The 'Royal Norwegian Air Force' (RNoAF) (
Norwegian: '''Luftforsvaret''') is the
air force of
Norway. It was established as separate arm of the Norwegian armed forces on
November 10 1944. The RNoAF has a peacetime strength of about 5,850; after
mobilization, the total number of personnel would be around 17,000.
The infrastructure of the RNoAF includes seven
airbases (at
Andøya,
Bardufoss,
Bodø,
Gardermoen,
Rygge,
Sola and
Ørland), two control and reporting centres (at
Sørreisa and
Mågerø) and two training centres (at
Kjevik,
Kristiansand, and at
Kuhaugen,
Trondheim).
History
Pre-war
1937-1940 Aircraft marking
Military flights started in 1912. The first plane, ''
HNoMS Start'', was bought with money donated by the public and piloted by an
officer from the
submarine HNoMS ''Kobben'' (A-1). Up until 1940 most of the aircraft belonging to the Navy and Army air forces were domestic designs or built under license agreements, the main bomber/scout aircraft of the Army air force being the Dutch-origined
Fokker C.V.
Build-up for WWII
In the late 30s, as war seemed imminent, more modern aircraft was bought from abroad, including twelve
Gloster Gladiator fighters from the UK, and six
Heinkel He 115. Considerable orders for aircraft were placed with
U.S. companies during the months prior to the invasion of Norway on
April 9,
1940.
The most important of the US orders were two orders for comparatively modern
Curtiss P-36 Hawk monoplane fighters. The first was for 24 Hawk 75A-6 (with 1200
hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-SC3-G Twin Wasp engines), 19 of which were delivered before the invasion. Of these 19, though, none were operational when the attack came. A number were still in their shipping crates in Oslo harbour, while others stood at the
Kjeller aircraft factory, flight ready, but none combat ready. Some of the Kjeller aircraft had not been fitted with machine guns, and those that had been fitted still lacked
gun sights.
Curtis P-36 Hawk
The five 75A-6s that were still in the US were sent to the
Little Norway training base of the exiled Royal Norwegian Air Force near
Toronto. All 19 Norwegian P-36s that were captured by the German invaders were later sold by the German authorities to the
Finnish Air Force, which was to use them to good effect during the
Continuation War.
The other order for P-36s was for 36 Hawk 75A-8 (with 1200 hp
Wright R-1820-95 Cyclone 9 engines), none of which were delivered in time for the invasion. The 30 completed machines were, like the 75A-6s, diverted to Little Norway. There they were used for training Norwegian pilots until the
USAAF took over the aircraft and used them under the designation P36G
Also ordered prior to the invasion were 24
Northrop N-3PB float planes built in on Norwegian specifications for a
patrol bomber. The order was made on
March 12 1940 in an effort to replace the
Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service's obsolete MF.11 biplane patrol aircraft. None of the type were delivered by the 9th of April and when they became operational with the
330 (Norwegian) Squadron in May 1941 they were stationed at
ReykjavÃk,
Iceland performing
anti-submarine and
convoy escort duties.
World War II
The unequal situation led to the rapid defeat of the Norwegian air forces, even though seven Gladiators from ''Jagervingen'' (the fighter wing) defended
Fornebu airport against the attacking German forces with some success - claiming two
Me 110 heavy fighters, two
He 111 bombers and one
Junkers Ju 52 transport. ''Jagervingen'' lost two Gladiators to ground
strafing while they were rearming on Fornebu and one in the air, shot down by Future ''Experte''
Helmut Lent, injuring the sergeant pilot. After the withdrawal of allied forces, the Norwegian Government gave up fighting in Norway and evacuated to
Great Britain on
June 10,
1940.
Only aircraft of the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service had the range to fly all the way from their last remaining bases in
Northern Norway to the UK. Included amongst the Norwegian aircraft that reached the British Isles were four German made Heinkel He 115 seaplane bombers, six of which were bought before the war and two more were captured from the Germans during the
Norwegian campaign. One He 115 also escaped to Finland before the surrender of mainland Norway, as did three
M.F. 11s; landing on Lake Salmijärvi in
Petsamo. A captured
Arado Ar 196 originating from the German
heavy cruiser ''Admiral Hipper'' was also flown to Britain for testing.
For the Army Air Service aircraft the only option for escape was Finland, where the planes would be interned but at least not fall into the hands of the Germans. In all two Fokker C.Vs and one
de Havilland Tiger Moth made it across the border and onto Finnish airfields just before the capitulation of mainland Norway. All navy and army aircraft that fled to Finland were pressed into service with the
Finnish Air Force.
The Army and Navy air services established themselves in Britain under the command of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff. Norwegian air and ground crews operated as part of the British
Royal Air Force, in both wholly Norwegian squadrons and also in other squadrons and units such as
RAF Ferry Command and
RAF Bomber Command. In particular, Norwegian personnel operated two squadrons of
Supermarine Spitfires: RAF 132 (Norwegian) Wing consisted of
No. 331 (Norwegian) Squadron and
RAF No. 332 (Norwegian) Squadron. Both planes and running costs were financed by the exiled
Norwegian government.
In the autumn of 1940, a Norwegian training center known as "
Little Norway" was established in
RCAF Station Borden outside of Toronto,
Canada.
The Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) was established by a
royal decree on
November 1,
1944, thereby merging the Army and Navy air forces. No. 331 (Norwegian) Squadron defended London from 1941 and was the highest scoring fighter
squadron in
South England during the war.
Up until
May 8,
1945, 335 persons had lost their lives while taking part in the efforts of the RNoAF.
Post-war air force
After the war the Spitfire remained in service with the RNoAF into the fifties.
In 1947, the Surveillance and Control Division acquired its first radar system, and around the same time the RNoAF got its first
jet fighters in the form of
De Havilland Vampires.
In 1949 Norway joined
NATO, and quite soon received American aircraft through the MAP (Military Aid Program). The expansion of the Air Force happened at a very rapid pace as the
Cold War progressed. Throughout the Cold War the Norwegian Air Force was only one of two NATO air forces —
Turkey being the other — with a responsibility for an area with a land border with the
Soviet Union, and Norwegian fighter aircraft had on average 500-600 interceptions of Soviet aircraft each year.
[1]
In 1959, the
Anti-Aircraft Artillery was integrated into the Royal Norwegian Air Force.
21st Century RNoAF
In October 2002 a tri-national detachment of 18 Norwegian,
Danish, and
Dutch F-16 ground attack aircraft and one Dutch
KDC-10 tanker, deployed to
Manas Air Base in
Kyrgyzstan in support of ground forces in
Afghanistan as part of
Operation Enduring Freedom.
In 2004, 4 F-16:s participated on NATO's
Baltic Air Policing operation.
Since February, 2006, Eight Royal Netherlands Air Force, joined by four Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16s have been supporting NATO
ISAF ground troops in predominantly the southern provinces of Afghanistan. The detachment is know as the 1st Netherlands-Norwegian European Participating Forces Expeditionary Air Wing (1 NLD/NOR EEAW).
[2]
Future plans
The RNoAF will conduct several investments in the coming years. First the European helicopter
NH-90 will be added to replace the Lynxs, but the Air Force also have an option of buying an additional 15
SAR helicopters to replace the aging
Sea Kings. During a five year period the Government will also decide the future of the transport aircraft fleet, and decide which new fighter aircraft to buy in 2010. Concerning the fighter aircraft the main competition is between the European
Eurofighter Typhoon and the American
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II with
Saab's
JAS 39 Gripen still not being ruled out.
Organisation
The RNoAF is organized in six Air Wings. These are divided into a total of nine squadrons of planes as well as two anti aircraft units.
'
Bodø Main Air Station'
★ 132. Air Wing
★
★ Squadron 331 (
F-16A MLU)
★
★ Squadron 332 (
F-16A MLU)
★
★ GBAD Battalion (
NASAMS and NASAMS 2 batteries)
★
★ Squadron 330 (Detachment) (
Sea King, rescue)
★ Station Group Banak at
Banak Air Station (
Lakselv Airport)
★
★ Squadron 330 (Detachment) (
Sea King, rescue)
'
Ørland Main Air Station'
★ 138. Air Wing
★
★ Squadron 338 (
F-16A MLU, NRF -
NATO Reaction Force)
★
★ GBAD Battalion (NASAMS batteries)
★
★ Mobile Base-set (IRF support)
★ Squadron 330 (Detachment) (
Sea King, rescue)
★
NATO Airborne Early Warning Force - Forward Operating Location (
E-3A Sentry)
'
Andøya Air Station'
★ 133. Air Wing
★
★ Squadron 333 (
P-3C,
P-3N, ASW/multirole)
'
Bardufoss Air Station'
★ 139. Air Wing
★
★ Squadron 337 (
Lynx/
NH-90, Coast Guard)
★
★ Squadron 339 (
Bell 412 SP, transport)
★
★ Squadron 718 (UAV/UACV)
★
★ Royal Norwegian Air Force Flight Training School (
Saab Safari, flight training)
'
Gardermoen Air Station'
★ 135. Air Wing
★
★ Squadron 335 (
C-130H, transport)
'
Rygge Air Station'
★ 137. Air Wing
★
★ Squadron 717 (
DA-20,
electronic warfare)
★
★ Squadron 720 (
Bell 412 SP, special forces transport)
★
★ Squadron 330 (Detachment) (
Sea King, rescue)
★
★ Squadron 336 (not part of the operational force) (
Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter, missile testing)
'
Sola Air Station'
★ 134. Air Wing
★
★ Squadron 334 (
NH-90, frigate force)
★
★
Squadron 330 (command) (
Sea King, rescue)
Aircraft inventory
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes
|-----
|
Bell 412
|
| Utility helicopter
| 412SP
| 12
|
[3]
|-----
|
Canadair CF-5
|
| Fighter-bomber
|
| 25
| Not part of the operational force
|-----
|
Dassault Falcon 20
|
| Electronic warfare
VIP
| Falcon 20
| 2
1
|
[4]
|-----
|
C-130 Hercules
|
| Transport
| C-130H
| 6
| Named ''Odin, Tor, Frøy, Balder, Ty and Brage''.
[5] To be replaced by four C-130Js by 2010, starting 2008.
[6]
|-----
|
Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcon
|
| Fighter
| F-16AM/BM
| 57
| All have received a midlife update
[7]
|-----
|
Lockheed P-3 Orion
|
| Maritime surveillance
| 'Total'
P-3C Update III
P-3N
| '6'
4
2
|
[8][9]
|-----
|
NH-90
|
| Utility helicopter
| NH-90 NFH
| 14
| To be delivered. 6
ASW and 8 going to the Coast Guard.
[10]
|-----
|
SAAB Safari
|
| Basic training
|
| 16
|
[11]
|-----
|
Westland Lynx
|
|
SAR helicopter
| Lynx Mk.86
| 6
| To be replaced by NH-90
|-----
|
Westland Sea King
|
|
SAR helicopter
| Sea King Mk.43
| 12
|
|-----
|}
Gallery
See also
★
List of air forces
★
List of military aircraft of Norway
External links and references
1. The Norwegian Air Force chief's address to Oslo Military Society in 2004
2. Dutch MoD on the 1 NLD/NOR EEAW
3. [1]
4. [2]
5. [3]
6. [4]
7. Forsvarsnett: The Royal Norwegian Air Force
8. [5]
9. [6]
10. [7]
11. [8]
★
Norwegian Defense 2005 - Facts from the Ministry of Defense
★
History of the Royal Norwegian Air Force (Norwegian)
★
Norwegian Aviation Museum
العربية
ä¸å›½
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिनà¥à¤¦à¥€
Italiano
日本語
Português
РуÑÑкий
Español
