Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service

The Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service (Norwegian: Marinens flyvevesen) was alongside the Norwegian Army Air Service the forerunner to the modern-day Royal Norwegian Air Force.^[1]

History

The RNNAS was established on 1 June 1912,^[2] with the maiden flight of the HNoMS Start, piloted by Hans Dons. The founding of the Air Service was based largely on pride. On 19 April 1912 newspapers had reported that a Swedish pilot was planning to fly over Moss and Horten. Horten was the site of the main base of the Royal Norwegian Navy. Three officers of the Norwegian submarine Kobben decided that it would be a shame if they were not able to beat him to it.

Later that year, the Maurice Farman biplanes Njaal and Gange Rolf were purchased.

In 1915 the Navy established its own aircraft factory and a flying school.

The main flight base was established in Horten. Other naval air stations were established in

Second World War

The Norwegian Campaign

In 1940 most of the planes in Norwegian service were outdated, and the 1 100 transport and fighter planes of the

The Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service ceased to exist on 10 November 1944 when the Royal Norwegian Air Force was established.

In honour of the achievements of the RNoAF Squadrons of the World War II The Royal Norwegian Air Force has maintained the RAF squadron names. Thus Norway still has 330 and 333 squadrons, respectively flying

• Marinens Flyvebaatfabrikk
• Norwegian Army Air Service

Footnotes

Bibliography

• Gulli, Stein (August 1994). "L'aviation navale norvégienne, Avril-Juin 1940 (2ème partie)" [Norwegian Naval Aviation, April–June 1940, Part 2]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (18): 40–43.
  ISSN 1243-8650
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