Valkenburg Naval Air Base (

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

: Vliegkamp Valkenburg) is a former

air base 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 ...

located just south of Valkenburg, which is part of

Katwijk Katwijk () is a coastal municipality and town in the province of South Holland, which is situated in the mid-western part of the Netherlands. The Oude Rijn (Utrecht and South Holland), Oude Rijn ("Old Rhine") river flows through the town and i ...

and close to the city of

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

, that was used by the

Netherlands Naval Aviation Service The Netherlands Naval Aviation Service (, shortened to MLD) is the naval aviation branch of the Royal Netherlands Navy. History World War I Although the MLD was formed in 1914, with the building of a seaplane base at De Mok, Texel, it deve ...

until 2006, being their base for the

Lockheed P-3 Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop Anti-submarine warfare, anti-submarine and maritime patrol aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. It is based on the Lockheed ...

aircraft. The Orions were sold to the German naval air arm and the

Portuguese air force The Portuguese Air Force () is the air force, aerial warfare force of Portugal. Locally it is referred to by the acronym FAP but internationally is often referred to by the acronym PRTAF. It is the youngest of the three branches of the Portuguese ...

, resulting in the closure of the air base. Though officially closed as an airport, it still sees limited use for special events and by gliders and occasionally small piston aircraft, most from the local flying club ''Aeroclub Valkenburg''. Current plans are to use the area for housing development, but part of the former air base may remain in use for glider flying.

History

Construction of the air base was commenced in 1939, but not completed before the start of 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 ...

. Fights around the airfield during the

Battle of the Netherlands The German invasion of the Netherlands (), otherwise known as the Battle of the Netherlands (), was a military campaign, part of Battle of France, Case Yellow (), the Nazi German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Neth ...

resulted in significant losses on both sides. After

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

occupied the Netherlands, the German military completed construction of the air base for their own use, naming it ''Fliegerhorst Katwijk''. It was used by 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 ...

until 1943, when it was converted into a decoy airfield.Abandoned, Forgotten & Little-Known Airfields in Europe (2012
Valkenburg
article retrieved 22 March 2014. On 25 October 1941, it was the airfield from which

Franz Von Werra Franz Xaver Freiherr von Werra (13 July 1914 – 25 October 1941) was a German World War II fighter pilot and flying ace who was shot down over Britain and captured. He was the only Axis prisoner of war to escape from Canadian custody and re ...

(famed as "the one who got away," the only captured Luftwaffe fighter pilot to escape from imprisonment in Canada and to return to flying with the Luftwaffe) departed on his last flight, from which he did not return. On 1 May 1945, the airfield was the drop zone for humanitarian food drops from American

B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

bombers, made with the permission of the occupying German forces, in Operation

Chowhound Chowhound (or chowhound.com) is an American based food website launched in 1997. It changed ownership in 2006 and 2020, with its third owner suspending the website in March 2022. In October 2023, Static Media purchased the operation, reactivatin ...

. After the war it briefly served as a home for 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 ...

air transport wing, but in 1947 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 ...

received control of the air base. After

Ypenburg Airport Ypenburg Airport (Dutch: Vliegveld Ypenburg), which later became Ypenburg Air Base was an airport in the Netherlands in Leidschenveen-Ypenburg near the city of The Hague. The ICAO code was EHYB. History The airfield was established in 1936, initi ...

was closed in 1992, many VIP flights for the government and the

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

moved to Valkenburg. The base closed in 2006 after the sale of the Navy's

aircraft. The former air base still sees limited general aviation, mostly by the local ''Aeroclub Valkenburg''. The area is expected to be redeveloped for housing however, with flying activities most likely being suspended in 2016. One of the hangars of the base has been converted into a theatre, and is currently being used for the musical Soldier of Orange. In March 2014 Valkenburg was used as the home base for both police and military helicopters providing security during the

2014 Nuclear Security Summit The 2014 Nuclear Security Summit was a Summit (meeting), summit held in The Hague, the Netherlands, on March 24 and 25, 2014. It was the third edition of the conference, succeeding the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit. The 2014 summit was attended by ...

. The military stationed

Eurocopter Cougar The Eurocopter AS532 Cougar (now Airbus Helicopters H215M) is a twin-engine, medium-weight, multipurpose helicopter developed by Eurocopter. The AS532 is a development and upgrade of the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma in its militarized form. Its ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

helicopters at the former Naval Air Base for this purpose. For additional anti-aircraft protection, the

NASAMS NASAMS (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, also known as Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) is a short- to medium-range ground-based air defense system developed by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) and RTX Corpor ...

system was also deployed. To support the operation, temporary fuel and ammunition storage was created and a temporary air traffic control tower was established. In January 2018 engineer Henk Hesselink announced that he plans to use the air base to launch drones using a circular runway.

References

External links

Luchtsport Valkenburg
{{authority control Airfields of the Royal Netherlands Navy Defunct airports in the Netherlands Airports in South Holland Katwijk