View source for KNILM

{{Short description|Airline of the former Dutch East Indies}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox airline
| airline        = Koninklijke Nederlandsch-Indische Luchtvaart Maatschappij
| image          = KNILM1932.jpg
| image_size     = 200px
| IATA           = 
| ICAO           = 
| callsign       = 
| founded        = 16 July 1928
| commenced      = 1 November 1928
| ceased         = 1 August 1947
| hubs           = [[Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport|Tjililitan Airport]]
| secondary_hubs = 
| focus_cities   = Bandoeng, Semarang, Medan, Soerabaja, Palembang, Bandjarmasin
| frequent_flyer = 
| lounge         = 
| alliance       = 
| subsidiaries   = 
| fleet_size     = 
| destinations   = 
| parent         = 
| company_slogan =
| headquarters   = Amsterdam
| key_people     = H. Nieuwenhuis<br>TH.J. De Bruyn
| website        = 
|aoc=|num_employees=}}

'''Koninklijke Nederlandsch-Indische Luchtvaart Maatschappij''' (in English: '''Royal Dutch Indies Airways''') was the [[flag carrier]] of the former [[Dutch East Indies]]. Headquartered in Amsterdam, KNILM was ''not'' a subsidiary of the better-known [[Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij|KLM]] (Royal Dutch Airlines), despite the similar name. The airline had its headquarters in [[Amsterdam]] and an office in on the grounds of Tjililitan Airfield (current [[Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport]]) in [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]] (current [[Jakarta]]).<ref>[http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/kni3005.htm 1 May 1930 Timetable] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20151023085312/http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/kni3005.htm Archive]). KNILM. Retrieved on 22 August 2014. "Hoofdkantoor en agentschappen AMSTERDAM Hoofdkantoor, N. Spiegelstraat 5[...]BATAVIA Hoofdkantoor voor Indië, Sluisbrug[...]na 5 uur Mtg 671. Vliegveld Tjilitian"</ref>

==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]]'', it was appended with the ''Koninklijk'' (Royal) title on 15 October 1928. The airline operated in the Dutch East Indies (present-day [[Indonesia]]), and later, parts of [[Southeast Asia]] and Australia.

[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Het eerste vliegtuig is geland op Oelin (27 km van Bandjermasin) Borneo TMnr 10014089.jpg|left|220px|thumb|DC-2 at [[Syamsudin Noor Airport|Oelin]]]]
Its first regular operations were between [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]] (now [[Jakarta]]) - [[Bandung]], and Batavia - [[Semarang]], starting on 1 November 1928. The ceremony was held at Cililitan airport in Batavia (now [[Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport]]). The Batavia-Semarang flight was later extended to [[Surabaya]]. Gradually, the services were expanded to include other islands in the archipelago, namely to [[Palembang]] and [[Medan]] in [[Sumatra]], [[Balikpapan]] and [[Tarakan Island|Tarakan]] in [[Kalimantan]], and [[Denpasar]] in [[Bali]]. Immediately before the [[Pacific War]], KNILM also created a network in the eastern part of the East Indies archipelago, serving towns such as [[Ambon, Maluku|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]]. On 3 July 1938 KNILM began operations to [[Sydney]], stopping at [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]], [[Cloncurry, Queensland|Cloncurry]] and [[Charleville, Queensland|Charleville]]. KNILM did not fly to the Netherlands, as the [[Amsterdam]]-Batavia weekly service was operated by KLM.

===Routes (in 1936)===
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Opening van de eerste luchtlijn van de K.N.I.L.M. op Semarang en Bandoeng in november 1928 in aanwezigheid van gouverneur-generaal Jhr.Mr. A.C.D. de Graeff op vliegveld Tjililitan bij Batavia Java TMnr 10010930.jpg|thumb|Opening first KNILM route to Semarang and Bandung in November 1928. [[List of Governors-General of the Dutch East Indies|Governor-General]] Jhr. Mr. [[A.C.D. de Graeff]] attending, [[Halim Perdanakusuma Airport|Tjililitan airport]] near Batavia, Java.]]
*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==
[[File:DC-5Japan.jpg|thumb|An ex-KNILM [[Douglas DC-5]] in use with the [[Imperial Japanese Army Air Service]], circa 1942-45]]
During the [[Dutch East Indies campaign|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]] "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]]. In all, 11 KNILM aircraft managed to escape to Australia: 3 [[Douglas DC-5]]s, 2 [[DC-3]]s, 2 [[DC-2]]s and 3 [[Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra]]s. In mid-May 1942 the remaining aircraft were sold to the American military.

After [[Indonesian National Revolution|Indonesian independence]] 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]] (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]]. The service was performed with four-engined [[DC-4]]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]]) 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]], introduced in 1931. Registered PK-AFH and PK-AFI.
*3 [[Douglas DC-2]], introduced in 1935.
*3 [[De Havilland Dragon Rapide]] introduced in 1935 for aerial mapping in [[Dutch New Guinea]].
*2 [[Sikorsky S-38]] amphibious aircraft, introduced in 1936 for aerial mapping in Dutch New Guinea.
*5 [[Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra]], introduced in 1938 for the Australia service.
*2 [[Grumman Goose|Grumman G-21A Goose]] amphibious aircraft, introduced in 1940.
*3 [[Douglas DC-3]] transferred from KLM in 1940 after the occupation of the Netherlands.
*4 [[Douglas DC-5]] introduced in 1940–1941. These account for 80% of the aircraft type made for civilian use.
*3 [[Sikorsky S-43]] amphibious aircraft introduced in 1941.

==See also==
*[[PK-AFV]]
*[[Garuda Indonesia]]
*[[Aviation in Indonesia]]

==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==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|KNILM}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20020604122718/http://library.thinkquest.org/C002752/fokker.cgi?page=db%2Ff12 Fokker F.XII: a loyal Indies aircraft]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090925003000/http://www.qam.com.au/aircraft/dc-3/dougdoug.htm DC-3 VH-ANR (formerly KNILM's PK-ALW)]
*[http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/knilm.htm KNILM timetables]
*[http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/knilml.htm KNILM baggage labels]
* {{PM20|FID=co/048226|TEXT=Documents and clippings about|NAME=}}

{{Portalbar|Indonesia|Companies|Aviation}}
{{Airlines of Indonesia}}

[[Category:KNILM| ]]
[[Category:Defunct airlines of Indonesia]]
[[Category:Airlines established in 1928]]
[[Category:Airlines disestablished in 1947]]
[[Category:1928 establishments in the Dutch East Indies]]
[[Category:1940s disestablishments in the Dutch East Indies]]
[[Category:1947 disestablishments]]
[[Category:Defunct seaplane operators]]