Patrouille Suisse

history

The Patrouille Suisse is an aerobatic team of the Swiss Air Force. The team flies six Northrop F-5E Tiger II fighter/bomber jets. The Patrouille Suisse was founded on 8 August 1964 as a part of the Swiss Air Force. The name was taken from the name of the French Patrouille de France.

The Patrouille Suisse started with four British Hawker Hunter Mk.58s, beginning training for the EXPO 1964 exhibition in Lausanne and for the 1964 celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Swiss Airforce. 1965 was the first year in which they had a scheduled season. In 1970 the Patrouille Suisse acquired a fifth plane.

The performances remained confined to Switzerland due to its strict neutrality. This changed in 1978 when the team travelled to Salon-de-Provence by invitation of the French, with six aircraft. In 1991, the team changed the paint scheme to incorporate the Swiss flag colors (red and white) and the logo for the 700th anniversary of the Swiss Confederation.

In 1994 the Patrouille Suisse flew the Hawker Hunter Mk.58s for the last time before transferring to the faster and more maneuverable Northrop F-5E Tiger II. In 1996 smoke systems were installed to increase the teams visual appeal.

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External links

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