The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force ( nl, Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger, ML-KNIL) was the air arm of the

Royal Netherlands East Indies Army The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army ( nl, Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger; KNIL, ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. Th ...

in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, whic ...

(now

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

) from 1939 until 1950. It was an entirely separate organisation from the

Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

. The unit was founded in 1915 as the "Test Flight Service" (). In 1921, it became the "Aviation Service" (), before finally receiving the designation of ML-KNIL on 30 March 1939. In 1950, following Dutch recognition of Indonesian independence, its bases and facilities were handed over to the

Indonesian Air Force The Indonesian Air Force ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara (TNI-AU), literally "''Indonesian National Military-Air Force''") sometimes shortened as IDAF / IdAF, is the aerial branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. The I ...

(TNI-AU).

World War II

On 1 January 1942, the Dutch forces joined the

American-British-Dutch-Australian Command The American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Command, or ABDACOM, was a short-lived, supreme command for all Allied forces in South East Asia in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II. The command consists of the forces of Aust ...

, but at the onset of the Japanese assault the ML-KNIL was not up to full combat strength. Of the aircraft that had been ordered, only a small number had been delivered, and many were obsolete models. There were five groups, three of bombers and two of fighters, each of three to four squadrons. A sixth depot group provided support, transport and training. Reconnaissance aircraft were placed directly under command of the Army to give support to ground troops. Despite stubborn resistance the Japanese occupied the Dutch colonies, though numbers of aircraft found their way to northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

to continue the fight. Four Dutch squadrons were formed in Australia. The first of these, No. 18 (NEI) Squadron RAAF, was formed in April 1942 as a

medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...

squadron equipped with

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

aircraft. The second joint Australian-NEI squadron, No. 119 (NEI) Squadron RAAF, was also to be a medium bomber squadron. No. 119 NEI Squadron was only active between September and December 1943 when it was disbanded to form No. 120 (NEI) Squadron RAAF, was a fighter squadron. In 1944, the KNIL formed No. 1 Netherlands East Indies Transport Squadron, later absorbed by the RAAF as No. 19 (NEI) Squadron RAAF. Both No. 18 and No. 120 Squadrons saw action against the Japanese during World War II. From late 1945, numbers 18, 19 and 120 squadrons fought against Indonesian nationalists, during the

Indonesian National Revolution The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during postwar and postcol ...

. The squadrons were disbanded in 1950.

Aircraft

1915–1918

* Deperdussin-Léon de Brouckère Monoplane (never flown) * Farman F.22 * Léon de Brouckère No.1 & No.2 (type reconnaissance & trainer,

Farman Farman Aviation Works (french: Avions Farman) was a French aircraft company founded and run by the brothers Richard, Henri, and Maurice Farman. They designed and constructed aircraft and engines from 1908 until 1936; during the French national ...

copies) * Glenn L. Martin Model TT * Glenn L. Martin Model TA * Glenn L. Martin Model TE * Glenn L. Martin Model R

1919–1935

Avro 504 The Avro 504 was a First World War biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the war totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind tha ...

K *

Curtiss P-6 The Curtiss P-6 Hawk is an American single-engine biplane fighter introduced into service in the late 1920s with the United States Army Air Corps and operated until the late 1930s prior to the outbreak of World War II. Design and development T ...

E Hawk * De Havilland DH-9 *

Fokker C.IV The Fokker C.IV was a 1920s Dutch two-seat reconnaissance aircraft designed and built by Fokker. Design and development The C.IV was developed from the earlier C.I but it was a larger and more robust aircraft. The C.IV was designed as a recon ...

Fokker C.V The Fokker C.V was a Dutch light reconnaissance and bomber biplane aircraft manufactured by Fokker. It was designed by Anthony Fokker and the series manufacture began in 1924 at Fokker in Amsterdam. Development The C.V was constructed in the earl ...

(D/E) * Fokker C.X * Fokker DC.1 * Fokker D.VII * Fokker F.VIIb-3m *

Fokker S.IV The Fokker S.IV was a military trainer aircraft produced in the Netherlands in the mid-1920s. It was a conventional, single-bay biplane with staggered wings of unequal span braced with N-struts, essentially a radial-engined development of the ...

* Morane-Saulnier AR / MS.35 * NVI F.K.31 * Pander D *

Vickers Viking The Vickers Viking was a British single-engine amphibious aircraft designed for military use shortly after World War I. Later versions of the aircraft were known as the Vickers Vulture and Vickers Vanellus. Design and development Resear ...

1936–1950

Martin 166 bombers ML-KNIL over Malaya 1942

* Brewster B-339C/D (export Brewster Buffalo) * Bücker Bü 131 Jungmann * Commonwealth CA-6 Wackett * Consolidated Model 28-5MN * Consolidated Model 28-5AMN * Curtiss P-40E/N Kittyhawk * Curtiss Model 75A-7 (export P-36 Hawk) *

Curtiss-Wright CW-21 The Curtiss-Wright Model 21 (also known as the Curtiss-Wright Model 21 Demonstrator, the Curtiss-Wright CW-21 Interceptor, the Curtiss-Wright CW-21 Demon) was an American fighter-interceptor developed by the St. Louis Airplane Division of Curtis ...

B * Curtiss-Wright CW-22 Falcon * Douglas C-47 Dakota * Dornier Do 24K *

Douglas C-54 Skymaster The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian a ...

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...

* Fairchild F-24R-9 * Glenn Martin 139/166 (export B-10) * Hawker Hurricane IIb *

Mitsubishi Ki-57 The Mitsubishi Ki-57 was a Japanese passenger transport aircraft, developed from the Ki-21 bomber, during the early 1940s. Development In 1938, when the Ki-21 heavy bomber began to enter service with the Imperial Japanese Army, its capability ...

"Topsy" * Koolhoven F.K.51 * Lockheed 212 * Lockheed 12 *

Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar The Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar is a passenger transport aircraft of the World War II era. Design and development Sales of the 10–14 passenger Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra, which first flew in 1937, had proved disappointing, despite the ai ...

* Lockheed C60 Lodestar *

Messerschmitt Bf 108 The Messerschmitt Bf 108 ''Taifun'' (English: "Typhoon") was a German single-engine sport and touring aircraft, developed by Bayerische Flugzeugwerke in the 1930s. The Bf 108 was of all-metal construction. Design and development Originally desi ...

B-1 *

North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

D/K) *

Noorduyn Norseman The Noorduyn Norseman, also known as the C-64 Norseman, is a Canadian single-engine bush plane designed to operate from unimproved surfaces. Distinctive stubby landing gear protrusions from the lower fuselage make it easily recognizable. Intro ...

* North American AT-16 Harvard *

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

C/D/J * Piper J-4E * Piper L-4J * Ryan STM-2 * Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper * Tiger Moth * Waco EGC-7 * Waco UKC

Commanders

* 1915 Captain C.E. Visscher * 1917 Captain C.L. Vogelesang * 1919 Captain C. van Houten * 1921 Captain J.A. Roukes * 1924 Captain P.F. Hoeksema de Groot * 1927 Major J. Beumer * 1928 Lieutenant-Colonel J.H. Wesseling * 1932 Major G.A. Ilgen * 1934 Major-General L.H. van Oyen * 1945 Major-General E.T. Kengen * 1946 Colonel P.J. de Broekert * 1948 Major-General C.W. van der Eem

Notes

References

* * *

External links

* * * * * {{cite web , url= http://www.adf-serials.com.au/research/nei.htm , title=NEI Aircraft in Australia , first= Jos , last=Heyman , work=ADF Serials.com.au , year=2011 , access-date=7 October 2015 Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force Military units and formations established in 1915 Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Force Military history of Indonesia Military history of the Netherlands Dutch East Indies Army aviation units and formations