1913 - 2013 : 100 Years Dutch Military Aviation

The Dutch military aviation was created in 1913 as a branch of the Dutch army and was named the Army Aviation Group(Luchtvaartafdeeling). The Army Aviation Group did not participate in World War I because the Netherlands maintained a neutral position during the conflict. In World War II, despite achieving several victories against the Luftwaffe, the Army Aviation Group was easily defeated by the German aviation; however multiple Dutch units continued to operate from England, the Netherlands East Indies and from Australia until the end of the war. In 1953 the Royal Netherlands Air Force became an independent branch of the Dutch military forces.

Volkel Air Base

The Volkel Air Base is one of the 3 main operational military airfields of the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF). It was created by the German occupation forces during WWII and later occupied and improved by the RNLAF. During German occupation the Messerschmitt Me 262 and the Arado Ar 234 were operated at Volkel. V-1 flying bombs were also fired from Volkel.

The base was used to operate the first jet aircraft to be used in the Netherlands, the Gloster Meteor and later the F-84 Thunderjet and Thunderstreak. These were eventually replaced by the F-104 Starfighter (the first supersonic fighter operated by the RNLAF). The Starfighter was replaced during the period of 1982 - 1984 by the current F-16 fighters.

The Airshow

The Dutch F-16 and Apache Solo display teams took centre stage at the Airshow with multiple presentations highly cheered by the audience. The organization managed to compose an impressive line-up of old-time aircraft that were operated by the Dutch military throughout its 100 year history, including Spitfire, PBY Catalina, Gloster Meteor, B-25 Mitchell, P-51D and others. A plastic mock-up of the F-35 Lightning II with open cockpit gave the public a first contact with the future of the Dutch aviation.

The German Air Force presented a colourful F-4 Phantom to mark the end of the aircraft operations with the Luftwaffe after 40 years.

Other interesting aircraft to be seen included a pair of Su-22s from Poland, Mil Mi-35s from Czech Republic and the Italian, English and Swiss demonstration teams - Frecce Tricolori, Red Arrows and Patrouille Suisse.

100 Years Dutch Military Aviation

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Volkel Air Base

The Netherlands - June 2013