Leeuwarden Air Base is a military

Military base

A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...

 airbase used by the Royal Netherlands Air Force

Royal Netherlands Air Force

The Royal Netherlands Air Force , Dutch Koninklijke Luchtmacht , is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Its ancestor, the Luchtvaartafdeling of the Dutch Army was founded on 1 July 1913, with four pilots...

 (RNLAF) - Dutch: Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu), . The airbase is one of the two F-16 Fighting Falcon

F-16 Fighting Falcon

The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...

 bases of the RNLAF. The airbase lies North-West of the capital of Friesland

Friesland

Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...

, Leeuwarden.

Leeuwarden Air Base is also one of the three military airbases (together with Gilze-Rijen Air Base

Gilze-Rijen Air Base

Gilze-Rijen Air Base is a military airbase in the Netherlands located between the cities of Breda and Tilburg, in the Noord-Brabant province. It is mainly, but not exclusively used as a base for attack helicopters. The airfield has two runways, the longest, complete with instrument landing...

 and Volkel Air Base

Volkel Air Base

Volkel Air Base is a military airbase used by the Royal Netherlands Air Force - Dutch: Koninklijke Luchtmacht , and is located near the town of Uden, Noord-Brabant, in the Netherlands. It is home to three F-16 Fighting Falcon squadrons, 311, 312 and 313...

), which organises the annual public open days of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, consisting of an air show

Air show

An air show is an event at which aviators display their flying skills and the capabilities of their aircraft to spectators in aerobatics. Air shows without aerobatic displays, having only aircraft displayed parked on the ground, are called "static air shows"....

 and static exhibits.

History

The airport of Leeuwarden was built in 1938, and originally was used as an airport between Schiphol – Eelde. In the beginning the airport was used infrequently, but when the Germans invaded the country in 1940

Battle of the Netherlands

The Battle of the Netherlands was part of Case Yellow , the German invasion of the Low Countries and France during World War II. The battle lasted from 10 May 1940 until 14 May 1940 when the main Dutch forces surrendered...

, the situation changed. The Germans used the airport as a base for their fighter aircraft

Fighter aircraft

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

 (including the Messerschmitt Bf 109

Messerschmitt Bf 109

The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...

) and bomber

Bomber

A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...

s. From this airbase the Germans could reach Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, on the 16th and 17th of September 1944, the airbase was heavily bombed by the British.

After the liberation of the Netherlands, the airbase was repaired. The first years after the war the airport was used as a civil airport

Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

, and the KLM flew to Schiphol. In 1949, Leeuwarden became a military airbase.

Current role

Nowadays, there are two F-16 Squadrons based in military airbase Leeuwarden: the "swing-role" No. 322 Squadron RNLAF with its mascot Polly Grey, and its motto

Motto

A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...

: "Niet praten, maar doen!"; and the Tactical Training Evaluation and Standardisation (TACTES) No. 323 Squadron RNLAF. It is also the home base of the No. 303 (Search and Rescue) Squadron RNLAF, where three Agusta

Agusta

Agusta is an Italian helicopter manufacturer. It is based in Samarate, Northern Italy. It is a subsidiary of Finmeccanica. The company was founded by Count Giovanni Agusta in 1923, who flew his first airplane in 1907...

 AB-412SP

Bell 412

The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212 model, the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor.-Design and development:...

 are based, which is part of the newly formed Defence Helicopter Command (DHC).

The airport is the location of the annual NATO exercise "Frisian Flag", and the Fighter Weapons Instructor Training (FWIT). In 2006 and 2008 the airport was open to the public.

Units

• 303 Squadron Augusta Bell-412SP
• 322 Squadron F-16
• 323 Squadron F-16 (TACTES)
• 920th Maintenance Squadron
• 921st Logistics Squadron
• 922nd Support Squadron
• 931st Squadron

External links

• Vliegbasis Leeuwarden - official website (Dutch
  Dutch language
  Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
  
  )