Waalhaven Airport in 1932, with the Graf Zeppelin in the background. The Waalhaven is a

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

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 one of the excavated harbors on the south bank of the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

river in Rotterdam. With an area of 3.1 square kilometers, it is one of the larger dug harbor basins in the world. The harbour area includes an industrial zone focusing on maritime, industrial and logistics industries. The port additionally offers offshore power and energy solutions for vessels, as well as a dedicated data center.

Waalhaven Airport

The Waalhaven district used to be home to an airport, Vliegveld Waalhaven (Waalhaven Airport). It was the second civilian airport in the Netherlands and was opened in 1920. Part of it was also in use by the Dutch military's 3rd JaVA

Fokker G.I The Fokker G.I was a Dutch twin-engined heavy fighter aircraft comparable in size and role to the German Messerschmitt Bf 110. Although in production prior to World War II, its combat introduction came at a time the Netherlands were overrun by th ...

squadron in 1940. Amongst others, the N.V. Koolhoven aircraft factory was located at this airport. The factory and airport were destroyed in 1940 by the Dutch army so they could not get into the hands of the Germans. After the Second World War, the city was in prospect of finding an airport, but the existing airfield at Waalhaven was written off the list because the damage that was caused to prevent the airfield's capture was so great it was considered not worth repairing. Aviation has now moved to Zestienhoven Airport.

References

{{authority control Defunct airports in the Netherlands Airports in South Holland Buildings and structures in Rotterdam History of Rotterdam Port of Rotterdam Transport in Rotterdam