Deelen Air Base

Last updated
Deelen Air Base
5.87788E 52.05957N Deelen airbase.png
Summary
Airport typeMilitary
Operator Royal Netherlands Air Force
Location Deelen
Elevation  AMSL 158 ft / 48 m
Coordinates 52°03′33″N005°52′38″E / 52.05917°N 5.87722°E / 52.05917; 5.87722
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
ftm
02/203,4311,046Concrete/asphalt

Deelen Air Base (Dutch: Luchtmachtbasis Deelen or Vliegbasis Deelen) is a military air base in the Netherlands in the province of Gelderland. Though once an active air base, it is now mostly used as a helicopter training site. Being one of the oldest airports in the Netherlands,[ citation needed ] many buildings on the airfield are now listed as monuments. [1]

Contents

History

Map of Deelen; the airbase is the area under the red crossmarks. Open Street Map of Deelen.png
Map of Deelen; the airbase is the area under the red crossmarks.

Deelen Air Base was founded in 1913 as a base for border patrol missions. When the Netherlands surrendered to Germany in World War II, the Luftwaffe started using the field, significantly expanding and upgrading the base. The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, Messerschmitt Bf 110 and Junkers Ju 88 were operated from the airfield, and anti-aircraft guns were installed. A railway from the nearby town of Wolfheze was constructed, initially to facilitate the transport of building materials for a Luftwaffe command bunker and later to supply the base with munitions. It was the headquarters of 1. Jagd Division from May 1942, later re-designated 3. Jagd Division.

In 1944 the airfield was extensively bombed by Allied forces in preparation for the Battle of Arnhem, and flying activity from the base was suspended by the Germans. The base was reduced to an auxiliary airfield and turned into a depot for V-1 flying bombs. After the war, up until 1950, the Dutch military used Deelen as a storage facility. In 1950, the decision was made to restore Deelen back to an operational air base, and from 1957 to 1963 was the base for the Royal Netherlands Air Force Republic RF-84F Thunderflash photo reconnaissance aircraft. Between 1964 and 1995 the field was used by various lighter aircraft, such as the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver, Piper J-3, Hiller OH-23 Raven, Aérospatiale Alouette II / Alouette III and Bölkow 105. [2] [3] In June 1995 Deelen was used for the world premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Helikopter-Streichquartett.

Aerospatiale Alouette III in special markings for the 75th Anniversary of the Royal Netherlands Air Force at Deelen in 1988 A-398 (8171760924).jpg
Aérospatiale Alouette III in special markings for the 75th Anniversary of the Royal Netherlands Air Force at Deelen in 1988
Museum Vliegbasis (air base) Deelen Deelen, Museum Vliegbasis Deelen IMG 4642 2020-04-16 11.35.jpg
Museum Vliegbasis (air base) Deelen

There was less need for the air base after the end of the Cold War and in 1995 it was closed as such. The top layer of the runway was removed making it no longer suitable for landings by heavy aircraft. Its designation was downgraded to Military Aviation Site Deelen (Dutch: Militair Luchtvaart Terrein Deelen). However, it has remained in use as a military site for helicopter training and for that reason is frequently visited by various military helicopters, such as the Boeing AH-64 Apache, Boeing CH-47 Chinook and Eurocopter AS532 Cougar. None of these helicopters are based at Deelen however and for that reason the base is only fully operational when exercises take place. The closure of Soesterberg Air Base resulted in a lot more helicopter movements at Gilze-Rijen Air Base, and in order to reduce traffic there it was decided to use Deelen more often as a training site. To facilitate this it was decided to resurface part of the runway and to create a slope for helicopters to practice sloped landings on. The increased importance of Deelen resulted in it once again receiving the designation of Air Base (Dutch: Vliegbasis).

There is also glider activity on the field and very nearby there is a second aerodrome used almost exclusively by gliders, Terlet Airfield.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Army Air Corps (United Kingdom)</span> Aviation arm of the British Army

The Army Air Corps (AAC) is the aviation arm of the British Army, first formed in 1942 during the Second World War by grouping the various airborne units of the British Army. Today, there are eight regiments of the AAC, as well as two independent flights and two independent squadrons deployed in support of British Army operations around the world. Regiments and flights are located in the United Kingdom, Kenya, and Canada. Some AAC squadrons provide the air assault elements of 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, through Joint Aviation Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Netherlands Air Force</span> Air warfare branch of the Netherlands armed forces

The Royal Netherlands Air Force is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It was created in 1953 to succeed its predecessor, the Luchtvaartafdeling of the Dutch Army, which was founded in 1913. The aerobatic display team of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, active from 1979 until 2019, was the Solo Display Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gimli Industrial Park Airport</span> Airport in Manitoba, Canada

Gimli Industrial Park Airport is a civilian airport and former military field located 2 nautical miles west of Gimli, Manitoba, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texel International Airport</span> Airport in the Netherlands

Texel International Airport is a small airport located 3.5 NM north northeast of Den Burg on the island of Texel in the north of the Netherlands. It has a customs service to handle international flights making it an international airport, though no scheduled international flights take place from the airport as the name might suggest. Because of this, it has no IATA code assigned to it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Podington</span> Former Royal Air Force station

Royal Air Force Podington, more commonly known as RAF Podington, is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station in northern Bedfordshire, England, 6 miles south-east of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soesterberg Air Base</span> Airport in Soesterberg, Netherlands

Soesterberg Air Base was a Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) military air base located in Soesterberg, 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) east-northeast of Utrecht. It was first established as an airfield in 1911, and in 1913, the Dutch Army bought the field and established the Army Aviation Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leeuwarden Air Base</span> Military airport in Friesland, Netherlands

Leeuwarden Air Base is a military airbase used by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) - Dutch: Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu),. The airbase was formerly one of the two F-16 Fighting Falcon bases of the RNLAF. The airbase lies northwest of the capital of Friesland, Leeuwarden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Keevil</span> Former Royal Air Force station in Wiltshire, England

Royal Air Force Keevil or more simply RAF Keevil is a former Royal Air Force station lying between the villages of Keevil and Steeple Ashton, about 4 miles (6.4 km) east of the town of Trowbridge, in Wiltshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilze-Rijen Air Base</span> Military airport in North Brabant, Netherlands

Gilze-Rijen Air Base is a military airbase in the south of Netherlands. It is known for having the hottest temperature ever measured in the Netherlands, with a temperature of 40.7 °C, on July 25, 2019. It is between the cities of Breda and Tilburg, which are both in North Brabant. The airport is mainly, but not exclusively used as a base for Royal Netherlands Air Force helicopters. The airfield has two runways, the longest one is complete with an instrument landing system (ILS) and is 2,779 metres (9,117 ft) long by 45 m (148 ft) wide in the 10/28 direction. The shorter runway is 1,996 m (6,549 ft) by 30 m (98 ft) in the 02/20 direction.

Woensdrecht Air Base is a military airport between the villages of Woensdrecht and Huijbergen, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of the city of Bergen op Zoom in the Netherlands. It is located near the A58 motorway and the border with Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volkel Air Base</span> Military airport in North Brabant, Netherlands

Volkel Air Base is a military airbase used by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) - Dutch: Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu), located near the village of Volkel, Netherlands. It is home to one F-16 Fighting Falcon squadron, No 312 and a F-35 squadron No 313 and a maintenance, logistical, a base Squadron for the RNLAF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lieutenant General Best Barracks</span> Airport in Venray

Lieutenant General Best Barracks, formerly De Peel Air Base, is a Royal Netherlands Army guided missile base in the Netherlands. It has only one, though not actively used, runway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terlet Airfield</span> Airport in Arnhem

Terlet Airfield is a small airfield in the Netherlands 2.5 NM north of Arnhem in Gelderland and close to Deelen Air Base. It is used mainly by gliders and motor gliders, as well as some light aircraft such as the Aviat Husky, mainly used as tugs for the gliders. It has six grass winchtracks, 04L/22R, 04C/22C, 04R/22L, 12/30, 14R/32L and 14L/32R. Motorised aircraft are allowed to operate from one strip only and only when prior permission is obtained.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valkenburg Naval Air Base</span> Airport in Katwijk/Leiden

Valkenburg Naval Air Base is a former air base located just south of Valkenburg, which is part of Katwijk and close to the city of Leiden, that was used by the Netherlands Naval Aviation Service until 2006, being their base for the Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft. The Orions were sold to the German naval air arm and the Portuguese air force, resulting in the closure of the air base.

Sint-Truiden / Brustem Airfield is an airfield located in Brustem, 1.5 nautical miles southeast of Sint-Truiden (Limburg) and approximately 37 mi (60 km) east of Brussels. Formerly known as Sint-Truiden Air Base or Brustem Air Base, the aerodrome was deactivated as a Belgian Air Component base in 1996.

Goetsenhoven Airfield is a former Belgian Air Component base, located 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Tienen, approximately 26 miles (42 km) east-southeast of Brussels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuhausen ob Eck Airfield</span> German civil aerodrome in Neuhausen ob Eck

Neuhausen ob Eck Airfield is a special airfield near the town of Neuhausen ob Eck in the district of Tuttlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany. Used as a military airbase by the German Army Aviation Corps until 1994, it was rededicated a special airfield, and is since 1997 the site of the business park take-off GewerbePark Betreibergesellschaft mbH. Since 2002, the airfield also hosts the annual Southside Music Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dübendorf Air Base</span> Military airfield in Switzerland

Dübendorf Military Airport was a military airfield of the Swiss Air Force northeast of Dübendorf in Switzerland, located east of Zürich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpnach Air Base</span> Swiss air base

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 1,500 meters (4,900 ft) and a width of 40 meters (130 ft), as well as several taxiways and hangars.

This article represents the structure of the Royal Netherlands Air Force as of May 2020:

References

  1. ↑ "Luchtmachtbasis Deelen (rijksmonument #529576)". Monumentenregister (in Dutch). Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed . Retrieved 27 Dec 2012.
  2. ↑ Museum Vliegbasis Deelen, details from website, visited August 11, 2011.
  3. ↑ Deelen Research Group, details from website, visited August 11, 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.