The guns of Naarden

Recently I've acquired a Pentax 645N that I yet had to test. Today I decided to do just that and take the 645N for a walk in the fortress city of Naarden, Naarden Vesting. I grabbed my SMC Pentax-FA 645 Zoom 45-85mm f/4.5 lens and some 120 medium format film, joined up with fellow photographer Joeri van Veen and off we went.

Photo: Joeri van Veen

Naarden has a long military history and has been a fortified city for centuries. Parts of the 17th century fortifications survive to this day and have been added to ever since. Part of both the Old and New Dutch Water Lines, Naarden remained garrisoned in one way or another until the end of World War Two. The last MoD buildings were turned over to the city for civilian use in 1986.

The guns of Naarden

Dotted around the cityscape of Naarden are several artillery pieces. I've shot some of them before but pretty much took them for granted. These would be my photo-theme for today. When you enter the city from the north you'll find the first gun on your left.

This is a 30-pounder gun cast in the province of Luik in 1855. The serial number on the barrel is hard to read but has three digits and ends with a 6. As with all the guns currently displayed in Naarden the barrel is on loan from the excellent Vestingmuseum. The gun carriage was new-built in 2018.

When you head east you'll find gun number two in front of the Arsenaal building. This was the last building that the MoD transferred to the city in 1986. There had been guns mounted in front of the Arsenal before as sort of a gate-guard but these had been removed quite some time ago.

Now a 30-pounder with serial number 75, cast in 1831 once again guards the Arsenaal. This artillery piece was ceremonially unveiled in 2020. 

When you continue south you'll pass the quarters of the Foundation Fortress City Naarden. They are the ones responsible for restoring the gun barrels and building the gun carriages. I was pleasantly surprised to find two unused barrels stored in front of their quarters.

The barrel on the left is 30-pounder number 3. On the right is 12-pounder 23, cast in Luik in 1818.

When you follow the city walls towards the west you'll get to the Utrecht Gate. Guarding this gate is a 20-pounder gun.

This is 20-pounder gun 56, cast in 1839. The gun carriage was built new in 1988 and restored in 2018.

If you continue on a westerly heading you'll get to the Vesting museum. This museum, which covers the history of the fortress of Naarden, is currently closed due to the COVID-19 restrictions. However, when passing the gate you'll get a glimpse of what the museum has to offer.

Heading north from here takes you to the former entrance of the Vesting Museum. Two guns guard the gate here.

On the left is serial number 171, cast in 1811. 

On the right is serial number 186, again cast in 1811. 

Inspecting number 186. Photo: Joeri van Veen.

I managed to shoot one and a half roll of 120 film on my Pentax 645N. Once I finish the second roll of film I'll be sending these away for development. For now these digital photo's will have to do :-).

Location: Naarden
Camera: Pentax 645Z
Lens: SMC Pentax-DFA 645 55mm f/2.8 AL [IF] SDM AW

More choppers and jets

Eindhoven Air Base

Earlier this week I travelled to Eindhoven Air Base and Low Flying Area nr. V for some aviation shots. Eindhoven is a combined civil/military airfield and usually the busiest of the Dutch regional airfields. The Royal Netherlands Air Force has based its tankers and transport aircraft at Eindhoven and as such it attracts a fair number of visiting foreign transport aircraft. Civil operations are currently rather slow with COVID-19 restrictions still in place and Dutch airline Transavia has stored some of its Boeing 737 fleet at Eindhoven.

I was lucky to get some good shots of the last RNLAF KDC-10 air refueling aircraft. T-235 is the sole survivor with T-264 being sold to a company in the USA. The KDC-10's are being replaced with KC-30M tankers. These new aircraft will operate in a multinational fleet with the Netherlands as lead nation. So far three KC-30M's have been delivered, however none flew this day. 

Visiting was German Air Force Global Express 14+04 before departing to Getafe airfield near Madrid.

Low Flying Area Nr. V

As flying was slow at Eindhoven and Low Flying Area nr. V is close by I decided to try my luck there. I was lucky, 1st Platoon 'Johnny Bravo' of the 11th Supply Company, 11th Air Assault Brigade was exercising with 298 Squadron Chinooks and 300 Squadron Cougars.

A tribute to the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum

Located at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum showcases the history of US Marine Corps aviation. A few days ago it was announced that the museum would close its doors on April 1st, 2021 permanently due to 'financial costs'. I have been lucky enough to visit the museum twice while at El Toro end more recently whilst at Miramar. It was on my itinerary for my March 2020 west coast trip but then COVID-19 intervened...

Origins

The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum opened in 1989 at MCAS El Toro and remained there until the base closed in 1999. Since then, it had been located at MCAS Miramar. It boosts an impressive collection of aircraft, ranging from World War Two Wildcat and Corsair fighters to modern-day F/A-18 Hornets. 

The end..?

For the museum itself? Yes. MCAS Miramar is no longer prepared to spend money on the museum, choosing instead to invest in 'higher priority missions' such as safety gear. However, museum staff are appealing this decision. As for the collection, the museum has stated that they wish to redistribute their aircraft, with the nearby San Diego Air and Space Museum and the USS Midway Museum mentioned as possible recipients. So hopefully this will not be the end of the 40+ aircraft currently in the hands of the museum.

The exhibits

I thought I'd celebrate the museum by showing some of the photos I've made there over the years as a tribute. Enjoy!

1993

1997

2018