Royal Danish Air Force
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Royal Danish Air Force Flyvevåbnet |
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|---|---|
Royal Danish Air Force wings
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| Founded | 1 October 1950 |
| Country |
 Denmark Greenland Faroe Islands
|
| Allegiance | Kingdom of Denmark |
| Type | Air force |
| Role | National air defence and air superiority |
| Size | 3,476 personnel + 100 conscripts 93 aircraft |
| Part of | Danish Defence Command |
| Stable belt |  |
| Engagements |
NATO bombing of Yugoslavia (1999) War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) Military intervention in Libya (2011) Military intervention against ISIL (2015-) |
| Website |
Official Website Official Facebook |
| Commanders | |
| Chief of Defence | General Bjørn Bisserup |
| Chief of the Air Staff | Major General Max A.L.T. Nielsen |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel |  |
| Fin flash | .svg) |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcon |
| Multirole helicopter | Westland Super Lynx Mk 90B |
| Observation helicopter | Eurocopter AS 550 Fennec |
| Utility helicopter | AgustaWestland EH101 Merlin |
| Patrol | Bombardier CL-604 Challenger |
| Trainer | Saab MFI-17 Supporter |
| Transport | Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules |
The Royal Danish Air Force (Danish: Flyvevåbnet, lit. 'Flying weapon') (RDAF) is Denmark's aerial warfare force.
The Royal Danish Air Force (RDAF) was formed as a military service independent from the army and navy in 1950 from the merger of the Hærens Flyvertropper (Danish Army Air Corps) originally founded on 2 July 1912 and the Marinens Flyvevæsen (Danish Naval Air Service) which had been founded on 14 December 1911. All military aviation had been prohibited during the Nazi occupation from 1940 to 1945 and so as of V-E Day the Danish armed forces had no aircraft, but the Luftwaffe had built or expanded air bases in Denmark.
The air force was led by Lieutenant General C.C.J. Førslev, who had previously served as colonel in the army and as first commander of the Danish Army Air Corps. The national command was located at Værløse Air Base which also served as Command East, while Command West was located at Karup in central Jutland. Royal Air Force volunteer and former member of the Free Norwegian Forces in England, Kaj Birksted, was appointed chief of the flying staff. The rivalries and mutual disrespect between the established officer Førslev, who had never been in air combat himself, and the experienced fighter ace Birksted led to a series of misunderstandings which delayed the operationalization of the air force. Further, the East and West commands lacked experience and knowledge of the newly delivered Gloster Meteor and F-84 Thunderjet aircraft.
The Danish armed forces received 38 surplus Supermarine Spitfire H. F. Mk. IXE and 3 P.R.Mk. XI in 1947-48 plus four additional airframes for ground instruction, which were operated by units of the Hærens Flyvertropper and Marinens Flyvevæsen prior to their merger, and by the Royal Danish Air Force until 1956, when the last examples were retired and all but two scrapped.
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