Telegram No. 809 from the Swiss Government to the Swiss Legation in London
Telegram No. 809 from the Swiss Government to the Swiss Legation in London (E. 6563), concerning the violation of Swiss airspace on 15th August 1943 (with additional references to the 12/13 July 1943 incident) when Royal Air Force bombers en route to Turin make an outward passage over Lake Annecy a returned 60 Km south of it. Complaint to be made, in person to Richard Law – Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign Office in London about repeated violations of Swiss neutrality. Vehemently asks that existing measures be strengthened and imposed robustly, stating that Law has promised investigation into events of the night of 12/13 July 1943 but declines to make any further commitment. Notes how the response note claimed that bad weather, cloud and storms upset the equipment, which in turn affected the compasses and it seems probable that the two aircraft which fell over Switzerland had lost their bearings and were in trouble. The relevant authorities have no proof that other planes passed over Switzerland but it is possible, in the circumstances, that there were navigation errors. In addition, our blackout would perhaps have led to some unintended violation of our neutrality by other means. It would, therefore, appear probable that the various bombs which fell that night over our territory come from the remains of British aircraft and that the British Government, since it regrets the incidents and the damage caused, is prepared to pay indemnity for all damages of that night where it can be proved that British planes were at fault.
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1943-08-15
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One telegram
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MWrightJ[Ser -DoB]-150527-080001
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Telegram No. 869 from the Swiss Government to the Swiss Legation in London
Telegram No. 869 from the Swiss Government to the Swiss Legation in London (A. 3465), concerning the violation of Swiss airspace on 12/13 August 1943, between 11.30pm – 12.00pm by over 50 British aircraft en route to Milan. Regions affected were Chancy, Brassus, Prangins, Valais between Dents du Midi, Tour Salliere, Monte Leone, Mont Rose. A second wave was seen over Tessin, Bosco, Maggia and Mont Bre, return flight path was in line from Lausanne, Vallorbe, Geneva. Weather clear and visibility good. Complaint to be sent to the British Government, stressing that the Royal Air Force seems to conveniently forget the promises reiterated by the British Government and insist again that any similar violations of our air space be avoided.
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1943-08-15
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One telegram
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MWrightJ[Ser -DoB]-150527-080002
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Telegram No. 787 from the Swiss Government to the Swiss Legation in London
Telegram No. 787 from the Swiss Government to the Swiss Legation in London (A. 3080), concerning the violation of Swiss airspace on 13/14 July 1943, between 12.04am – 01.00am. Over 100 British aircraft flew over southern Switzerland, covering the area between Porrentruy, Le Brassus, Lake Leman and Chiasso. One aircraft came down at Le Bouveret, one near Sion. Bombs and incendiaries were dropped, and damage caused at Hauts-Geneveys, Gubelfeld, Flamatt, and Praratoud. Includes instructions for strongly worded protest and requirement for reparation for damages caused to be sent to the British Government.
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1943-07-13
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
One telegram
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MWrightJ[Ser#-DoB]-150527-08
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