Koksijde military airfield
| Koksijde bird base | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|||
| Characteristics | |||
| ICAO code | EBFN | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Height above MSL | 6 m (20 ft ) | ||
| Transport links | |||
| Distance from the city center | 1 km south of Koksijde | ||
| Street | 6 km to the A 18 | ||
| Basic data | |||
| opening | around 1914/1915 | ||
| operator | Belgian Air Force | ||
| surface | 450 ha | ||
| Start-and runway | |||
| 11/29 | 2675 m × 50 m asphalt | ||
The military airfield Koksijde (Vliegbasis Koksijde) is a military airfield of the Belgian air component . The base is in the Flanders region in the province of West Flanders on the southern outskirts of Koksijde . Today it serves the Belgian armed forces in particular as a " Search and Rescue " helicopter base.
history
The airfield was created during the First World War in occupied Belgium for the air forces of the German Empire .
Between the two world wars it was used by the Aviation Militaire Belge .
During the German occupation in World War II , the Luftwaffe used the site again between 1940 and 1944. During this time, the first concrete runway was built . After heavy Allied bombing in the winter of 1943/1944, the Luftwaffe gave up the airfield at the beginning of June 1944, not without first having destroyed the facility and mined the area.
The British Royal Air Force continued Airfield B.71 , its Allied codename to service in autumn 1944 and on 15 October 1946, the Belgian air forces took it over on the day of its foundation. From January 1948 the air base housed the air force hunting school; she flew the Spitfire and moved to Brustem in January 1957 . In the following 18 months the 13th Fighter Wing existed here for a short time, which still flew the Spitfire and was disbanded on July 1, 1958.
The 40th helicopter squadron was set up as "Heliflight" in Koksijde in April 1961 to operate rescue helicopters; it initially only flew the Sikorsky HSS1 . In 1971 some Alouette III were added, which formed an additional "Heliflight Marine". The unit took over the tradition of the 40th season in 1973 and has been flying the Sea King Mk.48 in the SAR role since November 1976 . The last Sikorskys, they supported Belgian Nike Hercules positions in Germany in the 1970 / 1980s , were decommissioned at the end of 1986.
Between 1967 and 1994 there was also a training center here.
The first of four Caïman arrived at the base in May 2014 , the last followed in March 2017. It has been used for rescue operations since August 2015; initially parallel to the Sea King, which was finally decommissioned in early 2019.
Todays use
The base currently (2019) houses the following associations:
- 40th squadron, equipped with Caïman - SAR helicopters (since 2014)
- Heliflight Marine , equipped with Alouette III multi-purpose helicopters, meanwhile also used as an on- board helicopter for the Navy (since 1971)
Use for motorsport
In the 1960s and 1980s, the airfield was temporarily used for motor sport events. Changing organizers organized six editions of the Trofee van de Noordzee from 1967 to 1969 and from 1986 to 1988 . Temporary racetracks with different courses were marked out on parts of the airfield . In 1967 and 1968 Formula Vee races took place here, in 1969 the Trofee van de Noordsee was a run of the European Formula 5000 Championship . In the 1980s, Koksijde held three races with Group N vehicles . Other events planned for 1989 and 1996 were canceled at short notice.