The Royal Norwegian Air Force 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 approximately 1,430 employees. 600 personnel also
serve their draft period in the RNoAF. After mobilization the RNoAF would
consist of approximately 5,500 personnel.
The infrastructure of the RNoAF includes seven airbases, two control and
reporting centres and three training centres and at KNM HH/Madlaleiren.
History = Conception=
Military flights started on 1 June 1912. The first plane, HNoMS Start, was bought
with money donated by the public and piloted by Hans Dons, second in command
of the submarine HNoMS Kobben. 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. = World War II=
Build-up for World War II Before 1944 the Air Force were divided
into the Norwegian Army Air Service and the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service.
In the late 1930s, as war seemed imminent, more modern aircraft was
bought from abroad, including twelve Gloster Gladiator fighters from the UK,
and six Heinkel He 115s from Germany. Considerable orders for aircraft were
placed with United States companies during the months prior to the invasion
of Norway on 9 April 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, 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.
The ship with the last five 75A-6s that were bound for Norway was diverted to
the United Kingdom, where they were taken over by Royal Air Force. 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, none of which were delivered in time for the invasion, but were
delivered to "Little Norway" near Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 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 12 March
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 9 April and
when they became operational with the 330 Squadron in May 1941 they were
stationed at Reykjavík, Iceland performing anti-submarine and convoy
escort duties. Escape and exile
The unequal situation led to the rapid defeat of the Norwegian air forces, even
though seven Gladiators from Jagevingen 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. Jagevingen 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 ceased
fighting in Norway and evacuated to the United Kingdom on 10 June 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 Norwegian 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.V.s 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, while most of the aircrew eventually ended up in "Little
Norway". 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 Wing consisted of No. 331 Squadron and RAF No. 332 Squadron. Both planes
and running costs were financed by the exiled Norwegian government.
In the autumn of 1940, a Norwegian training centre known as "Little Norway"
was established next to Toronto Island Airport, Canada.
The Royal Norwegian Air Force was established by a royal decree on 1
November 1944, thereby merging the Army and Navy air forces. No. 331 Squadron
defended London from 1941 and was the highest scoring fighter squadron in
South England during the war. Up until 8 May 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 co-founded NATO, and soon afterwards received American aircraft
through the MAP. 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. In 1959, the Anti-Aircraft Artillery was
integrated into the Royal Norwegian Air Force.
In 1999, Norway participated with a number of F-16s during operation 'Allied
Force', 21st century RNoAF
In October 2002, a tri-national force of 18 Norwegian, Danish, and Dutch F-16
fighter-bombers, with one Dutch Air Force KC-10A tanker, flew to the Manas
Air Base in Kyrgyzstan, to support the NATO ground forces in Afghanistan as a
part of the Operation Enduring Freedom. One of the missions was Operation Desert
Lion. In 2004, four F-16s participated on
NATO's Baltic Air Policing operation. Since February, 2006, eight Royal
Netherlands Air Force F-16s, joined by four Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16s,
have been supporting NATO International Security Assistance Force ground troops
mostly in the southern provinces of Afghanistan. The air detachment is known
as the 1st Netherlands-Norwegian European Participating Forces
Expeditionary Air Wing. 2010s
Libyan no-fly zone : – In a statement, Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre
condemned the violence against "peaceful protesters in Libya, Bahrain and Yemen",
saying the protests "are an expression of the people’s desire for more
participatory democracy. The authorities must respect fundamental human rights
such as political, economic and social rights. It is now vital that all parties
do their utmost to foster peaceful dialogue on reforms.". On 19 March 2011
the Norwegian government authorized The Royal Norwegian Air Force to head for
Libya and prepare for missions there. Norway has approved six General Dynamics
F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters and necessary personnel. These fighters will
head for Greece on 21 March and operate from the Souda Air Base in Souda Bay on
Crete . On 24 March 2011, F-16s from the Royal Norwegian Air Force was assigned
to the United States Africa Command and the Operation Odyssey Dawn. A number of
Norwegian F-16s took off from their base in Greece for their first mission over
Libya. On 25 March 2011, 3 laserguided bombs were launched from 2 F-16s of the
Royal Norwegian Air Force against Libyan tanks and during the night towards 26
March an airfield was bombed. . Equipment also deployed to Operation
Unified Protector on 26 March 2011. By July 2011 the Norwegian F-16's had
dropped close to 600 bombs, some 17% of the total bombs dropped at that time. It
was Norwegian F-16s that on the night towards 26 April, bombed Gaddafis
headquarter in Tripoli From September to December 2011, the Air
Force contributed personnel and one P-3 Orion to Operation Ocean Shield.
Operating from the Seychelles, the aircraft searched for pirates in the
Somali Basin. Plans
The RNoAF will conduct several investments in the coming years. First
the European helicopter NH-90 will be introduced to replace the Lynx
helicopters as a ship-borne helicopter, the Air Force also have bought an
additional 16 Search and rescue Augusta-Westland AW101 helicopters to
replace its aging Sea King helicopters. The aging F-16AM fighter will be
replaced from 2016. On 20 November 2008, the prime minister of Norway Jens
Stoltenberg announced that the F-35A was the only fighter fulfilling all the
Norwegian requirements and thus the preferred choice . Stoltenberg stated
that cooperation with the Nordic countries on defence and security would
continue independently of the F-35 purchase.
According to the 2012 White paper, a number of changes are proposed:
A National Air Operations Centre will be established at Reitan, outside Bodø.
The Control and Reporting Centre at Mågerø will be closed.
Ørland will become the main operating base for the F-35 as well as NASAMS II
and the deployable base defence units. Evenes will house a Quick Reaction Alert
detachment when the F-35 replaces the F-16.
As F-16 operations wind down in the early 2020s, Bodø will close as an Air
Station. The Royal Norwegian Air Force
participates in the EATC led acquisition by The Royal Netherlands Air Force for
Airbus MR330 Tanker & Transport Aircraft based at Eindhoven Airbase
Helicopter operations will be consolidated at Bardufoss with
detachments: Bell 412 in South East Norway.
NH90 NFH at Haakonsvern. SAR detachments of 330 Squadron at
current locations. The 3 DA-20 aircraft will move from
Rygge to Gardermoen. 720 Squadron will be merged with 339 Squadron at
Bardufoss, and Rygge will close as an Air Station.
On 7 June 2012, the United States' Defense Security Cooperation Agency
notified Congress today of a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government
of Norway for two C-130J-30 United States Air Force baseline aircraft and
associated parts, equipment, logistical support and training for an estimated
cost of $300 million. Organization
The RNoAF is organized in ten Air Wings. These are divided into a total of two
Control and Reporting Centres, nine flying squadrons as well as two anti
aircraft units. Control and Reporting Centre Mågerø
130 Air Wing Control and Reporting Centre Sørreisa
131 Air Wing Bodø Main Air Station
132 Air Wing 331 Squadron
332 Squadron - were disbanded July 31, 2015
GBAD Battalion 330 Squadron
Station Group Banak at Banak Air Station 330 Squadron
Ørland Main Air Station 138 Air Wing
338 Squadron GBAD Battalion
Mobile Base-set 330 Squadron
NATO Airborne Early Warning Force - Forward Operating Location
Andøya Air Station 133 Air Wing
333 Squadron Bardufoss Air Station
139 Air Wing 334 Squadron
337 Squadron 339 Squadron
718 Squadron Royal Norwegian Air Force Flight
Training School Gardermoen Air Station
135 Air Wing 335 Squadron
Rygge Air Station 137 Air Wing
717 Squadron 720 Squadron
330 Squadron Base Defence Squadron - security force
and educational unit for fire- and rescue personnel and radar personnel for
the NASAMS II system. Sola Air Station
134 Air Wing 330 Squadron
Haakonsvern Naval Base 139 Air Wing
334 Squadron Norwegian Air Force Academy
Aircraft = Current inventory=
Anti-aircraft NASAMS Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air
Missile System 6 Units Robotsystem 70 and other systems.
Historical inventory Surface-to-air missile
Nike Hercules Gallery
See also List of air forces
List of military aircraft of Norway List of F-104 Starfighter operators
Free Norwegian Forces NATO Strategic Airlift Capability
Heavy Airlift Wing Footnotes
External links Norwegian Defence 2005 - Facts from the
Ministry of Defence RNoAF Equipment Facts
History of the Royal Norwegian Air Force Norwegian Aviation Museum
ML407 - The Norwegian Story Norwegian Air Force - Air Show in
Kristiansand www.mil.no English pages