Melsbroek Air Base is a
Belgian Air Component
The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne belg ...
facility in
Steenokkerzeel
Steenokkerzeel () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Melsbroek, Perk and Steenokkerzeel proper. On December 31, 2010 Steenokkerzeel had a total population of 11,580. The ...
, northeast
of
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, the capital of
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. It is located on the northern side of the same site as
Brussels Airport
Brussels Airport, nl, Luchthaven Brussel, vls, Vliegpling Brussel, german: Flughafen Brüssel is an international airport northeast of Brussels, the capital of Belgium. In 2019, more than 26 million passengers arrived or departed at Bruss ...
, with which it shares runways and ground and air control facilities.
The
15th Air Transport Wing operates from Melsbroek Air Base with following types:
*
Airbus A310
The Airbus A310 is a wide-body aircraft, designed and manufactured by Airbus Industrie, then a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers.
Airbus had identified a demand for an aircraft smaller than the A300, the first twin-jet wide-bod ...
(retired)
*
Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...
(retired)
*
Airbus A321
The Airbus A321 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin engine jet airliners; it carries 185 to 236 passengers. It has a stretched fuselage which was the first derivative of the ba ...
*
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 ...
*
Dassault Falcon 900
The Dassault Falcon 900, commonly abbreviated as the F900, is a French-built corporate trijet aircraft made by Dassault Aviation.
Development
The Falcon 900 is a development of the Falcon 50, itself a development of the earlier Falcon 20. Th ...
*
Dassault Falcon 7x
The Dassault Falcon 7X is a large-cabin, range business jet manufactured by Dassault Aviation, the second largest of its Dassault Falcon line. Launched at 2001 Paris Air Show, its first flight was on 5 May 2005 and it entered service on 15 Jun ...
* Embraer ERJ 145 family, Embraer 135 & 145
* Lockheed C-130 (being replaced by A400M)
* Airbus A400M Atlas
History
The aerodrome was constructed by the German Wehrmacht during World War II. After the 1944 Liberation of Belgium, liberation of Belgium, Melsbroek was operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal Air Force when it was known as B58 Melsbroek.
Operation Bodenplatte, the German aerial attack of 1 January 1945, hit Melsbroek hard. According to Emil Clade (leading III./JG 27), the AAA positions were not manned, and aircraft were bunched together or in lines, which made perfect targets. The attack caused considerable damage among the units based there and was a great success. The Reconnaissance, Recce Wings had lost two entire squadrons worth of machines. No. 69 Squadron RAF lost 11 Vickers Wellingtons and two damaged. Possibly all No. 140 Squadron RAF′s de Havilland Mosquito aircraft were lost. At least five Supermarine Spitfires from No. 16 Squadron RAF were destroyed. No. 271 Squadron RAF lost at least seven Handley Page H.P.54 Harrow, Handley Page Harrow transports "out of action". A further 15 other aircraft were destroyed. No. 139 Wing RAF, 139 Wing reported five North American B-25 Mitchell bombers destroyed and five damaged. Some 15 to 20 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) bombers were also destroyed.
[Manrho & Pütz 2004, p. 217.] Another source states that 13 Wellingtons were destroyed, as were five Mosquitoes, four Austers and five Avro Ansons from the Tactical Air Forces 2nd Communications Squadron. Three Spitfires were also lost and two damaged. At least one RAF Transport Command Douglas Dakota was destroyed.
After the war, Melsbroek replaced Haren Airfield as the Belgian national airport. That title is now carried by the Brussels Airport, Zaventem terminal on the same aerodrome, built for the Expo 58, 1958 world exposition. At that time, the existing terminal was taken over by the then Belgian Air Force.
When Trans European Airways existed, its head office was in Building 117 of Melsbroek Airport. When CityBird existed its head office was in Building 117D.
CityBird Offices
" CityBird. Retrieved on 3 November 1999.
See also
References
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Belgian airbases
Airports in Flemish Brabant
World War II airfields in Belgium
Military airbases established in 1940
Steenokkerzeel