Immediately after the German invasion of our country in May 1940, the Germans took Gilze-Rijen airfield and expanded it. They also set up a mock airfield 7 km from Gilze-Rijen at De Kiek, a moorland between Alphen Riel. They called it Scheinflugplatz Kamerun, after the German colony, or in code language SF 37. Three fake runways were blasted into the heath, there was a bunker, fake hangars and fake planes.
Unfortunately, it also led to "wrong" Allied bombings, such as on 20 October 1943 on the Riel hamlet of Brakel, which resulted in three deaths and three seriously injured civilians. The mock airfield De Kiek remained "in function" until the end of 1944.
Reliving Schijnvliegveld de Kiek
Footpaths and a connection from the cycle path have been created in the forest where the bunker stands. With the help of information panels, we show the situation from the Second World War. Exactly 75 years after the liberation of Goirle and Riel, a real mock plane flew here. This work of art is well worth a visit. It has become a place that invites you to reflect and muse. Freedom cannot be taken for granted. Come and visit this special place.
Recently, there is an app that you can download for free for both Android and IOS. So now you can experience even more at the Schijnvliegveld. Lifelike soldiers, an eyewitness account and an animation of how the Mock Airfield functioned. It can all be seen on site with the app. Tip: download this app at home to get started even faster on site!