douglasdc2

Douglas DC-2-112 NC13731 (c/n 1257) General Air Lines. Transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force in WWII as A30-12 with call sign VH-CRF. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kemon01/11726639486/in/photostream/]

Interesting photo which shows that the registration PH-AJU was painted on the aircraft before it departed to Europe. Correct c/n 1317 Stig

The British saw a Dutch postal service to Australia as undermining British prestige. The flight of De Uiver also needs to be looked at within the geopolitical spectrum. On the one hand, the Dutch had shown that a faster service could be established. On the other hand, the Dutch success made the British even more obstructive. It took until 1938 before a regular passenger and mail service could be established. Flights from NEI to Australia stopped once the war reached NEI in 1942. The last regular KNILM flight to Archerfield arrived on 19 February 1942. This was at the same time an evacuation flight that brought senior KNILM staff to Australia, weeks before the Japanese occupation of the NEI. Soon after the war, the resumption of the commercial KNILM service from NEI was planned, depending on the development of the political situation in NEI. Already the Dutch 19 Squadron at Archerfield (see below) had taken delivery of a Douglas Skymaster airplane from America, and two more arrived soon after that, to be used for the Indies run. These planes became a temporary nucleus for a revived KNILM service. Source: paulbuddehistory.com/travelogues/the-dutch-at-archerfield...