The air raid on the stables of Paleis Het Loo

On the morning of 4 November 1944, twelve Typhoon fighter-bombers of No. 181 Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) took off from Eindhoven. Their target: the northern pavilion of the royal stables of Paleis Het Loo. The royal stables, originally built during the reign of Queen Wilhelmina, included the coach house, several wash bays, and the left and right pavilions.

During the occupation, the Wehrmacht had taken over the palace. At that time, the northern pavilion served as the headquarters of the Waffen-SS, the elite formation of the German troops. Through intelligence information, RAF pilots learned of the headquarters’ presence and planned a surprise attack designed to destroy the pavilion and disrupt the German command structure. The attack was carried out with precision: the Typhoons fired their rockets and destroyed the target. Simultaneously, No. 247 Squadron of the RAF conducted strikes on other locations in Apeldoorn to divert German anti-aircraft fire. Several Dutch SS members were killed during the raid, and one Typhoon was shot down. Its pilot, David Wallace, was killed in action.

After the liberation, Queen Wilhelmina intentionally left some of the wartime damage visible—such as shell impacts and the outline of the destroyed pavilion—as a reminder of the years of occupation. A memorial plaque has been placed at the royal stables, and the difference in brickwork colour still marks the footprint of the former pavilion.

Take a walk around Paleis Het Loo and listen to the 60-minute podwalk about war and freedom. You will hear about the German occupation, the difficult position of the remaining staff, the liberation, and the major changes that followed. Follow 15 stops and discover why freedom is so valuable, and what role you can play in safeguarding it. https://paleishetloo.nl/en/war-and-freedom-at-paleis-het-loo