Saab AR 35 Draken AR-112 - Flyvestation Karup

Air Base Karup is the main air base of the

Royal Danish Air Force The Royal Danish Air Force () (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of the Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Armed Forces. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was made a separate service in 1950. I ...

. It is situated 3 km west of

Karup Karup is a town in Viborg Municipality, Denmark. Sport The Uhrebanen is a motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over ...

in mid-

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

. The air base covers 3000 hectares of land of which only a third is inside the operational area marked by a 17 km long fence, Midtjyllands Airport share its runway's .

History

The air base was constructed by the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

during the German Occupation in 1940 under the name "Einsatzhafen Grove" (later ''Flieger-Horst Grove'') to facilitate offensive operations against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Later in the war, it became a base for defensive fighter planes. Following the British advance into Denmark in May 1945, during which the airfield was surrendered to Captain Eric Brown RN of the

Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...

(RAE), a group of nine Arado Ar 234B reconnaissance bombers were found at the base and subsequently transferred by Brown and his colleagues to Farnborough. By December 1945 the air base was taken over by the Danish Civil Air Defence, which used it as a refugee camp for 22,000 German refugees. Control over the area was transferred to the

Royal Danish Army The Royal Danish Army (; ; ) is the land-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures, equipment and training methods ...

in January 1946, continuing the use as refugee camp until 1949. In 1947 the Danish Army Air Corps established a flying school, maintenance centre and logistics office at Karup, preparing for

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneere ...

Airspeed Oxford The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford is a twin-engine monoplane aircraft developed and manufactured by Airspeed Ltd, Airspeed. It saw widespread use for training Commonwealth of Nations, British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombin ...

and

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

military aircraft. When the

(RDAF) was established in 1950, the area was named Air Base Karup. During the post-war years, Karup Air Base became a central part of Denmark's

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

defence plan and played a major role in the establishment of the RDAF. In 1955 the Tactical Air Command was placed at Karup. Several American produced planes were stationed at the base in the 1950s and 1960s, among them the

Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

Republic F-84 Thunderjet The Republic F-84 Thunderjet is an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thunde ...

, RF-84F and

F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. The first of the Century Series of American jet fighters, it was the first United ...

. In 1970 the RDAF purchased two squadrons of Swedish

Saab 35 Draken The Saab 35 Draken (; ''The Kite'', ambiguous with ''The Dragon'') is a Swedish interceptor aircraft, fighter-interceptor developed and manufactured by Saab AB, Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Saab AB, SAAB) between 1955 and 1974. Development of ...

strike fighters and stationed them at Karup. During the 1980s and 1990s several smaller units in the Royal Danish Air Force moved from Værløse Air Base near

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and Vandel Air Base in southern Jutland to Karup Air Base. In 1993 the Army Operational Command was placed at the air base.

Wings and units

The air base is home to the following units under the Royal Danish Air Force: * Helicopter Wing Karup * RDAF Flying School *

RDAF Air Control Wing The Royal Danish Air Force () (RDAF) is the Air force, aerial warfare force of Denmark, the Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Armed Forces. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was made a separate s ...

* RDAF Specialist School * RDAF Training Centre * Expeditionary Air Staff * Operation Support Wing Further, the operational commands of the Royal Danish Army and the RDAF is situated at the base.

Civilian companies

The arms and technology company Danish Aerotech has its facilities in the air base area. It produces and maintains aeroplanes and missiles.

References

{{Coord, 56.2795, N, 9.1203, E, source:wikidata, display=title Military installations of Denmark Royal Danish Air Force Military installations established in 1950