Vampire DH-100 Mk.6 Swiss Air Force J-1048 "Operation Snowball"

With the procurement of the De Havilland D.H. 100 Vampire, the Air Force entered the jet age and Switzerland caught up with the international standard. Testing of this aircraft type began in 1946 with the Type Mk.I. Delivery to the troops began in 1949 with the Type Mk.VI in a production run of 75 units with the registration numbers J-1005 to J-1079 and lasted a good 2 years. A further 100 units, numbered J-1101 to J-1200, were produced under license from De Havilland in Emmen from 1951.

The delivery of the aircraft from the first tranche took the form of a flyover from Hatfield (UK), the headquarters of the De Havilland Aircraft Company, to Emmen.

The chief pilot at the aircraft factory at the time was John Cunningham. He was an absolute ace among the Royal Air Force fighter pilots during the Second World War. He was by far the top British pilot in terms of enemy aircraft shot down. A man of heroic courage and ingenuity.

The latter also served him in his mission to transfer the Vampire with the registration J-1048 to Switzerland in February 1950. Inspired by the prospect of spending a few days in Switzerland, more precisely in St. Moritz, he made the plan to take his skis with him on the trip. But how do you get a pair of skis into the cockpit of a fighter jet? Not at all. In typical English style, he tied the skis to one of the two tail booms and had the words "Operation Snowball" attached to the turbine cowling. The result was one of the most bizarre stories in the more than 100-year history of the Swiss Air Force.

The J-1048 remained in service for almost 2 decades and was not liquidated until 1969.