Heije Schaper (8 September 1906 – 26 May 1996) was a Dutch naval and air force officer and

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

of the

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 ...

. A highly decorated

World War II 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 ...

officer, Schaper was awarded the

Military Order of William The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William (Dutch language, Dutch: , abbreviation: MWO), is the oldest and highest Dutch honours system, honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is named after St. William of Gellone ...

, the highest honour of the Netherlands on 15 November 1940. Schaper served in the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

and later the

. He was the Commander of the Royal Netherlands Air Force from 1 May 1956 until 1 September 1961 and the Chairman of the United Defence Staff of the Armed Forces of the Netherlands (highest-ranking military officer) from 1 November 1957 until 10 May 1959. He retired from active service in 1961 and served as State Secretary for Defence, tasked with Air Force affairs from 22 June 1966 until 5 April 1967.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
H. (Heije) Schaper
Parlement & Politiek 1906 births 1996 deaths Aide-de-camp to the monarch of the Netherlands Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Commanders of the Royal Netherlands Air Force Dutch aviators Dutch prisoners of war in World War II Engelandvaarders Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Independent politicians in the Netherlands Knights Fourth Class of the Military Order of William Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Netherlands Air Force generals Royal Netherlands Air Force officers Royal Netherlands Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Netherlands Air Force pilots Royal Netherlands Navy admirals Royal Netherlands Naval College alumni Royal Netherlands Navy officers Royal Netherlands Navy personnel of World War II Royal Netherlands Navy pilots Shot-down aviators Stalag Luft III prisoners of World War II State secretaries for defence of the Netherlands Royal Netherlands Navy submariners People from Skarsterlân Military personnel from The Hague World War II prisoners of war held by Germany 20th-century Dutch military personnel 20th-century Dutch politicians {{Netherlands-politician-stub