On May 10, 1940 the Netherlands Army Air Service had at its command some 132 serviceable aircraft. In addition, the Netherlands Naval Air Service had a further 53 serviceable airplanes.

Of the 53 planes in the Naval Air Service, 24 were the two-seater naval biplanes, Koolhaven FK-51's, and were strictly utilized as observation planes.

Another 18 were Fokker C.IX's; these floatmounted biplanes were also strictly used as reconnaissance planes. Because of their slow speed all of the above were either destroyed or captured during the invasion. The remaining 11 planes were Fokker T.VIII's and were the only aircraft of the Naval Air Service that could be classified as combat planes. The Fokker T.VIII was a floatmounted, dual-engined, torpedo bomber. However, since the invasion of Holland was carried out without any naval operations, the torpedo bombers were virtually useless. Nine of these planes escaped to England, where they were reformed as the 320th Squadron of the RAF Coastal Command, seeing action against the Uboats around Northern Ireland.

Only 102 of the Army's 132 planes were combat aircraft. The remainder were reconnaissance planes including 20 Koolhaven FK-51's and 10 Fokker C.V's. The combat planes were dispersed into eight squadrons: one reconnaissance bomber squadron, two medium bomber squadrons, and five fighter squadrons.

The Dutch Reconnaissance Bomber Squadron was equipped with 10 Fokker C.X light bombers. These biplanes had a range of 500 miles, their Rolls-Royce engines could develop a speed of 200 miles per hour, and they could carry a 880-pound bomb load. During the campaign, these planes were utilized for close support of the Dutch ground forces, but because of their slow speed they soon fell victim to the Me-109's of the Luftwaffe.

The Dutch 1st and 2nd Medium Bomber Squadrons were equipped with 9 Fokker T.V's, a 280 mile per hour bomber capable of carrying a 2,200pound bomb load; and 31 Douglas DB-8A3N's, an American built two-seat bomber with a bomb capacity of about 2,000 pounds. The 9 Fokker T.V's were all lost during the first four days of the campaign in a futile attempt to halt the advancing German troops. Almost all of the Douglas DB-8A-3N's were destroyed in the bombing and subsequent air landing operations at the Ypenburg Airfield; the rest were shot down during the first day of the invasion.

The five fighter squadrons were based and equipped as follows:

1st: De Kooy 11 Fokker D.XXI's
2nd: Schipol 10 Fokker D.XXI's
3rd: Waalhaven 15 Fokker G. I A's
4th: Bergen 8 Fokker G.IA's
5th: Ypenburg 8 Fokker D.XXI's

The Fokker D.XXI was a single-seat monoplane fighter, and, even though it was handicapped in engagements against the German Me-109's by its slower speed, it was utilized valiantly and to good effect during the first few days of the campaign. The Fokker GJA was officially listed as a destroyer-bomber. it was equipped with nine 7.9mm machineguns and had the capacity to carry 880 pounds of bombs. This twinboomed aircraft was powered by two BristolMercury Vill engines and had a maximum speed of 295 mph.

While this was still slower than the Me-109's, it did allow the Dutch pilots to bring into play their far superior armaments. Most of the Dutch fighters were destroyed in the defense of their bases during the initial bombings of Waalhaven, Ypenburg, and Schipol. The rest fell victim to the higher speed and overwhelming numbers of the Me-109's.

Thus it was that of the 185 aircraft of the Dutch Air Forces, nine escaped to England and twenty or so were captured; the balance were destroyed by the massive air power of the German Luftwaffe before they could materially affect the military operations of the campaign.

More The Dutch Army 1940

Dutch Defense Plan
Infantry
Armor
Cavalry, AA, Artillery
Air Force
Order of Battle: May 10, 1940