Breguet Atlantic - In dienst bij de Marine Luchtvaartdienst 1969 - 1984
The Atlantic was developed as a NATO project in the 1950s. When the Council of Ministers decided to order nine aircraft of the type in July 1968, parts of the production line had already been shut down. Consequently, the first four Atlantics for the naval air service were originally intended for the French (and German) navy.
The Atlantic is being acquired by the Navy because, due to the decommissioning of the aircraft carrier Hr. Ms. Karel Doorman, the aircraft based on it, intended for anti-submarine warfare, are no longer operational due to limited capacity.
In the Naval Aviation Service, the Atlantic is designated as SP-13A and entered service with VSQ 321 at Valkenburg Naval Air Base. The Atlantics are assigned registrations 250 through 258.
VSQ 321 participates in exercises with the Atlantic on both a national and international level. With detachments primarily in Germany, France, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Iceland, the Dutch Atlantic has been a familiar sight in international airspace for many years.
Unlike the Neptune of VSQ 320, the Atlantic is sporadically seen in the Caribbean.
The Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff wrote in late 1974 that the serious teething difficulties following commissioning into the naval aviation service regarding logistics and documentation had been practically resolved and that material readiness was very reasonable. The Atlantic was operationally usable but no longer a modern weapons system. Consequently, the Atlantics had to be replaced in the early 1980s.
On January 1, 1985, the curtain falls. The Atlantic was in service with the Naval Air Service from 1969 through 1984.
Product details
| Author: | Martin de Boer |
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| Details: | 128 pages, 12 x 8.7 x 0.71 in (30.5 x 22 x 1.8 cm), hardback |
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| Illustrations: | extensively illustrated |
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| Language: | Dutch |
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| Publisher: | Uitgeverij Geromy B.V. (NL, 2019) |
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| ISBN: | 9789082858143 |
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