Alpnach Air Base

Geschichte

The Air Base Alpnach is a Swiss Air Force airfield near the town Alpnach in Canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. It has a concrete runway with a length of 1500m and a width of 40m, as well as several taxiways and hangars.HistoryAs early as 1929 there was a landing strip at Alpnach. It was expanded in 1939 to 850x. In 1940 two wooden hangars were added and in September 1942, Flying Section 7 was based at Alpnach. This is considered the official start of the airfield.The first concrete runway was built in 1943 between Eichistrasse and Lake Alpnach. It had a length of 875m. Furthermore, eight type U-43 aircraft shelters and bunkers for command and ammunition were built.As part of the Swiss Reduitstrategie in 1952 aircraft caverns were built into the rock of the adjacent Mueterschwanderberg Mountain. The former Mueterschwanderberg artillery fortress was also built into the mountain, but on the Nidwalden. In 1960, the cavern facility was officially handed over to the Directorate of Military airfields. Beginning in 1958, de Havilland DH-112 Venom jets operated from Alpnach. In 1973, they changed to the Hawker Hunter and in 1979 there was a further change to the F-5 "Tiger". Because of the Army XXI reforms, flight operations from the caverns were terminated. On 20 January 1964, the Army helicopter base opened at Alpnach.