Station Group Gardermoen (Norwegian: Gardermoen flystasjon) is located about 50 km north of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is colocated with Norway's main airport,

Oslo Airport, Gardermoen Oslo Airport ( no, Oslo lufthavn; ), alternatively referred to as Oslo Gardermoen Airport or simply Gardermoen, is the international airport serving Oslo, Norway, the capital and most populous city in the country. A hub for Flyr, Norse Atl ...

. 335 Squadron and 717 Squadron of the

Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) ( no, Luftforsvaret, , The Air Defence) is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximatel ...

are stationed at Gardermoen, which operates respectively C-130J-30 ''Super Hercules'' transport aircraft and

Dassault Falcon 20 The Dassault Falcon 20 is a French business jet developed and manufactured by Dassault Aviation. The first business jet developed by the firm, it became the first of a family of business jets to be produced under the same name; of these, both ...

electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...

aircraft.

History

The

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army ( no, Hæren) is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway ...

started using Gardermoen as a camp already in 1740, when it was called Fredericksfeldt. The first flight took place in 1912, and by 1920 there were multiple hangars at the airport. During the

German invasion of Norway German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the Germans bombed the airport, but built it up with two 2000-meter runways during the war. The military airport was founded on December 1, 1996, with new installations for 1,2 billion

NOK Nok is a village in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The village is an archeological site. Archaeology The discovery of terracotta figurines at this location caused its name to be used for the Nok culture, of which these ...

. The airfield is built to easily expand cheaply and fast whenever needed. On October 8, 1998 the main airport serving Oslo was moved from

Fornebu Fornebu (local form ''Fornebo'') is a peninsular area in the suburban municipality of Bærum in Norway, bordering western parts of Oslo. Oslo Airport, Fornebu (FBU) served as the main airport for Oslo and the country since before World War II and ...

to Gardermoen. The new airport had among other facilities two

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

s. The Air Force was considering moving its operations at Gardermoen to

Rygge Air Station Rygge Air Force Base ( no, Rygge flystasjon) is located in the municipalities of Rygge and Råde in Viken county, Norway. The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) operates various squadron and aircraft at the airbase, including AgustaWestland AW101 ...

by consent of the

Chief of Defence of Norway The Chief of Defence (''Forsvarssjefen'') is the highest-ranking officer of the Norwegian Armed Forces, second only to the King of Norway. Even though he holds the same rank as the King of Norway, according to the Norwegian Constitution the King ...

, General

Sigurd Frisvold Sigurd Frisvold (5 July 1947 – 29 November 2022) was a Norwegian general who served as Chief of Defence of Norway from 30 April 1999 until 1 April 2005. Frisvold was born in Kristiansund. He was educated in the Norwegian army, in addition to ca ...

in the 2003-2004 period; however, this proposition was turned down by the Norwegian Parliament's Defence Committee. Thus, the air station currently remains operational.

Footnotes

External links

Air Force page on Gardermoen Air Station
(in Norwegian) {{Authority control Royal Norwegian Air Force stations Airports in Viken 1912 establishments in Norway Airports established in 1912 Luftwaffe airports in Norway Oslo Airport, Gardermoen Military installations in Viken