History
The first plane to land at the air station was a de Havilland Tiger Moth on 26 March 1938, making it the country's oldest air station still operational. During World War II, RAF Gloster Gladiators (No. 263 Squadron RAF) and Hawker Hurricanes (No. 46 Squadron RAF) operating from Bardufoss played a vital part in keeping the Luftwaffe at bay during the fighting on the Narvik front in the April–June 1940 Norwegian Campaign. After the allied withdrawal from Norway, the airbase was taken over by the Germans and mostly used as a base for fighters, bombers and reconnaissance planes operating against the Murmansk convoys. Fighters from Bardufoss also had the task of providing aerial support for naval operations in the area, but failed to scramble in time to prevent the battleship Tirpitz from being sunk by Avro Lancaster bombers at Håkøya near Tromsø. Luftwaffe ace Heinrich Ehrler was originally sentenced to death because of this, but was never executed: He died in combat when he rammed an American B-17 Flying Fortress over Germany.
The 339 Squadron was moved to Bardufoss in 1964 while the 337 Squadron came in 1983.
The Royal Norwegian Air Force Flight Training School was moved to Bardufoss from Trondheim Airport, Værnes in 2003.
Read more about this topic: Bardufoss Air Station
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