Gilze-Rijen Air Base (, ) is a

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

airbase An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

in the south of

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. It is known for having the hottest temperature ever measured in the

, with a temperature of 40.7 °C, on July 25, 2019. It is between the cities of

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

and

Tilburg Tilburg () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. With a population of 22 ...

, which are both in

North Brabant North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...

. The airport is mainly, but not exclusively, used as a base for

Royal Netherlands Air Force The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF; , "Royal 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 ...

helicopters. The airfield has two runways, the longest one is complete with an instrument landing system (ILS) and is long by wide in the 10/28 direction. The shorter runway (without ILS) is by in the 02/20 direction.

History

Gilze-Rijen Air Base is the oldest airfield in the Netherlands, the first aircraft to have landed there being a Blériot in 1910. The first

military aircraft A military aircraft is any Fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing or rotorcraft, rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary military of any type. Some military aircraft engage directly in aerial warfare, while others take on su ...

activity dates back to 1913, when a

Farman Farman Aviation Works () was a French aircraft company founded and run by the brothers Richard, Henri, and Maurice Farman. They designed and constructed aircraft and engines from 1908 until 1936; during the French nationalization and rational ...

aircraft used the field for military exercises which established it as a military airfield. In 1940, the airfield came under heavy attack from the German

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 ...

, who later took control of the base and expanded it for their own use. While in German hands during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the field came under frequent attack from allied forces until the liberation of the south of the Netherlands, after which the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

took control of the airfield. In 1946, the

(RNLAF) resumed operations from the airfield, using it as a training base for pilots and

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

lers. In 1962, training activity was suspended, and Gilze-Rijen was reduced to a reserve base for

bomber aircraft A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strategic bombing is d ...

. Training activity was resumed in 1967, mainly using

Fokker S-11 The Fokker S-11 Instructor is a single-engine two-seater propeller aircraft designed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It first flew in December 1947 and went on production, serving in several Air Forces in the late 20t ...

s and Piper Cubs. For paratrooper training and group droppings the

Fokker F27 Friendship The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Europe ...

was in use. In 1971, the training activity was suspended again when a fighter squadron was moved to the airfield, which also included a significant upgrade of airport facilities. Initially the Northrop NF-5A/B, and later its replacement, the General Dynamics F-16A/B Fighting Falcon, were operated from the base up until 1995. It has 30 Hardened Aircraft Shelters (HAS). In 1995, as a part of a large-scale reorganisation within the Royal Netherlands Air Force, the fighter aircraft were moved from Gilze-Rijen, and the base became the home of Bölkow Bo-105 helicopters instead. In 1998,

AH-64 Apache The Hughes/McDonnell Douglas/Boeing AH-64 Apache ( ) is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. Nose-mounted sensors help acquire targets and provide night vis ...

attack helicopters followed, while the Bo-105 helicopters were slowly being phased out. In 2009, helicopter operations from

Soesterberg Air Base Soesterberg Air Base was a Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) military base, military military airbase, air base located in Soesterberg, boxing the compass, east-northeast of Utrecht (city), Utrecht. It was first established as an airfield in ...

were moved to Gilze-Rijen Air Base, which resulted in

CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a Military transport helicopter, heav ...

and AS 532U2 Cougar Mk 2 helicopters being based at the airfield as well as the

Alouette III Alouette or alouettes may refer to: Music and literature * "Alouette" (song), a French-language children's song * Alouette, a character in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar'' Aerospace * SNCASE Alouette, a utility helicopter developed in France i ...

for VIP transport, making Gilze-Rijen the main operating base for military helicopters in the Netherlands.

Stichting Koninklijke Luchtmacht Historische Vlucht

The ''Stichting Koninklijke Luchtmacht Historische Vlucht'' (Royal Air Force Historic Flight Foundation) is also located at Gilze-Rijen air base, owning and operating a collection of mainly historic military aircraft. The current fleet consists of the following aircraft: * Auster Mk.III * Beech T-7 Navigator * Cessna 172P Skyhawk (for training purposes) * de Havilland 82A Tiger Moth *

de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined high-wing Propeller (aircraft), propeller-driven STOL, short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft developed and manufactured by de Havilland Canada. It has been primarily operated as a b ...

(4x) * Noorduyn Harvard IIb (6x) *

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allies of World War ...

Piper Cub The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is P ...

(6x) * Ryan ST-M *

Stinson L-5 Sentinel The Stinson L-5 Sentinel is a World War II-era liaison aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), U.S. Army Ground Forces, U.S. Marine Corps and the British Royal Air Force. It was produced by the Stinson Division of the Vulte ...

* Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX

Based units

Units based at Gilze-Rijen Air Base.

Royal Netherlands Air Force

Defence Helicopter Command *No. 298 Squadron – CH-47D/F Chinook *No. 299 Squadron – Helicopter training and standards *No. 300 Squadron – AS532U2 Cougar Mk 2 *No. 301 Squadron –

AH-64D Apache The Hughes/McDonnell Douglas/Boeing AH-64 Apache ( ) is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. Nose-mounted sensors help acquire targets and provide night vis ...

*No. 930 Squadron – Maintenance and Logistics *No. 931 Squadron – Base operations and Force Protection Centre for Man in Aviation * SERE School – Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape training facility * OGZ – Operational Healthcare

References

External links