Peter Boer Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Several of the members have asked me about the progress on my new book on the Netherlands East Indies Army Aviation Corps ac of 1937-42. Well..it is finally taking some shape at the Publisher and will, if all goes well, be published at the end of this year. The book is a little under 500 pages with some 100 photographs and several other illustrations. It describes per aircraft type (after listing Contract and delivery data and Serials used) the service history and individual aircraft histories of the aircraft used between February 1937 and June 1942. It also contains short descriptions on the paint schemes carried (for modelling, to date photographs etc.). There are aso several Appendices including a complete listing of aircraft captured by the Japanese in Java and a description of the organizational structure of the NEI Army Air Corps. Publisher is Bataafsche Leeuw/Batavian Lion International in Amsterdam who also sells through Amazon. This book contains much new research which has kept me busy on and off for over 30 years. Members who have helped me with photographs and documents over the years, thank you again for all your encouragement and assistance! Best regards, Peter Boer 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug A Jones Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Great to hear your book is coming to fruition Peter - I'll certainly be interested in acquiring a copy to add to my Bloody Shambles and Every Day a Nightmare coverage of the dark days of early 1942 in the NEI. In the meantime, a question you may be able to answer. I'm interested in modelling one of the 24 Hurricane Mk I's sent to the KNIL in Java just before the collapse, using the new Airfix 1/48 kit. I understand from another thread you've contributed to that these aircraft were given hastily applied Dutch national markings and a number in the range 1 to 24. Do you have any further detail to add to this? I'm assuming the national marking was the tri-colour rather than the orange triangle but where were they applied.....rear fuselage or tail, underwings? Likewise with the aircraft number? I also assume they retained RAF camo (Dark Green-Dark Earth-Sky) but what about the RAF serial - was it removed/painted over? Given the absence of documentation and photographs of these a/c I realize these might be difficult questions to answer definitively, but I'd certainly be interested to get your views. Cheers Doug Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmaas Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 That is wonderful news, Peter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Great to hear your book is coming to fruition Peter - I'll certainly be interested in acquiring a copy to add to my Bloody Shambles and Every Day a Nightmare coverage of the dark days of early 1942 in the NEI. In the meantime, a question you may be able to answer. I'm interested in modelling one of the 24 Hurricane Mk I's sent to the KNIL in Java just before the collapse, using the new Airfix 1/48 kit. I understand from another thread you've contributed to that these aircraft were given hastily applied Dutch national markings and a number in the range 1 to 24. Do you have any further detail to add to this? I'm assuming the national marking was the tri-colour rather than the orange triangle but where were they applied.....rear fuselage or tail, underwings? Likewise with the aircraft number? I also assume they retained RAF camo (Dark Green-Dark Earth-Sky) but what about the RAF serial - was it removed/painted over? Given the absence of documentation and photographs of these a/c I realize these might be difficult questions to answer definitively, but I'd certainly be interested to get your views. Cheers Doug Jones Hi Doug this thread discusses Hurricane colours in NEI http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234974198-hurricane-iib-underside-colour/ I don'y know that Peter is going to want to post up bits of his new book here, as the Hurricanes are the only bit that would really interest me in the book that would be great, but ..... Regarding modelling, you will have a problem using the new 1/48th Airfix kit, as it's a Mk I, and the ones in question are IIB. If you are not obsessed you could just fit a later Hurricane spinner onto the Airfix Mk I... http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/64364-hurricane-noses-and-the-hasegawa-172-kits/page-2 this discusses the differences and has drawings, but you need to add length, deepen the radiator and widen the the carb intake, plus get a new spinner. Also add two vents below the cockpit. and adding outer wing gun positions. you may well need get a new jointed tailwheel and fishtail exhausts, which were fitted to most Mk II's the 'easier' option would be to get a Hasegawa IIB trop boxing, but they are unavailable at the moment, so ebay or used kit dealers or if you are lucky, the sale pages. HTH T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gmat Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Peter, Do you have any more info about the ex USAAF P-40E with the later NEI rectangular markings on the fuselage? It appeared in the Japanese wartime aviation magazine Air Review along with the ex NEI A-20. I believe that it was partly salvaged by the Dutch in Java right after the Americans abandoned it in 1942. It was missing the engine. I don't have the particular issue any more, so this is from memory. Grant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmaas Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Hi Grant - I think you're describing this P-40, with the USAAF star still showing through the Netherlands flag. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/jimmaas/DutchP-40E.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug A Jones Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Thanks Troy - I was aware of the thread on Britmodeller you mention. I got confused as to where I'd actually seen the reference. Checking up, I found the thread I was referring to came from here: http://www.forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=161986 I also mis-attributed the quote to Peter Boer when it was Ruud Deurenberg (although Peter was involved in the discussion). That site seems to have repeated verbatim from this site: http://planesandpilotsofww2.totalh.net/Gustin/hhids.html?ckattempt=1 To quote: "In 1941, the Dutch East Indies Air Force ordered twelve Hurricanes, but they were not delivered because there was a shortage of powerplants. In late 1941, a total of 24 Hurricane Mk Is on route to Singapore for the Royal Air Force (RAF) were delivered in crates to Tjililitan at Java for use by the Dutch East Indies Air Force. They had no radio equipment and no oxygen equipment. On 16 February 1942, they were flown to Kalidjati, where they were probably serialed (1 to 24?) and a red - white - blue flag was painted on the tail at Ngoro. Of the two squadrons of the Java Air Force, one squadron defended Batavia." However, it gets a bit murkier, because on some other sites the exact text above is used but Hurricane Mk IIb is substituted for Mk I. So now I'm unsure. I read elsewhere that some (all) the Mk I's sent to the Far East (e.g Ceylon) were upgraded to Mk II standard, although those sent to Indian AF training squadrons look to my eye to be standard Mk I's. Anyway, hopefully someone with better knowledge of the subject can help out. Oh, and I have no intention of modifying the Airfix kit to Mk II configuration.....too many other easier projects to do, like actually finishing the Hasegawa Mk IIb that's sitting half completed on my bench! Cheers Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudioN Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 (edited) Peter, glad to learn your efforts are being rewarded. Will the book be in English, or Dutch? It took a chance several years ago with a book titled "70 Jaar Marineluchtvaartdienst". I was happy to realize that I was able to look at pictures in Dutch, but my knowledge of the language remains painfully poor. Claudio Several of the members have asked me about the progress on my new book on the Netherlands East Indies Army Aviation Corps ac of 1937-42. Well..it is finally taking some shape at the Publisher and will, if all goes well, be published at the end of this year. Edited October 4, 2015 by ClaudioN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Boer Posted October 5, 2015 Author Share Posted October 5, 2015 Thank you guys, but..indeed, I cannot quote full paragraphs from the book to explain in detail here. Doug, please forget about the quote from Ruud Deurenberg. The Dutch used 12 Mark IIBs and these had a radio and oxygen equipment installed and did not carry numbers up to 24 (the RAF serials were retained). The full story and the RAF serials of the NEI used aircraft are in a seperate chapter in the book. There is also a chapter called Curtiss P-40E ABDAIR allocation which tells the story of the 12 P-40Es allocated to the NEI of which the one on the photo without engine was actually flown by squadron 2-Vl.G.IV from Andir. It had an engine malfuncton on its acceptance test flight. It was NOT abandoned by the USAAF. The book, of course, is in English. Best regards, Peter Boer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gmat Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Thanks, Peter, for the correction. Jim, that's the one that I was thinking about. Grant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug A Jones Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Thanks Peter.....looks like I can forget about using the Airfix Mk I kit for a KNIL bird then. Hopefully they'll put out a Mk IIB and I can build that instead. My current Hasegawa build is going to be a Burma-based RAF machine. Cheers Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 At the risk of continuing a diversion, I don't know of any Hurricane Mk.Is on Ceylon or in India. Can you expand upon where you've seen this? Any serial would help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sydhuey Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 (edited) I know of no Hurricane I's in SEA, only Hurricane I was the example sent to the RAAF from the UK with tropical filter in mid 1941, arrived in Australia Aug 41, Singapore and Java ops all Hurricane II's. Looking fwd to this book to go with my others on air ops in Singapore, NEI's. Edited October 6, 2015 by Sydhuey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug A Jones Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Re Hurricane Mk I's in SEA - quite a few Mk I's were sent to India for training purposes, notably to 151 OTU at Risalpur (now in modern Pakistan). One of these was BOB veteran R4118 - its full story is told here: http://www.airshowspresent.com/hawker-hurricane-mki---r4118.html There are photos of several others at this site, where AG291, NB-F features prominently....is that a Mk I serial?: http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Galleries/History/WW2/Moolgavkar/ http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=15307 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Royal_Air_Force_Operations_in_the_Far_East%2C_1941-1945._CI444.jpg Not convinced about this one but labeled as a Mk I. The Mk I's in Ceylon are mentioned in Osprey's Hurricane Mk I-V (p61) where they equipped 258 Squadron in the defense of Ceylon from the Japanese raids of April 5-9, 1942. Somewhere I read these Mk I's were upgraded to Mk II standard (re-engined maybe?). Finally - Russ C posted a very nicely done Risalpur Hurri Mk I on the august pages of this very forum: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234944845-hurricane-mk-i-tropical-indian-air-force-risalapor-1942/?hl=%2Bhurricane+%2Bruss HTH Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sydhuey Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Still no Mk 1's in SEA, Ceylon, India (CBI) yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 (edited) Doug: Yes, training units were equipped with older types. AG291 is indeed a Mk.I - or strictly a Mk.X, I suppose. I was going to say that I don't much like the Osprey, but it is right on this point. 258 was reformed in Ceylon using what was available. Bloody Shambles Vol 2 has probably the best account, stating that on 30th March it was reformed with ten Mk.IIB and seven Mk.Is. The photos I've found show Mk.IIs, unless the head-on view of Doug Nicholls' aircraft shows a Mk.I? Five Mk.Is were among those scrambled against the Japanese. They appear to have come out fairly well with only one lost, one heavily damaged, perhaps because they were lighter and more agile than the Mk.IIs? At the same time 880 Sq on HMS Indomitable found themselves with a Mk.II airframe converted to take a Merlin III, which was unpopular because of its excess weight. Many Mk.Is were converted into Mk.IIs but in the UK, given new serials and generally sent to Russia. The Mk.IIs involved in Ceylon seem to be mainly in the Z, BM and BG serial ranges, which were new-build machines. The Z-serialled Mk.Is in 258 Sq were actually very little older, but had seen previous service in the Middle East. There seems to have been something of a shake-out. Syd: CBI is a later American term. The British term SEA includes operations around the Indian Ocean in India, Burma and Ceylon. I think it is still true that there were no Mk.I Hurricanes in operational service in North-East India, Burma, Java or Sumatra. Indomitable's Sea Hurricanes excepted, but they didn't see combat in this theatre. Edited October 8, 2015 by Graham Boak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug A Jones Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Still no Mk 1's in SEA, Ceylon, India (CBI) yes. OK, point taken Syd....actually South Asia rather than South East Asia (or ABDACOM as it was known up until just before the fall of the NEI). Cheers Doug Doug: Yes, training units were equipped with older types. AG291 is indeed a Mk.I - or strictly a Mk.X, I suppose. I was going to say that I don't much like the Osprey, but it is right on this point. 258 was reformed in Ceylon using what was available. Bloody Shambles Vol 2 has probably the best account, stating that on 30th March it was reformed with ten Mk.IIB and seven Mk.Is. The photos I've found show Mk.IIs, unless the head-on view of Doug Nicholls' aircraft shows a Mk.I? Five Mk.Is were among those scrambled against the Japanese. They appear to have come out fairly well with only one lost, one heavily damaged, perhaps because they were lighter and more agile than the Mk.IIs? At the same time 880 Sq on HMS Indomitable found themselves with a Mk.II airframe converted to take a Merlin III, which was unpopular because of its excess weight. Many Mk.Is were converted into Mk.IIs but in the UK, given new serials and generally sent to Russia. The Mk.IIs involved in Ceylon seem to be mainly in the Z, BM and BG serial ranges, which were new-build machines. The Z-serialled Mk.Is in 258 Sq were actually very little older, but had seen previous service in the Middle East. There seems to have been something of a shake-out. Syd: CBI is a later American term. The British term SEA includes operations around the Indian Ocean in India, Burma and Ceylon. I think it is still true that there were no Mk.I Hurricanes in operational service in North-East India, Burma, Java or Sumatra. Indomitable's Sea Hurricanes excepted, but they didn't see combat in this theatre. Great information Graham. Do you have any serials & codes for the Ceylon Mk I's? Cheers Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Bloody Shambles quotes Z4247 (D3A claim), Z4227 shot down, Z4372 badly damaged, Codes are only provided for two Mk.IIs. I've looked through the Air Britain lists for other Z-serial Hurricane Mk.Is with 258, but didn't find them. There were a couple described as FE, with No Further Trace after early 1942, so these could be suspects, but that doesn't help with codes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Boer Posted January 18, 2016 Author Share Posted January 18, 2016 Happy New Year all, My new book "Aircraft of the Netherlands East Indies Army Aviation Corps in crisis and war times, February 1937-June 1942" is finally there! For those who are interested, it can be ordered directly from the publisher De Bataafsche Leeuw in Amsterdam (www.bataafscheleeuw.nl click at "assortiment", at "luchtvaartgeschiedenis", at the book title, at "bestel dit boek", fill in your full address including country and click at "verzenden"). It has become even heavier than I anticipated with 560 pages and sells at €46,- plus a part of the postage when you live outside the Netherlands (to be paid after delivery). Cheers, Peter Boer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Boer Posted January 18, 2016 Author Share Posted January 18, 2016 Forgot to add, the book is in English, of course. All best, Peter PS Will try to answer a few of the more specific questions in due time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 I`ve followed your guide Peter and have hopefully ordered the book,...........I`m a bit worried about how much I will be charged for postage to the UK and how I am expected to pay,......will I receive a notification on how much I will be charged before it is posted to the UK along with my options to pay,....ie Paypal, Visa etc? I did try via Amazon but there was no trace of your book when I searched for it here. I`m looking forward to the book but it is a bit worrying not knowing what the final cost will be including postage to the UK! Cheers, Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Boer Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 The bill will come together with the book Tony. According to the publisher the principle is paying bank to bank using the IBAN international banknumber and included in the bill will be half of the postage costs. Cheers, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Thanks Peter, It seems a strange way to sell books in this day and age and might put off some people,..... I know that I almost didn`t go through with it as I like to know what I am paying when I order,........that said,.......I`m really looking forward to reading your book as I have a soft spot for Dutch military aviation and the war in the East Indies and Malaya/Singapore. All the best Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMacG Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Peter, I've tried to order this book through the process you mentioned, but iit's been 10 days or so now, and I haven't heard back yet. Is this typical for this lot or should I put in another order? Regards, John MacG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Same with me,.......I`ve heard nothing since either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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