SOUTH
EAST ASIA 1960s-1970s - INDONESIAN DOUGLAS DC-3s Photographs taken by friends and colleagues in a part of of the world rarely covered by the aviation publications. These pictures from the past show DC-3s in their final days with often little-known airlines and operators |
PK-AKT Singapore-Paya Lebar, November 1971.
Shell Oil's Indonesian associate Shell-Pertamina used a fleet of DC-3s,
most modified with the Maximiser kit to improve performance, as shown by engine nacelles and undercarriage doors. Photo by Ron F. Killick |
PK-AKF Singapore-Seletar, November 1971.
Shell Pertamina.
Photo by Ron F. Killick |
PK-AKR Singapore-Paya Lebar,
August 1971. Shell Pertamina.
Photo by Ron F. Killick |
PK-AKR Singapore-Seletar 1974. Now
with PT Airfast Indonesia, an Australian-founded company,
which took over Indonesian oil support operations on contract. Photo by Ron F. Killick |
PK-OBJ Singapore-Seletar,
August 1980. Showing Airfast's yellow and white scheme.
Photo by Michael B. Austin |
PK-SVD Singapore-Seletar 1977. Yellow and
white Airfast DC-3 landing from an approach over the Straits of Johore.
Convair 240 N8329C which ditched in the Straits in September 1975 is being scrapped in the background. Photo by Doug Green, via Paul Howard |
Airfast's yellow and white VH-MIN at Sydney
in September 1972 before being despatched to Indonesia. It returned to Australia to be sold to Connair at Alice Springs in July 1974. Photo by Roger McDonald |
PK-CAA Singapore-Seletar
June 1972. This radio navaid testing aircraft was formerly Garuda's
PK-GDQ. Photo by Ron F. Killick |
Singapore-Paya Lebar,
June 1971. Trans Nusantara Airways (aka Transna Indonesia), with name on
nose McKar Lugraha American aircraft dealer Stanley T. Booker was a founder of this airline, delivering this 1940 model DC-3 from USA in 1970. After airline service it had been an executive aircraft in the States, having Remmert-Werner mods including the long windows. Photo by Ron F. Killick |
PK-EHC Singapore-Paya Lebar, November 1971.
Formerly Royal Australian Air Force Dakota A65-70, this was another
Stan Booker purchase which he ferried from Adelaide to Indonesia in 1969 as N16892. Photo by Ron F. Killick |
PK-GDB Singapore-Seletar, November 1972 in
Garuda's final DC-3 scheme
Photo by Ron F. Killick |
PK-GDC Singapore-Seletar, May 1972 still
in service with Garuda.
Photo by Ron F. Killick |
PK-GDC was later leased by Garuda to Transna
(Trans Nusantara) and came to grief landing in monsoonal rain at Broome,
Western Australia on 21 January 1974. At the time it was operating a charter carrying oil rig workers to Portuguese Timor. Photo: Geoff Goodall collection |
PK-GDC became the Broome Tourist Bureau
after being repaired and painted by Ansett Airlines of Australia in their
own
colour scheme, with bogus registration "VN-BME" (BME was Broome's airline code). Photo by Geoff Goodall |
PK-GDD Singapore-Paya Lebar, February 1972.
Operating in unusual all metallic finish. Photo by Ron F. Killick |
PK-GDD was sold by Garuda to National Air
Charter as PK-WWH, seen at Seletar in 1974 in the same metal finish |
PK-JDB Singapore-Paya Lebar, late 1969.
Purchased by Stan Booker from Royal Australian Air Force ex A65-85
and ferried from Adelaide to Indonesia in 1969 as N16130. Photo by Peter R. Keating |
Here's PK-JDB as N16130, firing up at at
Adelaide-Parafield, South Australia to begin its delivery flight to Indonesia.
Photo by Mike Vincent |
PK-JDG Singapore-Paya Lebar, February 1972.
This is PK-JDB re-registered, in new Sempati Air Transport scheme. Photo by Ron F. Killick |
PK-JJM Singapore-Seletar, November 1971.
One of two DC-3s owned by International Timber Corp. Photo by Ron
F. Killick |
PK-JJS Singapore-Seletar, July 1971.
The other International Timber Corp aircraft.
Photo by Ron F. Killick |
PK-NDD of Merpati Nusantara Airlines somewhere
in central Java in the late 1960s.
Photo: Alan Bovelt collection |
PK-NDM with Merpati Nusantara Airlines in
the late 1960s.
Photo: Alan Bovelt collection |
PK-NDK Singapore-Seletar, October 1972. Leased
by Merpati Nusantara to Dirgantara Air Services. Photo by Ron F. Killick |
PK-OAZ Singapore-Seletar, October 1971. An
early Airfast Indonesia PT aircraft, painted in their yellow and white scheme.
This DC-3 had flown to Airfast's home base at Sydney, Australia in April that year. Photo by Ron F. Killick |
Jakarta-Kemayoran, May 1979.
Seulawah Air Services had re-registered this DC-3 from PK-RDG to PK-OSA. Seulawah had purchased it in December 1969 from Australian Aircraft Sales, formerly MMA's VH-MMT. Photo by Barney B. Deatrick |
Singapore-Paya Lebar 1966. OO-AEP
was leased by Pan American Indonesia Oil Co from April 1965 for a year. |
PK-PAA Singapore-Paya Lebar late 1960s.
This Caltex Pacific Indonesia PT DC-3 has the Maximiser
kit modifications |
Caltex Pacifix Indonesia PT replaced its
DC-3s PK-PAA and PK-PAB with this F.27 seen at Paya Lebar in August 1972. Note the underwing long-range fuel tanks. Photo by Ron F. Killick |
PK-SVD Singapore-Paya
Lebar, June 1971. Owned by Standard Vacuum Oil Co, which had based two DC-3s
at Palembang, Sumatra since the early 1950s. Both later had the Maximiser modification. Photo by Ron F. Killick |
PK-SVE Singapore-Paya
Lebar, October 1972. Standard Vacuum's other Indonesian DC-3.
Photo by Ron F. Killick |
PK-VJS Singapore-Seletar
1971. P.N. Aerial Survey operated as PENAS, using light twins, DC-3s
and DC-6s. Photo by Ron F. Killick |
Jakarta-Kemayoran, May
1979. National Air Charter's PK-WWI and PK-WWL were on the airfield
dump. Photo by Barney B. Deatrick |
PK-WWL at Bali-Den Pasar
in happier times when leased by National Air Charter to Zamrud Aviation |
Zamrud Aviation Corp
was founded in Bali in 1968 and purchased 11 DC-3s from Lake Central Airlines
in USA. Zamrud was the airline of choice for many young Australian back-packers, experiencing adventurous flights from Bali across the Indonesian islands, sometimes even reaching the destination Jakarta. Photo: Alan Bovelt collection |
Zamrud's PK-ZDH was later
leased to Sempati Air Transport, seen at Seletar in July 1971.
Photo by Ron F. Killick |
Armed Forces Museum,
Jakarta, December 1980. At last count there were four DC-3s around Jakarta
painted as "RI-001" representing the first aircraft of the Indonesian indepence fighters' air force in 1947. Photo by Barney B. Deatrick |