Gilze-Rijen Air Base

Infobox Airport
name = Gilze-Rijen Air Base
nativename = _nl. Vliegbasis Gilze-Rijen


IATA = GLZ
ICAO = EHGR
type = Military
owner =
operator = Royal Netherlands Air Force
location = Breda, Netherlands
built = 1910
used =
commander =
occupants =
elevation-f = 49
elevation-m = 15
coordinates = coord|51|34|02|N|004|55|54|E|type:airport_region:NL
website = [http://www.luchtmacht.nl/gilzerijen/ www.luchtmacht.nl/gilzerijen/]
metric-rwy = y
r1-number = 10/28
r1-length-m = 2,779
r1-length-f = 9,118
r1-surface = Asphalt
r2-number = 02/20
r2-length-m = 1,996
r2-length-f = 6,549
r2-surface = Asphalt
footnotes = Source: DAFIFWAD|EHGR|source=DAFIF] GCM|GLZ|source=DAFIF]

Gilze-Rijen Air Base airport codes|GLZ|EHGR ( _nl. Vliegbasis Gilze-Rijen) is a military airfield in the Netherlands located between the cities of Breda and Tilburg. It is mainly but not exclusively used as a base for attack helicopters. The airfield has two runways, the longest being 2,980 meters (9,777 ft) long in the 10/28 direction. The shorter runway is 2,000 meters (6,562 ft) long and in the 02/20 direction.

History

Gilze-Rijen Air Base is one of the oldest airfields in the Netherlands, the first aircraft to have landed there being a Blériot in 1910. The first military aircraft activity dates back to 1913 when a Farman aircraft used the field for military exercises which established it as a military airfield.

In 1940 the airfield came under heavy attack from the German Luftwaffe, who later took control of the base and expanded it for their own use. While in German hands during the second world war, the field came under frequent attack from allied forces until the liberation of the south of the Netherlands, after which the British Royal Air Force took control of the airfield.

In 1946 the Royal Netherlands Air Force resumed operations from the airfield, using it as a training base for pilots and air traffic controllers. In 1962, training activity was suspended and Gilze-Rijen was reduced to a reserve base for bomber aircraft. Training activity was resumed in 1967 however. In 1971 the training activity was suspended again when a fighter squadron was moved to the airfield, which also included a significant upgrade of airport facilities. Initially the Northrop F-5 and later its replacement, the Fokker F-16 Fighting Falcon, were operated from the base up until 1995.

In 1995 as a part of a large scale reorganistaion within the Royal Netherlands Air Force the fighter aircraft were moved from Gilze-Rijen and instead the base became the home of Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopters. In 1998, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters followed while the Alouette III helicopters were slowly being phased out, with only a few currently remaining for VIP transport.

In 2009, helicopter operations from Soesterberg Air Base are expected to be moved to Gilze-Rijen Air Base, which will result in CH-47 Chinook and AS 532 Cougar helicopters being based at the airfield, making Gilze-Rijen the main operating base for military helicopters in the Netherlands.

tichting Koninklijke Luchtmacht Historische Vlucht

The "Stichting Koninklijke Luchtmacht Historische Vlucht" (Royal Air Force Historic Flight Foundation) is also located at Gilze-Rijen air base, owning and operating a collection of mainly historic military aircraft. The currect fleet consists of the following aircraft:
* Auster Mk.III
* Beech T-7 Navigator
* Cessna 172P Skyhawk (for training purposes)
* de Havilland 82A Tiger Moth
* de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
* Fokker S-11 (4x)
* Fokker F-27
* Noorduyn Harvard IIb (6x)
* North American B-25 Mitchell
* Piper Cub (5x)
* Ryan ST-M
* Stinson Voyager
* Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX

References

External links

*nl icon [http://www.luchtmacht.nl/gilzerijen/ Luchtmacht.nl - "Vliegbasis Gilze-Rijen"] , official website
* [http://www.skhv.nl/frameset_en.html Royal Netherlands Air Force Historical Flight Foundation]
* [http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?placesearch=Breda%20-%20Gilze-Rijen%20%28GLZ%20%2F%20EHGR%29&distinct_entry=true Airliners.net - Photos taken at Gilze-Rijen Air Base]
*NWS-current|EHGR
*ASN|GLZ