Ursel Air Base

Ursel Air Base
Summary
Airport type Military/Public
Operator Belgian Air Component
Serves Ursel
Location Belgium
Elevation AMSL 96 ft / 29 m
Coordinates 51°08′39″N 003°28′32″E / 51.14417°N 3.47556°E / 51.14417; 3.47556Coordinates: 51°08′39″N 003°28′32″E / 51.14417°N 3.47556°E / 51.14417; 3.47556
Map
EBUL
Location in Belgium
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
07/25 2,980 9,777 Concrete
Sources: Belgian AIP[1]

Ursel Air Base (ICAO: EBUL) is a joint public/military airport located 10.2 km southwest of Eeklo near Ursel, East Flanders, Belgium.

History

The airfield was established in the 1930s for the Belgian Air Force. After the Battle of Belgium in May 1940, it was taken over by the Luftwaffe and used as an auxiliary airfield during the occupation period. It was briefly used by the Italian Corpo Aereo Italiano, creating a diplomatic break between Italy and the Belgian government in exile which led to a Belgian offensive against Italian East Africa.

The area was liberated by British Army forces in September 1944, and Royal Engineers converted the airfield to Royal Air Force use, designating the field as Advanced Landing Ground B-67. Four squadrons of Hawker Typhoon fighter-bombers operated from the field, their mission being to break the resistance of German troops at the Dutch island of Walcheren, which controlled the entrance to the harbours of Antwerp. Once the entrance to Antwerp was cleared, the RAF moved out and the airfield was abandoned.

Ursel was used during Exercise Reforger 76 in August/September of that year for the re-assembly of United States based US Army helicopters arriving by ship into Zebrugge for onward deployment to Kitzingen, Germany.

Ursel remains a reserve base for the Belgian Air Component.

See also

References

  1. ↑ AIP for EBUL – Ursel Air Base from Belgocontrol
  • Ursel - ALG B.67
  • Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
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