15 Wing Air Transport
The Dakota Documentation Center would not exist without the 15 Wing! That’s why on our website, you will find a brief history of our “parent unit,” with which we have very close ties.
Enjoy your reading! (*)
Just before and at the start of World War II, most Belgian pilots fled the German occupiers, finding various routes to reach free Great Britain.
Most pilots joined the RAF Fighter Command to take part in operations such as the Battle of Britain. Some later transferred to the RAF Transport Command and retrained at Crosby-on-Eden to learn to fly the DC3-Dakota. After training, they were assigned to Membury to work with British crews in the 187th and 525th Squadrons.
When British crews gradually withdrew from the 525th squadron, it eventually became staffed entirely by Belgians. In April 1946, the 525th squadron was transferred permanently to Belgium, specifically to Evere. This airfield soon became the “home base” for a second squadron, the “Belgian Flight of Metropolitan Communication Squadron,” which had previously operated out of Hendon.
On April 1, 1947, a wing was established, the 169th Wing, consisting of these two squadrons, each receiving a new name:
- The 366th, equipped with 5 DC3 Dakotas.
- The 367th, equipped with 9 Ansons, 6 Oxfords, 4 Dominies, and 3 Proctors.
Faced with this variety of aircraft (**), a Transport Conversion Unit (TCU) was established the same year to retrain fighter pilots on one of these five aircraft types.
Initially, 169 Wing flights were limited to European territory, but soon the former Belgian colony, Belgian Congo, became a frequent destination.
In 1947, flights for the Military Cartographic Institute also began, and on September 11, 1947, a special event was recorded: for the first time, parachutes appeared behind the silhouette of a DAKOTA, above Schaffen. Since then, the 15 W and the paras have been inseparable!
On February 1, 1948, the 169th Wing was renamed the 15 Transport and Liaison Wing (15 VVbW), and the two squadrons received, once again, new names: the 20th and 21st Squadrons, each bearing a blue and red Sioux emblem, respectively (***). The 20th primarily focused on air transport, while the 21st specialized in liaison missions.
In 1950, the unit moved to Melsbroek, at the Groenveld Barracks, which had previously served as a training center for the Air Force. The 15 Wing remains there to this day.
Over the following decades, air transport missions became more varied and frequent, the list of destinations grew longer, and the distances increased. Therefore, the aircraft were gradually renewed or retired and eventually replaced by newer, more advanced types such as the DC4 and 6, C 119, Pembroke, C 130, A310, and so on, up to the current A400M (**). The unit’s name was later changed again to “15 Wing Air Transport.”
Of course, there is much more to tell about the 15 Wing, but for this, we invite our readers to visit the 15 Wing’s own website:
https://15wing-airtransport.be/home/nl
For more information on the history of the Melsbroek airfield and barracks:
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vliegbasis_Melsbroek
(*) Mostly summarized from “History of the 15th Wing Air Transport” by Colonel Vl Jo Huybens and Lieutenant-Colonel Vl Piet Claes.
(**) For more detailed information on all these aircraft, see the “Aircraft” tab.
(***) A wonderful article on the “Sioux” can be found on the 15 W website.