Page 216 - Airpower in 20th Century - Doctrines and Employment

216 airpower in 20 Century doCtrines and employment - national experienCes
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deal of energy and resources, both in the political and in the military domain. Even
before the ink had dried on the transfer of sovereignty to the Republic of Indonesia
in December 1949, the communist expansion in Eastern Europe led to the conclusion
that the Netherlands, in close cooperation with its Western allies, would have to con-
centrate on rebuilding its defence. The Korean War (1950-1953) was another pointer
in the same direction, and confirmed the desirability and urgency of a military ef-
fort. After the Netherlands had once again reached calmer waters in 1950, following
the turbulent times of the decolonisation, it was possible to focus on rebuilding the
national armed forces. It was crystal clear from the start that that would only be pos-
sible in an allied context and with substantial support from the principal international
partners. The Netherlands was one of the first nations to seek an alliance with like-
minded Western democracies, signing the Brussels Pact in 1948. This pact, aimed at
European military cooperation, was the precursor of the Western European Union.
The Dutch accession to NATO in April 1949 was the logical next step. The Nether-
lands has always shown itself a loyal and reliable ally.
In addition to the political willingness to earmark a considerable part of public
expenditure for defence (from 12.6% in 1946 to 23% in 1952), a number of profit-
able bilateral agreements ensured that the Dutch armed forces could be rebuilt at a
brisk and steady pace. In the case of building up the air force, it was particularly the
support of the United Kingdom and the United States of America that was of eminent
importance. In the first post-war years, the RAF played an important role in training
Dutch air force personnel. In the materiel domain – the Netherlands had virtually no
equipment whatsoever – the Target One plan formed a good solution. The Nether-
lands was able to procure almost 400 aircraft from RAF surplus supplies. In addition
to Spitfires and transport aircraft, these were mainly training aircraft intended for
setting up flying schools in the Netherlands.
British influence on the Dutch air force in the 1940s and 1950s was consider-
able. The new Dutch air force uniform, for instance, including the rank insignia, was
clearly inspired by the RAF uniform. The organisational model of Dutch air defence,
made up of air bases with interception fighters, radar stations and an airspace moni-
toring service, also followed the British example. This was clear from the organi-
sational design, whereby, on the instigation of the British, the Belgian and Dutch
air defence elements were organised in a single Air Defence Group, No 69 Group.
Also, in the materiel domain, it was British-made aircraft that formed the backbone
of Dutch air defence right up to the 1960s. From 1948, the outdated Spitfire was
replaced by the Gloster Meteor fighter jet (266 aircraft), which, in turn was replaced
by the Hawker Hunter (209 aircraft) from 1956.
The Dutch accession to NATO heralded a close military cooperation with the
United States, which was formalised in the Mutual Defense Assistance Program
(MDAP). Through this bilateral military aid programme, which covered the period
from 1950 to 1961, the United States made materiel available on a large scale. The
lion’s share was received as “grand aid”, which meant that they were in-kind sup-