Zutendaal Air Base Zutendaal Air Base is a reserve Belgian Air Component base , located east - southeast of Genk ( Limburg ) , approximately east - northeast of Brussels . Overview . The base is in reserve status , its primary use being to store retired Agusta helicopters . Since 2009 , it has been open to limited civilian recreational flying ; it is home to a gliding club , operating in the weekends . History . Origins . Zutendaal Air Base ' s origins date to March 1917 when it was originally constructed by the German Army Air Corps as " Flieger Schießschule " . it was established for observers destined for artillery units . Near this airfield , the Germans selected a large heath area ( between Houthalen , Genk , As , Peer and Opglabbeek ) where they installed a firing range . After World War I , the name of the airfield was changed to Asch ( as it was spelled at the time ) and it became the Flying School of the Belgian Military Aviation , later in March 1920 called Aéronautique Militaire . Situated 2 km SW of the town centre of As , this school had a large 1100 by 800 metres grass airfield at its disposal and several metal hangars and brick support buildings . After the Flying School was abandoned in 1924 , the airfield was closed to make room for the proposed construction of a canal , and moved to Wevelgem , the field gradually became a dense wooded area . World War II . In November 1944 a new airfield near the World War I aerodrome was constructed by the United States Army Air Forces IX Engineer Command , 852nd and 846th Engineer Aviation Battalions . Known as Advanced Landing Ground " Y - 29 " , the airfield consisted of a single 5000 foot ( 1500m ) Sod runway aligned 06 / 24 . In addition , tents were erected for billeting and also for support facilities ; an access road was built to the existing road infrastructure ; a dump was created for supplies , ammunition , and gasoline drums , along with a drinkable water ; and a minimal electrical grid for communications and station lighting was installed . Asch was home to North American P - 51 Mustang s of the 352nd Fighter Group , Eighth Air Force ; and P - 47 Thunderbolt s from 366th Fighter Group , Ninth Air Force , from 19 November 1944 - 11 April 1945 . The 406th Fighter Group , also flew from the airfield in P - 47s from 8 February - 15 April 1945 . The fighter planes flew support missions , patrolling roads in front of the beachhead ; strafing German military vehicles and dropping bombs on gun emplacements , anti - aircraft artillery and concentrations of German troops when spotted . On January 1 , 1945 , Asch airfield was the site of a major aerial battle during the Luftwaffe ' s Operation Bodenplatte . The FW - 190 ' s and Bf - 109 ' s of JG - 11 arrived at Asch just as the 487th FS of the 352nd FG were rolling down the runway , the ensuing battle came to be known as the Legend of Y - 29 . The pilots of the 487th Fighter Squadron who took off did so under fire and in the face of overwhelming odds . The 487th scored 23 kills while suffering only 2 damaged aircraft in the face of 3 : 1 odds . For their performance the 487th received the only Distinguished Unit Citation given to a fighter squadron in the European theatre . When the fighter units moved out , the 391st Bombardment Group flew B - 26 Marauder medium bombers from the airfield until 27 May 1945 . With the end of the war in Europe , the airfield was closed on 20 June 1945 Belgian Air Force . After the war , the airfield was taken over by the Belgian Air Force . It was later rebuilt into a permanent facility with hard surfaced runways and support buildings . Currently it is used by the Belgian Army as a storage depot .