The Cold War
On 15 October 1946, the Belgian military aviation was turned into an autonomous force, independent of the Belgian Army.
From September 1953 to 1960, the Ecole de Pilotage Avancé (Advanced Pilots' School) operated Harvards from the Kamina military base in the Belgian Congo. Seemingly about 60 Harvards were at the base.
During the Cold War, the Belgian Air Force operated the following aircraft:
| Aircraft | Origin | Description | Variants | Operated | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aero Commander 560F | United States | Twin-engined light transport | 560F | 1 | 1961 to 1973 as royal transport |
| Airspeed Consul | United Kingdom | Twin-engined light transport | 4 | Used from 1948 in Belgian Congo. | |
| Airspeed Oxford | United Kingdom | Twin-engined light transport | 20 | Operated between 1947 and 1954. | |
| Auster AOP6 | United Kingdom | Single-engine light observation aircraft, | 22 | Operated between 1947 and 1955. | |
| Avro Anson | United Kingdom | Twin-engined light transport | 15 | Operated between 1946 and 1954. | |
| Avro-Canada CF-100 Canuck | Canada | Twin-jet interceptor | Mk 5 | 53 | Operated from 1957 into the mid 1960s. |
| Boeing 727-200 | United States | Three-engined jet airliner | 727-29C | 2 | Operated from 1975. |
| Dassault Mirage 5 | France Belgium | Jet fighter-bomber and reconnaissance | 5BA Read more about this topic: Belgian Air Component Famous quotes containing the words cold and/or war:“To watch that world come up like a cold sun, “It takes twenty years or more of peace to make a man; it takes only twenty seconds of war to destroy him.” |