Leeuwarden Air Base
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Leeuwarden Air Base is one of three Dutch military airports. The airbase is one of the two F-16 bases of the Royal Dutch Air force. The airbase lies North-West of the capital of Friesland, Leeuwarden. Leeuwarden Air Base is also one of the three military airports (next to airport Gilze-Rijen Air Base and Volkel Airbase), which organizes the annual public days of the Royal Netherlands Air Force.
The airport of Leeuwarden was build 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 the situation changed. The Germans used the airport as a base for their fighter planes (including the Messerschmitt Bf 109} and bomber planes. From this airbase the Germans could reach Great Britain. 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 and the KLM flew to Schiphol. In 1949 Leeuwarden became a military airbase. Nowadays there are two F-16 Squadrons based in military airbase Leeuwarden: the 322 squadron and the 323 squadron. It is also the home base of the 303 (Search and Rescue) squadron, where the Agusta AB-412SP is based.
The airport is the location of the annual NATO exercise "Frisian Flag". In 2006 the airport was open to the public.
