Nationaal Militair Museum at the former Soesterberg airfield

Updated: October 2026 – Between Utrecht and Amersfoort, in the middle of forest and heath, lies a place where the history of Dutch military aviation literally began. In 1913 the Luchtvaartafdeeling, the seed of today’s Koninklijke Luchtmacht, took off from the heath near Soesterberg. For almost a hundred years the Vliegbasis Soesterberg was in operation, and in 2008 it was closed. Since December 2014 the Nationaal Militair Museum, or NMM for short, has stood on the grounds.

For you as a spotter, the NMM is a time machine: under a gigantic roof, Starfighters, Hunters, Sabres and the famous F-16 “MiG killer” hang in the air, while outside stand a Breguet Atlantic and a Fokker F27. This page shows you what to expect, how to photograph the hanging aircraft well, how to get there and how to combine the visit with other spots in the Netherlands.

A base with over a hundred years of history

Soesterberg is considered the birthplace of Dutch military aviation. From 1913 the Luchtvaartafdeeling, the predecessor of today’s air force, flew from here. In World War II the German Luftwaffe took over the site as an airbase. From here it flew missions against ships over the North Sea, bombing raids on England and fighter sorties, until the site was liberated in May 1945.

After the war the base’s best-known era began. From 1954 to 1994 the US Air Force’s 32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron was stationed here, in a separate area called Camp New Amsterdam. In 1959 the squadron received the Dutch honorary designation “Royal.” It flew, in turn, the F-86 Sabre, F-100 Super Sabre, F-102 Delta Dagger, F-4 Phantom II and finally the F-15 Eagle. In parallel, Dutch fighter squadrons flew from the base, the last being the 325th Squadron, which operated the Hawker Hunter until 1968. Later, transport aircraft like the Fokker F27 Troopship and helicopters like the Chinook, Cougar and Alouette III were added.

In November 2008 the era ended: as part of savings in the defense budget, the base was given up, flight operations ended on November 12, and it was formally closed at the end of the year. Most of the grounds are now a nature area as Park Vliegbasis Soesterberg, managed by Het Utrechts Landschap. The main runway, a good three kilometers long, is still recognizable in the park, as are several aircraft shelters from the base era.

From the aviation museum to the Nationaal Militair Museum

There was an aviation museum in Soesterberg long before the NMM: the Militaire Luchtvaart Museum showed the air force’s aircraft for decades, most recently at the neighboring Kamp van Zeist. Together with the Legermuseum in Delft, its collection formed the foundation of the new house.

On December 11, 2014, King Willem-Alexander opened the Nationaal Militair Museum. The museum belongs to the Koninklijke Defensiemusea foundation and tells the story of all the Dutch armed forces. For aviation fans it is important to know this: a large part of the exhibition revolves around the army, tanks and weapons. The aircraft, however, are what visually dominates the hall.

The building itself is an eye-catcher: a huge, flat roof spans the hall, and at the front a large glass facade lets in daylight. The entire museum grounds cover about 45 hectares. This also includes Building 45, regarded as the oldest aviation building in the Netherlands, as well as an air force memorial in the adjacent park.

The collection: what to expect as a spotter

The museum describes its holdings as the largest military collection in the Netherlands. The centerpiece for spotters is the Arsenaal, the large hall in which, according to the museum, all the showpieces from Dutch military aviation history are gathered. Nineteen aircraft hang from the ceiling there. One display shows several fighter jets in a kind of dogfight – a motif you find in hardly any other museum.

The museum does not publish a complete list of exactly which aircraft are on show. The following overview is based on publicly documented photos from the museum and on the known holdings of the predecessor museum. Individual aircraft may be in storage, being restored or rehung – so treat the table as a guide.

Area	Typical exhibits	Interesting for spotters because …
Cold War, Koninklijke Luchtmacht	F-16A, F-104G Starfighter, Hawker Hunter, Gloster Meteor, F-84F Thunderstreak, RF-84F Thunderflash, NF-5	The jets that shaped the Dutch air force for decades
US presence at Soesterberg	F-86 Sabre, F-102 Delta Dagger, F-15A Eagle	Types of the 32nd Squadron, which was stationed directly at this base
World War II and before	Fokker D.VII, Fokker D.XXI, B-25 Mitchell, P-51, Spitfire, Tiger Moth	rare propeller types, many with Dutch or East Indies history
Naval aviation and maritime patrol	Dornier Do 24, Lockheed Neptune, Breguet Atlantic, Tracker, Sea Fury	large patrol aircraft that you otherwise rarely see up close
Transport and helicopters	CH-47D Chinook, Fokker F27 Troopship, C-47, Alouette	Air transport of the armed forces into the recent past
Eastern Bloc	MiG-21	A Cold War counterpart for direct comparison

For type collectors, the density of 1950s and 1960s types is especially interesting. The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is part of the holdings; the museum’s online collection documents, among others, an F-104G with the serial D-8022. The Hawker Hunter even has a local connection here, because the 325th Squadron flew it from this very base until 1968. Among the US types, take a look at the F-86 Sabre and the F-15 Eagle, both of which served at Camp New Amsterdam. If you want to decode the US serial numbers of the exhibits, read the article US military serials.

The F-16 “MiG killer” and Chinook D-663

Two exhibits attract spotters in particular. The first is the F-16A with the serial J-063. According to the museum, it is the only Dutch fighter to have shot down an enemy aircraft since World War II. On March 24, 1999, in the first night of NATO’s Operation Allied Force over Serbia, its pilot, then Major Peter Tankink, shot down a Serbian MiG-29 with an AMRAAM missile. The MiG pilot was able to save himself with the ejection seat. Afterward J-063 had a MiG-29 silhouette painted on as a kill marking.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon shaped the Koninklijke Luchtmacht for more than four decades and has since been replaced by the F-35 Lightning II. If you want to dig deeper into the type’s history in the Netherlands, you will find a virtual tour of the earlier exhibition “F-16: 50 jaar Fast Forward” on the museum’s website.

The second highlight is the CH-47D Chinook with the serial D-663. The museum calls the Boeing CH-47 Chinook the “workhorse” of the Dutch air force. The museum usually opens it from the inside too, on the last Sunday of the month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., without an extra ticket – you simply join the line. For 2026 the museum still lists October 25, November 29 and December 27. Check the dates before your visit, as they may change.

Photography in the Arsenaal

Soesterberg gives you a different task than a classic museum with aircraft on the ground. Most of the aircraft hang above you, often closely staggered. That means three things: you often shoot from below, individual aircraft overlap depending on your vantage point, and the light in the hall mixes artificial light with daylight from the glass facade.

Focal length: For the overall scene with several aircraft you need a wide-angle lens. Watch for converging lines and make sure the aircraft at the edge of the frame are not distorted too much. How to use wide-angle and standard zoom purposefully is explained in the guide Wide-angle and standard lenses for spotting. For individual jets, crests and serials on the ceiling, a short telephoto up to about 200 millimeters helps – it lets you pull a single aircraft out of the crowd.

Vantage point: Walk through the hall once without a camera and note from where the aircraft do not overlap. Often a step to the side is enough so that a wing no longer pokes into another aircraft. Exhibits near the glass front get softer, more natural light than those in the middle of the hall.

Exposure: Tripod and flash are only allowed with prior written permission. For most visitors that means working handheld with a higher ISO and a fast lens. Image stabilization and a shutter speed you can hold reliably matter more than the last stop of aperture. Modern software helps against noise at high ISO values, as described in the article Noise reduction with AI denoise. You best correct white balance in post-processing, because hall light and daylight have different colors.

Outside it looks different. You can photograph the Breguet Atlantic, the Fokker F27 and the F-86F Sabre on the outdoor grounds from all sides and in daylight. The classic light rules apply here: in the morning and late afternoon the light is softer, and with a clear sky it is worth checking the sun position. How to plan that in advance is in the guide Planning the sun position. The Breguet Atlantic and the Fokker F27 are two types you can hardly get in front of your lens as a full-length shot anymore.

Observation tower and Park Vliegbasis Soesterberg

An underrated part of the visit is the observation tower. You take the elevator to the sixth floor and look out over the entire former base grounds. In clear visibility the view reaches as far as Utrecht. From above you can see well how big the Vliegbasis once was, where the old main runway ran and how the shelters are spread across the grounds.

Park Vliegbasis Soesterberg is open daily from sunrise to sunset and is suited to walks, bike rides and mountain biking. Between heath and forest you come across bunkers and shelters from the base era. A gliding club still uses a landing area on the old grounds – stay away from this area, the museum explicitly calls it dangerous. The southern runway is closed from March 15 to August 15 because of the breeding season. Stay on the marked paths.

For spotters the park is mainly atmosphere: the facilities tell how a NATO base looked during the Cold War. If you like photos of shelter doors or bunker entrances, you will find quiet subjects here – without the hustle of an active airport.

Getting there: car, bus and train

The NMM is in Soest near Soesterberg, roughly between Utrecht and Amersfoort. By car the trip is easiest. According to the museum, parking is free, and there are accessible parking spaces, bus bays and 22 spaces with charging stations for electric cars. From Germany the museum is thus easily doable as a day trip.

By bus and train, the museum lists bus route 575, which runs from Driebergen-Zeist station and from Soest-Zuid. Important: this route does not run on Sundays. Look up your connection in the Dutch journey planner 9292, because timetables change.

The whole museum is wheelchair accessible, even if the distances can be long. A limited number of wheelchairs are available; you need a €1 coin for them, and you cannot reserve one. Large items like umbrellas you hand in at the cloakroom.

How a good spotter day at the NMM goes

What else belongs in your camera bag is listed in the Plane spotting gear checklist. If you want to tell older propeller types apart more confidently, the article Recognizing vintage aircraft in the sky helps.

Food, family and extras

The museum has the restaurant De Veldkeuken with soups, sandwiches, salads and hot dishes, as well as an espresso bar in the middle of the hall. You can visit the Veldkeuken even without a museum ticket. Your own food is allowed outside on the benches and in the entrance area, but not in the restaurant or on the terrace. Dogs are not allowed in the building, except for assistance and guide dogs.

If you are traveling with family, from early April to the end of October you will find an outdoor program on weekends and daily during school holidays: rides in historic military vehicles, mini jeeps for kids and an obstacle course. For spotters this has two sides. On one hand it is busier then; on the other, the rest of the family is occupied while you devote yourself to the aircraft in peace. There are also changing exhibitions, an escape room and interactive themed rooms.

Combining Soesterberg with other spots in the Netherlands

Because no jets take off from Soesterberg anymore, the museum pairs ideally with a spot with real traffic. The trip to Schiphol is manageable, and there you have a choice: for widebodies on approach, the Spotterplaats at the Polderbaan is the classic, and for a comfortable overview the Panoramaterras. Which locations work in which runway direction is explained in the article Plane spotting at Schiphol.

For civil aviation history, the Aviodrome at Lelystad Airport is the obvious complement – together with the NMM you get both sides of Dutch aviation in one weekend. Background on the institution behind the museum can be found in the profile of the Nationaal Militair Museum Soesterberg.

In a European comparison, Soesterberg plays in the same league as the Luftwaffe Museum in Berlin-Gatow, the RAF Museum Cosford and the IWM Duxford. All four lie on historic military airfields but set their own focus: Gatow with East and West, Cosford and Duxford with British aviation, Soesterberg with the history of the Koninklijke Luchtmacht and the US presence in the Netherlands.

Conclusion

The Nationaal Militair Museum is not a spot for movements but a place where you can work through over a hundred years of Dutch military aviation in a single day – and on the ground where it began in 1913. Starfighter, Hunter, Sabre, Eagle and the F-16 “MiG killer” hang in a hall that is an experience in itself.

The limits are clear: the hanging aircraft make photos more demanding than in a museum with exhibits at eye level, tripod and flash need permission, and you no longer see jets in the air here. As a rainy-day program on a Netherlands tour or as a complement to Schiphol, though, Soesterberg is hard to beat.