Air Base Karup

F-35 Draken plane at the entrance to Karup Air Base

Sikorsky S-61 based at Karup Air Base

Air Base Karup is the main air base of the Royal Danish Air Force. It is situated 3 km west of Karup in mid-Jutland.

The air base covers 3000 hectares of land of which only a third is inside the operational area marked by a 17 km long fence.

History

German POWs paint British markings on a Messerschmitt Bf 110 night fighter following the liberation of Denmark in August 1945

The air base was constructed during the German Occupation in 1940 under the name "Einsatzhafen Grove" (later Flieger-Horst Grove) to facilitate offensive operations against England. Later in the war, it became a base for defensive fighter planes.

Following the British advance into Denmark in May 1945, during which the airfield was surrendered to Captain Eric Brown RN, of the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE), a group of nine Ar 234B reconnaissance bombers were found at the base and subsequently transferred by Brown and his colleagues to Farnborough. By December 1945 the air base was taken over by the Danish Civil Air Defence, using it as a refugee camp for 22.000 German refugees.

Control over the area was transferred to the Royal Danish Army in January 1946, continuing the use as refugee camp until 1949. In 1947 the Danish Army Air Corps established a flying school, maintenance centre and logistics office at Karup, preparing for Meteor, Oxford and Spitfire fighter planes. When the Royal Danish Air Force was established in 1950 the area was named Air Base Karup.

During the post-war years Karup Air Base became a central part of Denmark's NATO defence plan and played a major role in the establishment of the Royal Danish Air Force (RDAF). In 1955 the Tactical Air Command were placed at Karup.

Several American produced planes were stationed at the base in the 1950s and 1960s, among them T-33, F-84, RF-84F and F-100. In 1970 the Royal Danish Air Force purchased two squadrons of Swedish Draken strike fighters and stationed them at Karup.

During the 1980s and 1990s several smaller units in the Royal Danish Air Force moved from Værløse Air Base near Copenhagen and Vandel Air Base in southern Jutland to Karup Air Base. In 1993 the Army Operational Command were placed at the air base.

Wings and units

Saab T-17 Supporter at Karup Air Base

The air base is home to the following units under the Royal Danish Air Force:

• Helicopter Wing Karup
• RDAF Flying School
• RDAF Air Control Wing
• Combat Support Wing
• RDAF Specialist School
• RDAF Training Centre
• Expeditionary Air Staff

Further, the operational commands of the Royal Danish Army and the Royal Danish Air Force is situated at the base.

Civilian companies

The arms and technology company Danish Aerotech has its facilities in the air base area. It produces and maintains aeroplanes and missiles.