Take-Off. De opbouw van de Nederlandse luchtstrijdkrachten 1945-1973

Abstract

There has been little academic focus on the build-up of the Dutch Air Force after the Second World War. The aim of this study is to identify the key developments in the build-up and sustainment of the Dutch air force between 1945 and 1973 and to answer the question as to which factors and actors shaped these developments. This study describes that process from the perspectives of foreign policy, domestic policy and the institutional perspective. At the level of multilateral dynamics, the Cold War created the parameters for the build-up of the Dutch air force. The founding of NATO was decisive for the direction that build-up took. To a greater extent than the other Services, the air force was embedded in NATO's structure and it was assigned an important role in the Allied defence plans. In terms of organisation, materiel and logistics, the air force was focused on international cooperation and integration. The close interrelationship with NATO meant that changes to the Alliance's strategic concepts had a tangible effect on the RNLAF. The Mutual Defence Assistance Programme played a key role in the build-up process. The aid programme’s influence was far-reaching: it placed the air force in a position of dependency and paved the way to Americanisation. The advancing military technology created its own dynamics. The inclusion of technologies such as nuclear weapons and jet propulsion compelled the RNLAF to adapt in terms of organisation, infrastructure, logistics and personnel. In addition, this made weapon systems more expensive, which would lead to decisions being made in favour of quality rather than quantity. At the level of domestic politics, consecutive governments and parliaments found themselves having to weigh international wishes against money, employment and national prestige. In their eyes, NATO until 1951 primarily served a political interest. Even after the ar in Korea, financial considerations, concern for the national (aviation) industry, and the necessity to keep America on side all continued to vie for priority in the development of defence policy – more so than military-operational considerations. From an institutional perspective, the build-up was initially about the struggle for recognition. The war experience strengthened the conviction that the air force had outgrown its status as an auxiliary force. The process of emancipation was given a new impulse by the newly emerging international cooperation in 1948. Encouraged by theDutch accession to the Western Union and NATO the air force was handed a second argument in favour of autonomy. The designation Royal Netherlands Air Force in 1953 was the formalisation of a process that had started after the war. Lessons learned from history also influenced the post-war build-up plans. Considering the fact that the Directorate of Netherlands Air Forces had already been working on reconstruction plans with the RAF during the war, it was not surprising that after the war the air force leadership sought to affiliate with Britain. As a result, in the post-war years the air force bore an unmistakably British signature. The plans were largely conceived before the start of the Cold War, but the conflict created the necessary conditions (increased defence spending, American aid) for their implementation. From the beginning, the plan was to develop a realistically sized air force, with American aid and within the financial boundaries set by the government. Financial considerations and national interests shaped the build-up of the Dutch air force – within Allied strategies and operational parameters.