undamaged and equipped with the latest and highly classified
FuG 220 'Lichtenstein' SN-2 radar. The Germans feared Allied intelligence operations and demanded the immediate return of this aircraft. The Swiss refused, which brought them to the edge of a military confrontation with the 'Third Reich'.
In the end the two countries agreed on a secret deal: The Swiss Army would blow up the Me 110 under German supervision on 18 May 1944 and Messerschmitt would sell twelve brand new Me 109 G-6 to the Swiss immediately after
Anyway, enjoy the CS on Maxx2504's superb EA.
