Flieger Flab Museum

Flieger Flab Museum
Entrance Restaurant

Established	1978 (1978)
Location	Dübendorf, Switzerland
Coordinates	47°23′52″N 8°37′49″E / 47.39778°N 8.63028°E / 47.39778; 8.63028
Type	Aviation museum
Website	Official website

The Flieger Flab Museum (English: Swiss Air Force Museum) is located in the Canton of Zurich in Dübendorf on the grounds of Dübendorf Air Base. In the museum, 40 airplanes and helicopters are displayed, with the collection divided into distinct eras: pioneers and World War I, the 1930s, World War II and the postwar period, the beginning of the jet age, the development of jet fighters, the Cold War, and arms reduction.

History

The collection was founded in 1972 by the Office for Military Airfields and dedicated to the history of Swiss military aviation and air defense. In 1972–1978, the collection was turned over to the state by the Swiss Federal Office for military airfields. In 1978, for the first time, the public were able to contribute to the collection, which grew steadily over the next few years. Finally, in 1979, the Friends of the Museum of the Swiss air force (VFMF) was formed, initiated by Hans Giger, the Director of the Federal Office for military airfields.

During the presidency of former Federal Councillor Rudolf Heinrich Friedrich between 1985 and 1988, the club built a new exhibition hall with the help of donations. This extension, a concrete-shell structure designed by engineer Heinz Isler, was inaugurated in 1988 by former Federal Councillor Arnold Koller. A year earlier, the federal government took over the financial responsibility for the operation of the museum. Ten years later, in 1997, the VFMF and the Association of Friends of flab (VF-flab) merged with the Friends of the Swiss Air Force AFL. In 2002, a new hall was opened.