Gerardus Meinardus Bruggink (4 August 1917 – 5 December 2005) was a Dutch

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force. A recipient of the

Military Order of William The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William (Dutch language, Dutch: , abbreviation: MWO), is the oldest and highest Dutch honours system, honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is named after St. William of Gellone ...

, he was one of only four Dutch pilots to

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an air combat manoeuvring, aerial battle between fighter aircraft that is conducted at close range. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat manoeuvring (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requir ...

the Japanese in the

Battle of Java The Battle of Java (Invasion of Java, Operation J) was a battle of the Pacific theatre of World War II. It occurred on the island of Java from 28 February – 12 March 1942. It involved forces from the Empire of Japan, which invaded on 28 Feb ...

. Born in

Tubbergen Tubbergen (; Tweants dialect, Tweants: ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and town in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel in the eastern Netherlands. Geography The following population centres can be found ...

Overijssel Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...

, Bruggink followed a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

seminar A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some part ...

y. He met his wife, Corien, while serving in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

and they were married in January 1942. A replica B-339C

Brewster Buffalo The Brewster F2A Buffalo is an American fighter aircraft which saw service early in World War II. Designed and built by the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, it was one of the first U.S. monoplanes with an arrestor hook and other modification ...

(B-3107) was built in July 2008 and delivered to the National Military Museum in

Soesterberg Soesterberg is a town in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Soest, and lies about 5 km northeast of Zeist, on the road between Amersfoort and Utrecht. It was the location of Soesterberg Air Base History T ...

, Netherlands, carrying the markings of the plane flown by Bruggink.Some Buffalo bits in Holland
/ref>

Military William Order flight

Bruggink, along with Lt.

August Deibel 1st Lieutenant August Gerard Deibel (11 September 1915 – 12 June 1951) was a Dutch pilot of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force. He was part of 2-VLG-V, which was stationed in Singapore before its withdrawal to Java. His uni ...

and Officer Cadet Jan Scheffer, volunteered to join Capt.

Jacob van Helsdingen Jacob Pieter van Helsdingen (7 March 1907 – 7 March 1942) was a pilot of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force. Van Helsdingen and August Deibel were the most successful Dutch pilots on the Brewster F2A fighter. He was twice aw ...

on his mission using the last three working Buffalo aircraft on Andir airfield. The four pilots took off on March 7, 1942 and proceeded to

Lembang Lembang is a town and administrative village of West Bandung Regency in the province of Jawa Barat, West Java in Java (island), Java, Indonesia. The town has about 17,000 inhabitants (at census 2010). The population of the Lembang District was 17 ...

to provide

air support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as Strafing, strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS r ...

for ground troops fighting the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

in the city. Helsdingen's squadron travelled 200 kilometers when they encountered a Japanese aircraft, which Deibel attacked before it escaped. Some time later, three Japanese

A6M Zero The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

s appeared. Deibel fired at two of them which turned away, but was hit in the oil tank by the third Zero and had to break off from combat. His wingman, Jan Scheffer escorted him back to Andir airfield under a tropical rainstorm, where Deibel crashed landed his aircraft without suffering any injuries. Helsdingen and Bruggink remained above Lembang, but were now dogfighting six Zeroes. Helsdingen was soon shot down, but Bruggink managed to escape into the clouds before returning to Andir airfield. Dutch forces in Lembang surrendered the next day. All four Dutch pilots were awarded the Military William Order on July 14, 1948.Bruggink was originally awarded an

Honorable Mention An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

and the Bronze Cross, but Dutch rules only permit one award for a single brave act so these were subsequently rescinded and replaced by the

Military William Order The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William ( Dutch: , abbreviation: MWO), is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is named after St. William of Gellone (755–814), the first Prince of Ora ...

. Bruggink also received the

Airman's Cross The Airman's Cross () is a military decoration of the Kingdom of the Netherlands created in 1941. The cross is awarded to members of the Dutch military who display initiative, courage, and perseverance against the enemy or during hostile actions d ...

Later life

After the Dutch East Indies surrendered, Bruggink became a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

and was forced to work on the infamous

Burma Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...

, while his wife was interned in a camp in Java. They were reunited in December 1945, after the war. In 1955, Bruggink left the

Royal Netherlands Air Force The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF; , "Royal Air Force") is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It was created in 1953 to succeed its predecessor, the ''Luchtvaartafdeling'' () of the Dutch Army, which was founded ...

and emigrated with his family to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, where he worked as a flight instructor for civil aviation in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. In 1959 Bruggink started working for various research organizations inspecting aircraft incidents and

air safety Aviation safety is the study and practice of managing risks in aviation. This includes preventing aviation accidents and incidents through research, educating air travel personnel, passengers and the general public, as well as the design of airc ...

. Initially a civilian flight instructor in Texas for the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

, Bruggink later worked for Aviation Crash Injury Research (AvCIR) in Phoenix. In 1963, Bruggink worked for USABAAR (U.S. Army Board for Aviation Accident Research) at Fort Rucker, Alabama. In 1969 he was appointed to be Chief of Human Factors at the

National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...

(NTSB). He retired from the NTSB in 1982 as the Deputy Director, Office of Aviation Safety, but maintained a keen interest in aviation safety matters and published numerous air-safety-related papers. He died in his home in Skipperville,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, on 5 December 2005, after a long illness. He was 88 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruggink, Gerard 1917 births 2005 deaths Burma Railway prisoners Dutch emigrants to the United States Dutch prisoners of war in World War II Dutch Roman Catholics Knights Fourth Class of the Military Order of William People from Tubbergen Recipients of the Airman's Cross Recipients of the Bronze Cross (Netherlands) Royal Netherlands Air Force officers Royal Netherlands Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Netherlands Air Force pilots Royal Netherlands East Indies Army officers Royal Netherlands East Indies Army personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Japan

Military William Order flight

Later life

See also

References