Volkel Air Base

Description

Volkel Air Base is located near the village of Volkel. It is one of several military airfields in the Netherlands, and one of the three major operational bases of the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF), the other two being Leeuwarden Air Base and Gilze-Rijen Air Base. Together with these, it hosts the public viewing days of the RNLAF, held annually at one of these three airfields, having both an airshow and static display of various military and civilian aircraft.

The airport has two parallel runways, both in the 06/24 direction, and both being just over 3020 m long. 06L/24R is 45 m wide, and is capable of handling larger aircraft. It is also equipped with an instrument landing system (ILS). 06R/24L is narrower at only 23 m wide.

Besides military use, a trauma helicopter operated by ANWB Medical Air Assistance on behalf of the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre is based here. The Dienst Luchtvaart Politie also makes use of Volkel Air Base.

History

After the occupation of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany in 1940, the Luftwaffe constructed a diversion airfield for night-fighter aircraft called Nachtlandeplatz Volkel. In 1943, the airfield was expanded into an operational Luftwaffe base, and renamed Fliegerhorst Volkel. It was home to III./NJG 2 operating Junkers Ju 88 night fighters, and II & III./JG 3 operating the Messerschmitt Bf 109G. The last German aircraft based at Volkel were jet-engined Me 262 fighters and Ar 234 reconnaissance bombers. To defend the airfield against aerial attacks, the Germans installed flak guns, but it was still bombed extensively. Attacks in 1944 in support of Operation Market Garden caused such extensive damage to the airfield that it could no longer be used by the Luftwaffe.

When the south of the Netherlands was liberated later that year, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) took control of the airfield. Though the Germans had destroyed most of the remaining airport facilities, the RAF continued to use the airport for the remainder of the war, operating Hawker Typhoon and Hawker Tempest aircraft from Volkel in support of the allied advance into Germany. French ace Pierre Clostermann, at the time a flight commander in No. 122 Wing RAF, provides a detailed description of operations from Volkel in early 1945 in his book The Big Show.

The Dutch Naval Aviation Service started flying from Volkel in 1949 for training purposes. In 1950, the Royal Netherlands Air Force took control of the airfield, restoring it to an operational fighter airfield. Gloster Meteor aircraft were the first jet aircraft to be based at Volkel for the RNLAF. Later came the Lockheed T-33, Republic F-84 Thunderjet and Thunderstreak, which were eventually replaced by the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, the first supersonic aircraft of the RNLAF. In the 1970s, airport facilities were improved, and 32 protective Hardened Aircraft Shelters (HAS) were constructed for the aircraft. Between 1982 and 1984, the Starfighters were slowly replaced by the F-16 Fighting Falcons that are situated at Volkel, which were manufactured under licence by Fokker. The current F-16 aircraft are replaced by the F-35 Lightning II.

In September 2012, a third squadron No 311 Sqn, was officially disbanded.

Nuclear weapons

As of 2023, Volkel is one of six active air bases in five European countries with B61 nuclear bombs in underground WS3 Weapon Storage and Security System inside aircraft shelters; Ramstein Air Base has a vault but no nuclear weapons present and RAF Lakenheath's bunkers were being modernized.

It is believed that since the early 1960s, USAF nuclear weapons have been stored at Volkel Air Base, to be used by the host nation's aircraft. Formerly, storage took place in a weapon storage area on the north side of the base, and in a heavily defended quick reaction alert (QRA) area; however, since 1991, eleven Weapons Storage and Security Systems (WS3) vaults have been operational in the floors of the aircraft shelters. The USAF 703rd Munitions Support Squadron (703rd MUNSS) has been in charge of maintaining and securing the weapons. As of 2005, the Dutch Ministry of Defence had not officially acknowledged or denied the presence of nuclear weapons at Volkel.

As of 2008, 22 B61 nuclear bombs were stored at Volkel, to be used by the Dutch 311 and 312 F-16 squadrons at the base. The F-16s based at Volkel can at times be seen with BDU-38 dummy bombs, which are used to simulate the B61. In a book published by former air force pilot Steve Netto it is revealed that some fifty B28 nuclear bombs were in storage there around the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which if needed were to be deployed by aircraft of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. In a document leaked as a part of the 2010 United States diplomatic cables leak the presence of nuclear weapons in the Netherlands was confirmed, though no specific location was given. On 10 June 2013, former Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers confirmed the existence of 22 nuclear weapons at the airfield. In a 2019 NATO draft report, Volkel was mentioned as one of six locations where, altogether, approximately 150 American B61 bombs are stored.

According to a May 2021 article from Bellingcat, many sensitive security details about the nuclear arsenal at Volkel, such as which vaults had nuclear weapons in them, were inadvertently exposed when journalists discovered that the soldiers tasked with overseeing these weapons had been using publicly available flashcard websites to assist them in learning these details.

In 2021, training with the new U.S. B61-12 bomb carried by the F-16 fighter began, per a video from Sandia National Laboratories. In December 2023, fourteen F-16s could be seen performing an elephant walk before take off.

Based units

Units based at Volkel.

Royal Netherlands Air Force

• No. 312 Strike Squadron – F-35 Lightning II
• No. 313 Tiger Squadron – F-35 Lightning II
• No. 640 Squadron – Base operations
• No. 900 Squadron – Maintenance
• No. 901 Squadron – Logistics
• Tactical Air Reconnaissance Center (TARC)

United States Air Force

US Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA)

• Third Air Force
  • 52nd Fighter Wing
    • 52nd Munitions Maintenance Group
      • 703rd Munition Support Squadron

References

References

1. (2018-01-15). "MilAIP: information for the aviation sector".
2. "Archived copy".
3. https://web.archive.org/web/20160313013714/https://www.sgvolkel.nl/download/historie.pdf Documentatiegroep Volkel ]
4. Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (BHIC) - [http://www.bhic.nl/index.php?id=4134 Verhalen: Vliegbasis Volkel] (Dutch only), article retrieved 26 October 2007
5. "Opheffing F-16 squadron Vliegbasis Volkel".
6. Hans Christensen. (2023-09-01). "The C-17A Has Been Cleared To Transport B61-12 Nuclear Bomb To Europe".
7. [[Hans M. Kristensen]] (2008) – [https://fas.org/blog/ssp/2008/06/usaf-report-%E2%80%9Cmost%E2%80%9D-nuclear-weapon-sites-in-europe-do-not-meet-us-security-requirements.php USAF Report: “Most” Nuclear Weapon Sites In Europe Do Not Meet US Security Requirements] {{Webarchive. link. (2013-04-02 , article retrieved 4 January 2009)
8. (2008-06-26). "Status of U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Europe".
9. link. (2012-05-03 – page retrieved 16 September 2011.)
10. Dutch Ministry of Defence (2005) – [http://www.mindef.nl/actueel/parlement/kamervragen/2005/1/20050309_vanvelzennucleair.aspx response to questions of member of parliament van Velzen regarding the presence of nuclear weapons] {{webarchive. link. (2007-09-30, retrieved 26 October 2007)
11. "U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Europe".
12. Scramble.nl forum – [http://forum.scramble.nl/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=77692&start=15 Photo of RNAF F-16 J-365 with BDU-38.], retrieved October 3, 2011.
13. [[Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau
14. (2010-11-30). "Wikileaks: US nuclear weapon sites in Europe revealed".
15. (10 June 2013). "US nuclear bombs 'based in Netherlands' – ex-Dutch PM Lubbers". [[BBC News]].
16. (16 July 2019). "Publiek geheim na blunder zwart-op-wit: kernwapens in Volkel".
17. (28 May 2021). "US Soldiers Expose Nuclear Weapons Secrets Via Flashcard Apps".
18. Hans Christensen. (2023-12-13). "New Nuclear Bomb Training At Dutch Air Base".
19. (9 February 2018). "Squadrons op Vliegbasis Volkel - Koninklijke Luchtmacht".
20. (15 June 2017). "52nd Munitions Maintenance Group". US Air Force.