Koninklijke Luchtmacht - History - Cold War
V-J Day, 15 August 1945, marked the end of World War II but not the end of military operations for the Netherlands-Indies army and air force. From the point of view of an air force man, it was an interesting period, characterized by a fast buildup under difficult circumstances and close cooperation with the air force in the Netherlands. The immense territory was divided into three regional commands, and air force headquarters was set up in Batavia (now Bjakarta). New aircraft, which had been ordered before the end of the war, arrived; and two additional fighter squadrons were formed, equipped with the North American P-51. Personnel and equipment arrived from the Netherlands, and ex-POWs also reinforced the army and the air force. By early 1947, there were fifteen air bases in use, occupied by two bomber squadrons, one photorecce flight, two transport squadrons, three fighter squadrons, and seven light aircraft recce/communication flights, plus a flying school and a maintenance base.
On 21 July 1947, this refurbished air force was put to a test when organized fighting started between Dutch and Indonesian forces. Similar to what the Israelis did to the Egyptian air force during the Six-Day War, the Dutch, in a sweeping attack, destroyed all Indonesian (ex-Japanese) aircraft but one, which was destroyed later. Thus, all air force resources became available for the support of ground forces. This pattern was repeated during the second policing action, which commenced on 19 December 1948 and lasted until 9 January 1949. Totals during this second action were 2403 sorties and about 4100 flying hours for the loss of four fighters and five light aircraft and their crews.
The military victory was overshadowed by political events, however. A "Round Table Conference" resulted in the acquisition of complete independence by the young Republic of Indonesia. Among the terms of the agreement was one that meant the end for the Netherlands-Indies air force: all installations, aircraft, and other equipment were to be transferred to Indonesia. On 26 July 1950, the last of a series of transfers took place, and thirty-six years of military air force history came to an end.
In the Netherlands, the postwar air force had to start with fewer assets than their colleagues in the Indies. The Dutch government in exile in London possessed a directorate for the air force, which was transferred to The Hague soon after the liberation of the Netherlands in May 1945. In 1947, this directorate was reorganized into an Army Air Force Command for the Netherlands, and plans were made to move toward establishment of one independent Netherlands air force with an air staff in The Hague and two separate operational commands––one in Holland and another in the Indies. The air staff started its work, but events in the Indies made it necessary to change these plans drastically.
Operational units during these postwar years consisted of the 322d Dutch Spitfire Squadron, deactivated by Great Britain's Royal Air Force but now reactivated as a national squadron; No. 6 Auster Squadron (light aircraft); and a transport squadron, the TRANSVA, later numbered as the 334th Squadron. In 1948, international developments led first to the Brussels Treaty and, one year later, to the founding of NATO. The Netherlands accepted a Medium Term Defence Plan, whereby Belgian and Dutch air spaces were combined to one air defense area to be defended by No. 69 Group. The Royal Air Force was to take care of German airspace with two groups. This plan marked the beginning of international cooperation in the air defense field in what later would become the 2d Allied Tactical Air Force. It also was determined that tactical fighter bomber squadrons to support offensive and defensive ground operations needed to be established. But what about the costs of realizing these ambitious plans?
Since 1945, the 322d Spitfire Squadron, the light aircraft squadron, more than 1000 volunteers, and four companies of airfield defense troops had been sent to the Netherlands-Indies to reinforce the forces there. Accordingly, the Dutch had to start practically from scratch in a country that had suffered tremendously during the last year of the war and where every penny was to be used for reconstruction purposes. Fortunately, the government decided to buy Great Britain's Gloster Meteor, which was already in use with the RAF. More important was that the Dutch Fokker factories were licensed to build the Gloster Meteor, with Belgium's Fabrique Nationale as producer of licensed Rolls- Royce Derwent engines. As a result, the first Meteor squadron was founded in 1948, to be followed, in 1949 and 1950, by four additional squadrons.
In the meantime, the U.S. government had agreed to the Mutual Defense Aid Program (MDAP). It was under the terms of this program that the tactical squadrons were to be equipped. In 1951, the first F-84E Republic Thunder jets arrived; and by 1953, with the support of U.S. MDAP teams, four tactical squadrons had obtained operational status. The buildup was accompanied by organizational changes. Army Air Command Netherlands was split up, forming an Air Defense Command, a Tactical Air Command, a Logistics Command, a Training Command, and an Air Field Defense Command. Two more air defense squadrons were added to the Dutch strength, as well as one more tactical fighter-bomber squadron and a photorecce squadron. In 1956, three night fighter squadrons, equipped with F-86K Sabre jets, completed the buildup.
This fast extension of the Dutch air forces in so short a period put a severe strain on personnel resources and would have been impossible but for the return to the Netherlands of the majority of the Netherlands-Indies Air Force personnel in 1950. Thus, in a different way than originally planned, both air forces were merged, eventually becoming an independent air force in 1953 by Royal Command.
The history of the Royal Netherlands Air Force during the last thirty-or-so years since 1953 is very much a history of NATO, of changes in strategy (from massive retaliation to flexible response), of modernization of aircraft and other equipment, but also of increasing costs and of diminishing Dutch readiness to make sacrifices for the defense of the West. As a result, the Dutch air force today is smaller than it was thirty years ago. Some of the highlights during this period were:
- On 16 November 1954, a detachment of the USAF 512th Fighter Day Squadron arrived at Soesterberg Air Base "to augment the Royal Netherlands Air Force Defense Forces under NATO." The U.S. Air Force is still operating from Soesterberg, but the unit has since been redesignated the 32d Tactical Fighter Squadron, while the original F-86 Sabres have been replaced by F-15 Eagles. It is the only U.S. Air Force unit that bears the crest of the RNethAF with the Crown and Wreath of the Royal House of Orange.
- In 1957, a first group of Dutch air force technicians went to the United States to be trained in guided missiles operations; and, since 1960, European air defense has been reinforced by Dutch Nike and Hawk antiaircraft missile batteries that are stationed in Germany. These batteries are part of the Dutch air force organization but are under NATO operational command.
- In 1956, the first generation of jet aircraft––the Meteors and the Thunderjets––had to make place for new aircraft, namely, the British Hawker Hunter and the F-84F Thunderstreak, which, in turn, were replaced by the F-104G Starfighter during the early 1960s. In 1971, a modified F-5 Northrop fighter, known as the NF-5, was introduced. All these aircraft have been removed from active service now and have been replaced by the General Dynamics F-16 (except the NF-5, which will be replaced at a later date). The F-16 represents a completely new generation of versatile fighter aircraft, and it is very adroitly called "the air force's whirlwind."
- In 1960, the famous C-47 Dakotas of the 334th Transport Squadron were replaced by Fokker F-27 aircraft, the only original Dutch aircraft still in use with the RNethAF. In the early 1970s, all light aircraft were replaced by helicopters––French Alouettes and German Bölkows.
By the early 1980s, new strategic and tactical concepts, as well as the need to reduce personnel costs to a minimum, have resulted in a Streamlining of the RNethAF organization. Under the general direction of the Air Staff in The Hague, the former five operational commands were been reduced to two: a Tactical Air Forces Command, comprising both the air defense and the tactical fighter components and working in close cooperation with NATO's 2 ATAF Headquarters, and a combined Logistics and Training Command, comprising nearly all other air force units. Only a few specialized units come directly under the Chief of the Air Staff, who is at the same time Commander-in-Chief of all RNethAF forces.
