Wing span : 12.74 m / 41 ft 9 ins
Length : 12.93 m / 42 ft 5 ins
Max weight : 2634 kg / 5,807 lbs
Service ceiling : 5000 m / 16,405 ft
Max speed : 410 kmh / 255 mph
Engine : 1 x 1115hp Lycoming T53-L turbo prop
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Ekw C-3605 SCHLEPP C-552 (G-DORN)
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The design of this Swiss aircraft goes back to 1939 when the prototype two seater EKW C-3601 first flew. Fitted with twin fins, the aircraft was powered by a 1000 hp Hispano-Suiza HS-51 12Y piston engine, and was designed for multi purpose roles - including that of fighter, ground attack and light bomber. This prototype was destroyed after only a few flights, but had shown sufficient promise for further development.
The all metal design was put into production by the Federal Eidg. KonstruktionsWerkstatte (EKW) aircraft factory at Thun as the C-3603, and was one of the first home designs put into large scale production for the Air Force. The aircraft was fitted with two machine guns in the wings, plus a rearward facing one operated by hand by the second crew member/observer. Over 150 were delivered to the Swiss Air Force from 1942, being used to patrol Switzerland's neutral air space (along with Swiss Messerschmitt 109's), with six squadrons being equipped during World War Two, the C-3603's served until 1952 when they were replaced by DH Vampire jet fighters. In the late 1940's twenty were converted as target tugs, plus a further twenty in the early 1950's, remaining in this secondary role for a further fifteen years. The aircraft were now beginning to show their age, and the Swiss Air Force sought a replacement. Instead of a new type, a C-3603 was re-engined by FlugzeugWerk (F + W) at Emmen with a 1,100 hp Lycoming T53-L turbo-prop, housed in an extended nose. This necessitated the addition of a third tail fin, as well as other minor modifications. Trials with the prototype during August 1968 were satisfactory, and a further twenty three conversions were undertaken by F + W between 1969 and 1973 - the type now becoming the C-3605 Schlepp [Basic translation = Tug]. Although not as fast as the C-3603, this did not matter in its new role. The Schlepp continued to serve the Air Force as a target tug until fatigue problems began to show up in the mid 1980's, resulting in the types withdrawal from military service in the summer of 1987. Most were then sold off at auction at Lodrino in December 1987.
C-552 was one of the final C-3603 to be built by EKW (c/n 332), being delivered to the Swiss Air Force in 1944. Having a shorter active life than its earlier fellow aircraft, it was one of the second batch selected for target tug duties in 1953, then being re-engined as a C-3605 Schlepp in 1969, with its second spell of military service ending in the summer of 1987. Auctioned at Lodrino in December 1987, C-552 was flown to Magadino air base for further storage, before being sold again and placed on the Swiss civil register as HB-RBJ. Restored to military camouflage more akin to its days as a C-3603 fighter rather than a C-3605 target tug, HB-RBJ was sold to an English owner in 1997, being placed on the civil register as G-DORN in May 1998, with further restoration being undertaken at North Weald before taking part in the 1999 Air Display circuit. Flown to Bournemouth in January 2001, the Schlepp remains active, being hangared with the Museum.
The registration G-DORN refers to the German Dornier aircraft company. During the 1930's they helped the Swiss aircraft industry modernise, and their factory at Altenrhein supplied parts for EKW's C-3603 production line at Thun. Whilst displaying at air shows the pilot normally uses the callsign "Donier", but it is not a Dornier fighter.