Royal Netherlands Air Force
The Royal Netherlands Navy is responsible for the defense of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. Accordingly, more
than one thousand personnel of the Royal Netherlands Navy are stationed permanently in this part of the kingdom.
Among them are some 400 marines. The Royal Netherlands Air Force Squadron 336 also has very small yet
important part in the operations of the Caribbean.
A bit of history of the 336 Squadron
The history of the RNAF 336 Squadron officially started on
Sep 1st 1961 when it took over the transportation responsibility from the Dutch marines in the former Dutch territories
of New Guinea . Initially 6 Dakota's were send for the new Squadron. Despite extra maintenance 2 of the Dakota's
crashed in 1962.
Because of this the Squadron acquired 2 more Dakota's bringing the total back to 6. Until the 1st of Nov 1962 the
Squadron had roughly 2300 total flying hours and transported 5471 passengers and 450 ton of Cargo, a respectable
amount for such a brief period. They also did some "confidential" flights with these Dakota's but on the 9th of Nov 1962
they were all sold to the American Firm Jones & Guerrero in Manila. The personal was send the same day to Holland
on a KLM flight via Bangkok. The were incorporated in the 334 Squadron, and so an end to the 336 sq.
336 Squadron reassigned to the Netherlands Antilles
On Aug the 1st 1981 however the 336 was "reborn" at the flight base "Soesterberg" in the Netherlands. The task this
time: To do patrol flights over and around the islands of the Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean (previous task of the
marines). For the job 2 new Fokker 27 Mk.200 Marine Patrol Aircrafts were ordered. On Sep 30th 1981 the first aircraft
was delivered to the Royal Netherlands Air Force and got the registration M-1. This aircraft left to Curacao on the 9th of
Nov 1981. The first pilot was Mayor G.W.G.F. Rijnders. The aircraft arrived on the island on 13th of Nov 1981. The
second F27 registered M-2 arrived on Mar the 20th 1982.
The official re-start date for the Squadron 336 is Apr 1st 1982
Fifteen members of the RNAF and ten of the marines initially formed the personal of the 336 Squadron. This later
increased to about 48. They have their own commander but are under orders of the Naval Commander for the
Caribbean (CZMCARIB). They are the furthest Dutch Squadron being roughly 9000 km away from the Netherlands
and with the least amount of aircrafts, only two.
Obstacles for the new Squadron
The RNAF soon started to notice corrosion problems on the 2 Aircrafts and in 1986 they had to ground them for
repairs. Fokker experts were flown in to make the maintenance & repairs. This hindered the task given to the Squadron
of patrolling & protecting the Dutch Antilles. In that same year a new hangar was build & part of the old one was also
remodeled. Search And Rescue (SAR) missions take a lot of their total flight time. In 1986 they were called upon 44
times. In 1989 it Increased to 69 cases. These missions usually take 4-6 hours. From the start until 1991 690.1 hours
were accumulated by SAR operations. A frustrating part of this is that usually officials reported when there was a
missing boat or person but did not notify when they are already found wasting unnecessary resources.
Perseverance
Despite the different obstacles over the years the 336 Squadron will celebrate this year (2003) its 22nd year on the
Netherlands Antilles and Aruba (in 1986 Aruba got a separate status within the Dutch Kingdom).
Special celebration
In 1996 when they celebrated 15 years of existence, and a special event was planned. A small air show. For this event
The Royal Netherlands Air Force or Klu send 3 aircrafts all the way from Holland. One KDC-10 tanker/transport aircraft
& 2 F-16's. The KDC-10 tanker was one of 2 operated by the RNAF and forms part of the 334 Transport Squadron.
These 2 aircrafts are considered the queen of the RNAF and were received from the Martinair fleet. Modifications were
done to make it a tanker and Transporter but it can still carry 160 passengers. The two F-16's that went to Curacao
were from the 312 Squadron and had to refuel every one to two hours. For such a long operation special planning was
required. From catering to overnight arrangements as well as extra cabin crew etc. The shortest way to Curacao was
via Goose Bay in Canada.
The long trip was like a test for the RNAF long range capabilities
The flight started at 12:00 2nd of Sep 1996 with the KDC-10 "Prins Bernhard" T-264 leaving from Eindhoven and the 2
F-16's J-206 & J-879 joining in from Volkel. An overnight in Goose Bay was necessary & despite 2 hurricanes in the
Caribbean the journey continued the next morning. The flying time from Goose Bay took 6 hours & 12 minutes. Before
landing the 3 airplanes flew in a formation around the island with a F-16 at each wingtip of the KDC-10. They landed at
15:35 local time at Hato airport/base.
The event
On Saturday 7th of Sep was the air show/open day. Between the commercial aircraft landings & departures the RNAF
managed to do a very nice air show. The F-27's, KDC-10 & F-16's & a P-3c Orion of the MLD flew. The only foreign
aircraft was an E-2C Hawkeye of the USAF. A surprise was also a Gulfstream of the Klu that made a low pass but did
not land. This aircraft just happened to be in the area. The KDC-10 was also spotted flying along the Aruban coast.
The 336 Squadron remains important for the NA&A
To this date the main task of the 336 Squadron has been of SAR. That is why they have a Rescue Coordination Center
that Patrols the Neth. Antilles FIR which is about 160.000 square kilometers big. The squadron though has made a
name for itself receiving several awards & recognition from both local organizations as well as nearby Navy's. There
are also often training exercises With the navy & customs of Surinam, French Guyana, Guyana, Venezuela, U.S.A.,
Jamaica, France and Great Britain. More than half of the total flying hours per year which are around 1300 to 1500 are
spend transporting VIP's, marines & freight to the other islands. Drug smuggling, Medical evacuation, fishing boats as
well as pollution control patrols flights are also held.
Ready when called upon
The Royal Netherlands Navy also provides military assistance at the request of the governments of the Netherlands
Antilles and Aruba.An example of this was the humanitarian aid given when the island of St. Maarten was hit by
hurricane Luis in 1995. The 336 Squadron aircraft was the last to leave the island before the hurricane and the first
aircraft after it had passed; while coconut trees were still on the runway! The Navy's presence can also be augmented
at short notice by reinforcements flown in from the Netherlands as shown during the event in 1996.
Who's is charge?
The highest military representative in the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba is the Naval Commander for the Caribbean,
who is stationed with his staff at the Parera naval base on Curacao. The RNAF base is also located on the island of
Curacao at "Hato International Airport" and is also referred to as "Hato airbase". Nowadays they operate 2 P-3C Orion
aircrafts from this base. Lately there has been a talk of removing the airbase on its entirety, something that has the
Dutch islanders concerned for a variety of reasons.
The Marines
The Marine Barracks at Savaneta on Aruba is home for the marines of the 32nd infantry company, a small landing craft
unit, the Aruban militia and is also one of the bases for the Coast Guard for the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba (NA&A).
In comparison to their colleagues in the Netherlands, the marines stationed in the Caribbean train in an entirely
different kind of terrain; on the border of land and water, but this time under tropical conditions. In various South
American countries, including the French Guyana, the marines undergo jungle training. Exercises are frequently held
with military allies in the area, such as the French, the British and the Americans. On Martinique and Guadeloupe for
example, troops follow French commando training. On occasions an "open day" is held were the public can visit the
military installations. On Aruba it is usually held on the 1st of May at the base in Savaneta. Static vehicles including the
Coast Guard ships are on display and many activities are held on that day. There is usually even a very small air show
with some low passes by the P-3C Orion's stationed in Curacao & the Coast Guard helicopter also gives rescue
demonstration. In 2003 it was estimated that about 7500 people visited the "open day" in Aruba.
Special visits
Every so often The Royal Family visits the NA&A. They usually travel with a Fokker 28. This aircraft has been here on a
few occasions. For those who are unaware this aircraft is similar to the Air Force One of the USAF. The Royal Queen
Beatrix of Holland is the official owner of the aircraft and that is why they have registered it as PH-KBX. PH being the
Dutch registration code, K as in Koningin (meaning queen in Dutch) and BX for the first and last letters of her first
name. The Royal family is dearly loved on the Islands; when they are visiting several public activities are held to
celebrate their visit. Despite the islands safety record extra precaution is always planned. Here is where the marines
are also called upon. The 336 RNAF is also always on standby.
RNAF effect on Aruba
Although a minimal one visitors to Aruba or locals can occasionally spot the RNAF P-3C Orion which is mostly seen
patrolling the coast flying really low along the beach. Most of the time it will do a low pass over the Reina Beatrix airport
runway to head back out over the ocean. In the past when the 2 F-27's were stationed at Hato airbase they used to do a
lot of cargo & personnel flights. Nowadays they rarely do a full stop at the airport. The reason for the drop in Cargo flight
is that the Marine ship Hr. Ms. Pelikaan has taken over most of these duties.
The NA&A Coast Guard
After many years of discussion between the governments the Coast Guard for the NA&A was opened on the 23rd of
Jan 1996. This has been a great relief for both the RNAF & the islanders specially with the SAR missions.
The Coast Guard has a variety of tasks, among them to control drug trafficking, illegal fishing, control the waters for
pollution & also for possible illegal aliens who are trying to get to shore. They have 3 Patrol ships of the Cutter type &
several other supporting material to do their work. There is also a Dutch Station Ship always in the area which its main
task is to backup the Coast Guard operations. All the operations are also under command of the CZMCARIB but the
daily operations are in hands of an Aruban an Antillian and a Dutch.
A remarkable SAR story
A remarkable story that showed the cooperation between the different divisions & also the cooperation with the
Americans is one that took place in 2001. On the 26th of July there was a "large" search & rescue mission on hand for
a missing Venezuelan Beechcraft A36 that went down (because of an engine failure) about 90 miles from Aruba. The
aircraft departed from Maracaibo, Venezuela and was heading to San Francisco California. Before that they had to
make several stops, the first one being at Providence Island (Turks & Caicos). Curacao Air Traffic Control (124.1) was
the first to receive the "May-Day" call. The aircraft with registration YV-1450P indicated they were having problems and
loosing altitude. The call for help was also send to Aruba where the Coastguard, The RNAF and Search and Rescue
Aruba "SARFA" were notified. The Dutch Navy send the P3C-Orion for the search. The Coastguard helped with a
helicopter and the SARFA also helped with an additional airplane piloted by Ruben Croes. Curacao Center kept in
contact until the last posible moment. At one point the pilot notified that the engine had stopped and they were going to
ditch (7:40am). Their position was recorded for the rescue. They were at then at 80 miles NW from Aruba. In the
meantime some Venezuelan aircrafts also joined in the search and all ships in that area were notified. Even FOL
F-16's that were stationed in Curacao at the time were asked to help and so they did flying around in that area. It was at
exactly 12:38 PM that the P3C-Orion noticed the lifeboat floating in the water with 2 persons. They marked the position
and after a few minutes the Lynx Helicopter of the H.M.S. Van Amstel arrived to make the rescue. Then the helicopter
opted for the nearest airport which was the one in Aruba. At 3:00 PM they arrived at the airport where they were
immediatly transported to the hospital. There was no specific word on their condition but they were released they
same day with only minor injuries. The pilot assumes that it was an oil pump failure which caused the engine to stop.
They managed to take out and inflate the lifeboat where they remained until they were rescued. During those hours
they noticed several aircrafts passing by (including the F-16's) but none had seen them until they were localized by the
Orion aircraft. That was only one of the remarkable stories. On several occasions the Coast Guard has helped with
medical emergencies and often they will land directly at the Dr. Horacio Oduber Hospital in Aruba.
Future of the P-3C Orions
The Dutch government initially felt that these remarkable aircrafts were too expensive to be stationed in the Caribbean.
In time they have shown however that they are very well suited for the job. They can fly for 12 hours without the need for
refueling and have excellent radar capabilities. They can carry a crew of 10, cruise at 608 km per hour and have a
range of 9260 km. Despite having 4 motors they can easily fly on 2. These aircrafts also have chaffs & flares for self
defense. The 302, 307, 308, 309, 312 Orion's have been officially spotted on the Dutch Caribbean islands. The Dutch
have 10 of these aircrafts and it is expected to remain with them until at least 2005.
Thanks to
Mariniers Kazerne Aruba, Andries Waardenburg, Patrick Lutz, John Van Den Berg, Vicky & Brandon Oduber,
Bon Dia Aruba and last but not least to all the men & woman of the Dutch Navy who put their lives at risk to save others.
This section is specially dedicated to you with all the respect you deserve. Thank you, we are proud of you!
ArubaAviation.com
