Douglas DC5
The Douglas DC5 airliner plays a very important role in several chapters of 'The Java Gold'. I guess most of you have never heard of this type and don't have a clue what such an airliner looked like. So here's a picture of a KNILM DC5.
The plane is seen during refuelling, probably at Kemajoran (Jakarta) to judge by the KLM company flag above the cockpit. After its escape to Australia in March 1942 it was re-registered VH-CXA. Its career came to an end on August 17,1942 when, during a Japanese air raid at Wards Strip, Port Moresby, New Guinea, it was strafed and destroyed by fire. The type never was a succes. Commercially it had to compete against the successful DC3. And pilots were not happy with its flying characteristics, many of them complaining about the effort needed to move the heavy controls. Only 12 were built before the Douglas El Segundo factory switched to the A-20 'Havoc' bomber production.Of those twelve, four went to KLM and seven to the US Marines. Interesting detail: the prototype DC5 was sold to William E. Boeing who used it as his private 'executive' and VIP transport...
The second DC5 described in 'The Java Gold' ended up in Israel, just in time to be used during the first Israeli - Arab war of 1948. It was used as a freighter but also as an improvised bomber, the bombs being heaved out manually... After its withdrawal from service it lingered on until it was broken up in the mid 1950's. The airframe ended its life in Haifa Technical University... This picture shows the plane just after its arrival in Haifa (photo Ed Coates collection)
The first DC5 described in Volume 1 of 'The Java Gold' ended up in Japanese hands and was extensively tested. Here's a rare shot of ex PK-ADA in Japanese livery. The plane did not survive the war...