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Koninklijke Nederlandsch-Indische Luchtvaart Maatschappij (in English: Royal Dutch Indies Airways) was the
flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by that government for international operations. Histo ...
of the former
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 ...
. Headquartered in Amsterdam, KNILM was ''not'' a subsidiary of the better-known
KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or simply KLM (an abbreviation for their official name Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. , ),
(Royal Dutch Airlines), despite the similar name. The airline had its headquarters in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
and an office in on the grounds of Tjililitan Airfield (current
Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport is an international airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport serves as Jakarta’s secondary airport, complementing the larger Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Ta ...
) in Batavia (current
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
).1 May 1930 Timetable
. KNILM. Retrieved on 22 August 2014. "Hoofdkantoor en agentschappen AMSTERDAM Hoofdkantoor, N. Spiegelstraat 5 ..ATAVIA Hoofdkantoor voor Indië, Sluisbrug ..a 5 uur Mtg 671. Vliegveld Tjilitian"


Founding and expansion

KNILM was founded on 16 July 1928 as the NILM by a group of 32 Netherlands Indian investors with a capitalization of NLG 5 million. To prevent confusion with an existing insurance company ''
Nillmij The Nederlandsch-Indische Levensverzekerings en Lijfrente Maatschappij (NILLMIJ, ) was a prominent Dutch insurance company with extensive operations in the Dutch East Indies and the Netherlands. following the independence of Indonesia, its opera ...
'', it was appended with the ''Koninklijk'' (Royal) title on 15 October 1928. The airline operated in the Dutch East Indies (present-day
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
), and later, parts of
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
and Australia. Its first regular operations were between Batavia (now
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
) -
Bandung Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...
, and Batavia -
Semarang Semarang (Javanese script, Javanese: , ''Kutha Semarang'') is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Netherlands, Dutch Dutch East Indies, colonial era, and is still an important regio ...
, starting on 1 November 1928. The ceremony was held at Cililitan airport in Batavia (now
Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport is an international airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport serves as Jakarta’s secondary airport, complementing the larger Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Ta ...
). The Batavia-Semarang flight was later extended to
Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...
. Gradually, the services were expanded to include other islands in the archipelago, namely to
Palembang Palembang (, Palembang: ''Pelémbang'', Mandarin: 巨港 (Jùgǎng), Hokkien: 舊港 (Kū-káng), Jawi: ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River in the ea ...
and
Medan Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...
in
Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
,
Balikpapan Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 20 ...
and
Tarakan Tarakan is an island and co-extensively the sole city within the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan. The island city is the largest urban area in North Kalimantan population-wise and is located in northern Borneo, midway along the coast of ...
in
Kalimantan Kalimantan (; ) is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area, and consists of the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. The non-Ind ...
, and
Denpasar Denpasar (; Balinese script, Balinese: ᬤᬾᬦ᭄ᬧᬲᬃ, ''Dénpasar'') is the capital city of the province of Bali, Indonesia. Denpasar is the largest city in the Lesser Sunda Islands and the second largest city in Eastern Indonesia after ...
in
Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
. Immediately before the
Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
, KNILM also created a network in the eastern part of the East Indies archipelago, serving towns such as Ambon. For this purpose, amphibious aircraft were used, due to the lack of airstrip facilities in the region. As early as 1930, KNILM began its first international flight to
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
. On 3 July 1938 KNILM began operations to
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, stopping at Darwin,
Cloncurry Cloncurry is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. It is informally known by local people as The Curry. Cloncurry is the administrative centre of the Shire of Cloncurry. Cloncurry is known as the ''Friendl ...
and Charleville. KNILM did not fly to the Netherlands, as the
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
-Batavia weekly service was operated by KLM.


Routes (in 1936)

*Batavia-Bandung (twice daily in wet season, thrice daily in dry season) *Batavia-Semarang-Surabaya (daily) *Batavia-Palembang-Singapore-Pekanbaru (weekly) *Batavia-Palembang-Pakanbaru-Medan (weekly) *Batavia-Surabaya-Banjarmasin-Balikpapan-Tarakan (weekly) *Medan-Penang-Bangkok (weekly) *Surabaya-Denpasar-Kupang-Darwin (weekly)


War and demise

During the Japanese attack of the Dutch East Indies, KNILM was utilized for evacuation flights and transport of troops. On December 28, 1941, a KNILM
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the 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 ...
"Nandoe" (PK-ALN) was destroyed on the ground by Japanese fighters at Medan, killing all crew members and passengers. Immediately before and after the Japanese invasion on 1 March 1942, all KNILM aircraft with sufficient range were evacuated to Australia. On 7 March 1942, one day before the capitulation of Java, the last KNILM aircraft took off from the Boeabatoeweg in Bandung. A number of KNILM aircraft in Darwin were destroyed by the Japanese during the
bombing of Darwin The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On that day, 242 Empire of Japan, Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked the ...
. In all, 11 KNILM aircraft managed to escape to Australia: 3
Douglas DC-5 The Douglas DC-5 (Douglas Commercial Model 5) was a 16-to-22-seat, twin-engine propeller aircraft intended for shorter routes than the Douglas DC-3 or Douglas DC-4. By the time it entered commercial service in 1940, many airlines were cancelin ...
s, 2
DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the 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 ...
s, 2
DC-2 The Douglas DC-2 is a retired 14-passenger, Aircraft engine, twin-engined airliner that was produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Company starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247. In 1935, Douglas produced a larger version ca ...
s and 3
Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra The Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra was an American civil passenger and cargo aircraft built by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation during the late 1930s. An outgrowth of the earlier Model 10 Electra, the Model 14 was also developed into larger, ...
s. In mid-May 1942 the remaining aircraft were sold to the American military. After
Indonesian independence The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence (, or simply ''Proklamasi'') was read at 10:00 Tokyo Standard Time on Friday 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of the Indonesian Nati ...
the KNILM could no longer operate due to the fighting between Indonesian nationalists and the Dutch military. All flights in the period were flown using military aircraft, coordinated through the
Netherlands Indies Government Air Transport , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
(NIGAT). On paper, KNILM was reinstated to operate charter flights to eastern Indonesian locations. Starting on 16 November 1946 it operated a weekly trans-Pacific flight between Batavia and
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. The service was performed with four-engined
DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960 ...
s of the NIGAT. It was not successful and was discontinued after a few months. KNILM was officially disbanded on 1 August 1947, and the remaining assets were transferred to KLM, which created the KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf (the precursor of
Garuda Indonesia Garuda Indonesia is the flag carrier of Indonesia, headquartered at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport near Jakarta. A successor of KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf, it is a member of SkyTeam airline alliance and the second-largest airline of Ind ...
) to operate air services between islands in the Indonesian archipelago.


Aircraft fleet

*7 Fokker F.VIIb/3m introduced between 1928 and 1930. Registered as H-NAFA to H-NAFD, later PK-AFA to PK-AFD. *2
Fokker F.XII The Fokker F.XII was a three-engined high-winged monoplane airliner produced in the 1930s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. Two aircraft were built under license by Danish Orlogsværftet. The first was powered by 347 kW (465 hp) ...
, introduced in 1931. Registered PK-AFH and PK-AFI. *3
Douglas DC-2 The Douglas DC-2 is a retired 14-passenger, twin-engined airliner that was produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Company starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247. In 1935, Douglas produced a larger version called the DC-3 ...
, introduced in 1935. *3
De Havilland Dragon Rapide The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its outd ...
introduced in 1935 for aerial mapping in
Dutch New Guinea Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea (, ) was the western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1949 to 1962. It contained ...
. *2
Sikorsky S-38 The Sikorsky S-38 was an American twin-engined ten-seat sesquiplane amphibious aircraft. It was Sikorsky's first widely produced amphibious flying boat, serving successfully for Pan American Airways and the United States military. Design and d ...
amphibious aircraft, introduced in 1936 for aerial mapping in Dutch New Guinea. *5
Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra The Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra was an American civil passenger and cargo aircraft built by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation during the late 1930s. An outgrowth of the earlier Model 10 Electra, the Model 14 was also developed into larger, ...
, introduced in 1938 for the Australia service. *2 Grumman G-21A Goose amphibious aircraft, introduced in 1940. *3
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the 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 ...
transferred from KLM in 1940 after the occupation of the Netherlands. *4
Douglas DC-5 The Douglas DC-5 (Douglas Commercial Model 5) was a 16-to-22-seat, twin-engine propeller aircraft intended for shorter routes than the Douglas DC-3 or Douglas DC-4. By the time it entered commercial service in 1940, many airlines were cancelin ...
introduced in 1940–1941. These account for 80% of the aircraft type made for civilian use. *3
Sikorsky S-43 The Sikorsky S-43 (sometimes referred to as the Baby Clipper) is a 1930s American twin-engine amphibious flying boat monoplane produced by Sikorsky Aircraft. Design and development The S-43 first flew in 1935, and was a smaller version of the ...
amphibious aircraft introduced in 1941.


See also

* PK-AFV *
Garuda Indonesia Garuda Indonesia is the flag carrier of Indonesia, headquartered at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport near Jakarta. A successor of KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf, it is a member of SkyTeam airline alliance and the second-largest airline of Ind ...
*
Aviation in Indonesia Aviation in Indonesia serves as a critical means of Transportation in Indonesia, connecting the List of islands of Indonesia, thousands of islands throughout the Indonesian archipelago, archipelago. Indonesia is the largest archipelagic country i ...


Further reading

*Gerard Casius and Thijs Postma, ''40 jaar luchtvaart in Indië'' (Alkmaar, 1986) *Marc Dierikx, ''Bevlogen jaren, Nederlandse burgerluchtvaart tussen de wereldoorlogen'' (Houten, 1986) *G.J. Hagens - ''De KNILM vloog door..., Java's evacuatie 1942'' (Haarlem, 1972)


References


External links


Fokker F.XII: a loyal Indies aircraft
* {{Airlines of Indonesia Defunct airlines of Indonesia Airlines established in 1928 Airlines disestablished in 1947 1928 establishments in the Dutch East Indies 1940s disestablishments in the Dutch East Indies 1947 disestablishments Defunct seaplane operators