National Experiences - British Commission for Military History

208 ai r p o w e r in 20 t H Ce n t u ry do C t r i n e s a n d em p l o y m e n t - nat i o n a l ex p e r i e n C e s
Besides the RNLAF and its immediate predecessors, the Netherlands, for a long
time, also had two other military air services: the Military Aviation Branch of the
Royal Netherlands Indies Army (abbreviated to ML-KNIL in Dutch) and the Naval
Air Arm (MLD) of the Royal Netherlands Navy. In view of the necessary limits to
the size of this article and the complexity of the subject material, the history of the
Dutch colonial air force and the naval air arm will not be examined in any detail.
Even though it would not be until July 1913 that the Netherlands founded its first
military air service, a number of officers had for some considerable time already
been exploring the military possibilities of utilising airspace. These officers played
an important role in the Nederlandse Vereeniging voor Luchtvaart (NVvL, the Dutch
Association for Aviation) that had been set up in The Hague in October 1907. Two of
them, C.J. Snijders and H. Walaardt Sacré, left their mark on the pioneering phase of
military aviation in the Netherlands.
From the very beginning, Major General Snijders, who was rising through the
ranks rapidly, proved to be an unfaltering champion of aviation. In the summer of
1909, Snijders asked his fellow engineer officer Walaardt Sacré to look into the possibilities
for using aerial vehicles for military purposes. Captain Walaardt Sacré, who
was to later earn certificates for flying balloons and airships, made various trips
abroad for the purpose of study and reported on them in great detail. In the interim,
Snijders tried to convince the Minster of War to establish an aviation organisation in
the Dutch armed forces. The minister then tasked a special committee with assessing
the benefits and necessity of such an organisation. In this Militaire Luchtvaart
Commissie (Military Aviation Committee), which Snijders was to chair for some
time, Walaardt Sacré fulfilled a key role as secretary. Even before the committee had
completed its final report, the Dutch army would have its first practical experience
with the military deployment of aircraft.
In the large-scale army-manoeuvre exercise held in September 1911 – a first in
the Netherlands, involving 20,000 military personnel – room had been made for an
“aviation service”. As the Dutch armed forces did not have the required materiel,
the civilian sector was called upon to provide the necessary equipment. In addition
to two balloons from the NVvL and three cars, the exercise involved six privatelyowned
aircraft. At that time, the Dutch army did not have fully-licensed military
pilots. Even though a number of regular officers had meanwhile been sent abroad to
be trained as pilots, they had not yet completed their training. Still, they participated
in the exercise as observers in two-seater aircraft. The aircraft were flown by civilian
aviators and a number of qualified personnel on extended leave who were called up
for a limited duration. The debut of the Dutch aircraft in a military role went down
in history as “a happy and successful improvisation”. Notwithstanding the lack of
training and experience on the part of the observers, the reconnaissance flights had
provided a wealth of military information.
The experiences gained with the “flying-machines” strengthened the conviction
of the members of the Militaire Luchtvaart Commissie that the armed forces