In this section, we shall examine the activities of the Luftwaffe over Zeeland and the events surrounding the Dutch air bases in the province.
Flushing Air Base at Souburg came under attack by the Luftwaffe at approximately 04:30–05:00 hours. The nearby Vickers 7.5 tl anti-aircraft guns immediately opened fire on the attacking aircraft. German Dornier Do-215 strategic reconnaissance aircraft and Messerschmitt Bf-110 heavy fighters circled over the airfield, while the fighters repeatedly strafed the twenty-six parked training aircraft — mainly Fokker S-IV and S-IX trainers. Throughout these attacks, the German aircraft were engaged by both anti-aircraft artillery and heavy machine-gun fire.
One of the Messerschmitts later crashed near Goes as a result of damage sustained from the combined anti-aircraft fire around the airfield and the harbour area. The anti-aircraft battery also claimed the destruction of a Junkers Ju-88 bomber that reportedly crashed near Flushing, although it remains possible that the naval vessels in the harbour were responsible for this kill. In any case, no conclusive evidence of the German loss was ever found.
At around 08:00 hours, a Dutch Fokker T-V bomber (serial number 858) of the BomVA(the only modern Dutch bomber squadron), operating from Schiphol Air Base (Amsterdam), made an emergency landing on the obstructed airfield. Earlier that morning, the aircraft had already shot down a German bomber over the port of Ymuiden. After being refuelled at Flushing and taking off again for its return flight to Schiphol, the bomber was mistakenly hit by Dutch anti-aircraft fire over the naval seaplane base at Veere. As a result, it was forced to make another emergency landing, this time at the likewise obstructed Haamstede Air Base.
Haamstede Air Base was located on the island of Schouwen (today Schouwen-Duiveland) and had existed since 1930 as a satellite airfield of KLM’s operations at Waalhaven near Rotterdam. In 1932, the KLM satellite service was transferred to the airfield near Flushing, but Haamstede remained in operation as an important civilian airfield. In 1939, the secondary pilot training school was relocated there, after which the field officially became an Air Base. Today, it still survives as a small sports airfield.
The base was defended by a battery of three modern 4 cm Bofors anti-aircraft guns. In addition, a company of auxiliary guarding troops had been assigned as an improvised ground-defence force.
Haamstede Air Base served as the home base of the secondary pilot training group. This unit operated five Fokker C-V aircraft, ten Koolhoven FK-51s, three Fokker F-VIIa aircraft, one Fokker S-IX, and one Fokker C-IX training aircraft. With the exception of the F-VIIa transports (in use as auxilary light bombers), all were biplanes, and apart from the five Fokker C-V reconnaissance aircraft, none were suitable for operational combat missions. The C-Vs of this schooling unit lacked bomb racks and were only marginally fit for wartime service. To protect them from enemy air attacks, all operational aircraft had been dispersed and parked outside the airfield itself in the tree line.
In the early morning of 10 May, a full squadron of twelve Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters appeared over the base and concentrated their strafing attacks primarily on the airfield facilities. Six aircraft — all parked inside the main maintenance hangar for services or repars — were destroyed by the German cannon fire, while another eight suffered varying degrees of damage. One member of the ground crew was killed by shrapnel from the Bf 110s’ 20 mm guns.
Later that morning, the remnants of the 4th AF Reconnaissance Group arrived at Haamstede from Gilze-Rijen Air Base near Tilburg. The group had suffered heavily under Luftwaffe attacks at Gilze-Rijen, where the absence of anti-aircraft defences and the rapid German breakthrough of the Peel-Raam Line had made continued operations impossible. The reconnaissance group therefore evacuated to Zeeland with only five operational Fokker C-V aircraft remaining. At Haamstede, these were reinforced with the four surviving C-Vs of the training group.
Around midday on the first day of the war, the available C-V aircraft with bomb racks were ordered to carry out a ground-attack mission against the German-occupied Waalhaven Air Base south of Rotterdam. Owing to a shortage of qualified aircrews, however, only two aircraft could be assigned to the mission. Both biplanes were intercepted and shot down by German Heinkel He 111 bombers as they approached Waalhaven. One aircraft managed to make an emergency landing after sustaining heavy damage; the other was destroyed in mid-air, killing the pilot instantly and fatally wounding the observer, who succeeded in bailing out but perished all the same.
In the late evening, the two companies of guarding troops originally stationed at Gilze-Rijen arrived on the island. Their arrival provided a welcome reinforcement, and they were assigned various security duties around the air base and the nearby village. With this contingent in place, the air field had gotten a considerable occupation.
The small naval aviation station at Veere was defended by a platoon of Air Force anti-aircraft machine guns and a naval platoon equipped with three 2 cm Hispano-Suiza anti-aircraft guns. Stationed at the base were six Fokker C-XIV-W seaplanes — maritime reconnaissance aircraft — of which two were held in storage.
The base itself was guarded by two platoons of auxiliary naval troops, numbering approximately seventy men. Including the air and ground personnel, the total strength of the station amounted to around three officers and 120 men.
German aircraft were frequently observed over the area, usually flying at medium altitude, and were occasionally engaged by the anti-aircraft defences, though without success. As mentioned earlier, the only aircraft actually hit by the Veere defences proved ironically to be one of few modern Dutch bombers.
The final anti-aircraft unit in Zeeland to be mentioned was stationed near the Zanddijk Line. It was equipped with three older Krupp 7.5 cm anti-aircraft guns, supported by an equally outdated fire-control system. These weapons were modified Dutch versions of Krupp field artillery pieces that had entered service shortly after the First World War, but were nonetheless capable of effective anti-aircraft fire up to an altitude of about 4,500 m, albeit with a low fire-rate of about nine rounds per minute per battery.
Throughout the day, the battery fired continuously at the steady stream of enemy aircraft passing overhead. Although the unit claimed to have damaged or shot down several German planes, none of these claims could be confirmed.
In total, approximately seven German aircraft were claimed to have been shot down on 10 May by the combined fire of land-based and naval anti-aircraft guns in Zeeland. Most of these engagements took place over the harbour and city of Flushing. Only three of these claims can be confirmed with certainty: a Heinkel He-115B minelaying aircraft brought down by the anti-aircraft fire of Hr.Ms. Johan Maurits van Nassau; a Bf 110 C-1 of 4./ZG 1 shot down by anti-aircraft fire near Souburg; and a He 111P of 8./KG 54 that crashed near Sluis. Even in the latter case, however, it remains uncertain whether the aircraft was actually brought down by anti-aircraft batteries in Zeeland.
During the morning of 10 May, three Dutch Fokker G-1 heavy fighters of the 3rd Fighter Squadron (3e JaVA) from Waalhaven Air Base evaded landing on their seized based and in stead landed on the beach near Oostvoorne, north of Zeeland. The aircraft had taken off while Waalhaven was under attack and had succeeded in shooting down no fewer than seven (mostly confirmed) German aircraft in total — two Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft, one Ju 87 dive bomber, two Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters, and two unidentified aircraft.
After the three pilots were forced to land on the beach with almost empty fuel tanks they needed resupply. They subsequently attempted to obtain fuel at nearby Haamstede Air Base. Fuel would not become their issue, obtaining cranks for re-igniting their engines however was a whole different story.