The Danish Maritime Aviation Corps ( Dat. Marinens Flyvevæsen ) is the naval aviation component of the previous Danish Air Force. The corps was officially established on September 15, 1923. Like the Army Aviation Corps, it unofficially existed in previous years, operating various small flying boats manufactured under license from the Royal Naval Shipyard ( Dat. Orlogsvaerftet ).
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In the summer of 1919, the naval aviation corps initiated the creation of an experimental air mail line between Copenhagen and da: Stege with 5 German flying boats Friedrichshafen FF.49. They were gradually replaced by those built under license from Hansa-Brandenburg W.29. And by the time the Marinens Flyvevæsen was created in 1923, a flight school was created with 6 Avro 504 K. Three years later, with the adoption of land-based aircraft, the corps was reorganized into 2 flotillas: one armed with float aircraft based on Copenhagen; the other is land aircraft in Ringsted . By April 9, 1940, the corps had:
1. Luftflotille
It was founded in 1926 and was armed with the last remaining Friedrichshafen FF.49 and 6 of 16 built by Hansa-Brandenburg W.29. The task of the unit was to patrol the Baltic straits . The last surviving Friedrichshafen FF.49 was decommissioned the same year. The accident rate of Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 was quite high, so that at any moment there were no more than 9 aircraft in service with the unit. They, in turn, were replaced by 6 Heinkel HE 8 seaplanes purchased in Germany. Later they were supplemented by 13 aircraft built under license from Orlogsvaerftel in the period 1929-1931. Of the first 19 Heinkel HE 8s, from 6 to 9 aircraft were simultaneously used in the flotilla, due to unavoidable conclusions due to maintenance, repair and wear. The last three copies were completed in 1938. At this point, the mission of the flotilla was a geographic survey and mapping of Greenland . Most of the Heinkel HE 8 and Doronje Val 33 (purchased from Lufthansa in 1938) were used on the ice island and were painted in bright red to facilitate the search for crews landed for emergency landing. Thus, the remaining 13 Heinkel HE 8s of the 1st Flotilla did not play a significant role in the defense of Denmark during the German invasion in 1940.
2. Luftflotille
Formed in 1926 with the arrival of 3 Danecock fighters (modified by Hawker Woodcock Mk.II) purchased in the UK. Over the next 2 years, they were supplemented by another 12 aircraft built under the license of Orlogsvaerftel. The priority task of the naval fighter squadron was the air defense of the country's main naval base. In 1933, the offensive power of the flotilla was strengthened by the purchase of 2 Hawker Horsley torpedo bombers, renamed Danish to Hawker Dantorp. Although a license was obtained for the production of these rather puffy biplanes, the replacement of rapidly aging fighter forces was more critical. Thus, after buying a pair of Hawker Nimrod Mk. II, a license was acquired for the production of another 10 aircraft, which were gradually replaced by Danecock, completing the process by the end of 1936. By April 9, 1940, the 2nd Flotilla had only 12 Hawker Nimrod fighters and 2 Hawker Dantorp torpedo bombs.