At the outbreak of World War II, the Netherlands had a modest and obsolete air force. On May 10, 1940, the German Luftwaffe attacked the Netherlands en masse, bombing airfields such as Ypenburg, Valkenburg and Waalhaven. The Dutch air forces, equipped with Fokker D.XXI and G.I fighters, put up fierce resistance and shot down some 350 German aircraft, but were largely destroyed within five days.
After the capitulation, many Dutch pilots joined the Allies. The Royal Netherlands Military Flying School was founded in the U.S. in 1941. Dutch pilots fought with the RAF, including in 320 and 322 Squadron. In the Dutch East Indies, the ML-KNIL tried to stop the Japanese advance, but was defeated in 1942.
Toward the end of the war, Dutch pilots supported the liberation of Europe. After 1945, the air force was modernized and grew into the Royal Air Force.
German Invasion of the Netherlands ► https://youtu.be/_IIsY664tE4
Japanese Invasion of the Dutch East Indies ► https://youtu.be/CwIJkQJ_C4Y
SUPPORT ME ON PATREON ► https://www.patreon.com/historyhustler
SUPPORT ME ON PAYPAL ► https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/HistoryHustle
BUY ME A COFFEE ► https://buymeacoffee.com/historyhustle
SUBSCRIBE ► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYLJ8hULBTjTTmJZGL-dq-A?sub_confirmation=1
INSTAGRAM ► https://www.instagram.com/historyhustle
FACEBOOK ► https://www.facebook.com/historyhustler
TWITTER ► https://twitter.com/HustleHistory
SOURCES
– Vlucht door de tijd, 75 jaar Nederlandse luchtmacht (Kolonel A.P. de Jong).
– https://www.marsethistoria.nl/recent-onderzoek/847-vliegeniers (15-02-2025).
– De jonge jaren van de luchtmacht. Het luchtwapen in het Nederlandse leger 1913-1939 (Dirk Starink).
IMAGES
Images from commons.wikimedia.org.
VIDEO
Video material from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYsPPYZfT2c
Militaire luchtvaart van het KNIL
https://euscreen.openimages.eu/media/1195743/VLIEGFEESTEN
VLIEGFEESTEN WEEKNUMMER382-HRE000154FB_1710000_1786960
https://openbeelden.nl/media/1197215/NEDERLAND_BREIDT_ZIJN_GARNIZOEN_UIT
NEDERLAND BREIDT ZIJN GARNIZOEN UIT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbt5PZuHDEs&ab_channel=vbl37
UfA Tonwoche - Német Filmhíradó - German Newsreel
"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."
MUSIC
"Clenched Teeth"
"Crossing the Chasm"
"The New Order"
"Cambodian Odyssey"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
SOUNDS
Freesound.org.
E-MAIL
historyhustle[at]gmail.com