Rebuilding a Dutch fighter force
Following the Japanese conquest of the Netherlands East Indies in early 1942, Dutch military aviation had to be rebuilt from personnel and aircraft scattered across Australia and the United States.
The immediate priority was the formation of No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF, which operated B-25 Mitchell bombers. Establishing a Dutch fighter squadron took considerably longer because insufficient trained pilots, technicians and ground personnel were initially available.
The Royal Netherlands Military Flying School was established at Jackson, Mississippi, during 1942. As its graduates became available, the Dutch could proceed with plans for a new fighter unit. Personnel arriving in Australia undertook additional training at Canberra and Mildura.
Formation at Canberra
No. 120 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF was formed at RAAF Station Canberra—later known as Fairbairn—on 10 December 1943.
It was a combined Dutch–Australian unit. The Netherlands East Indies authorities provided the pilots and aircraft, while the RAAF supplied much of the squadron’s ground organisation and support personnel. A similar arrangement had been used for No. 18 Squadron and the short-lived No. 119 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF.
The squadron was commanded by Major Hans Anton Maurenbrecher. It was equipped with Curtiss P-40N Kittyhawk fighters carrying Netherlands East Indies serial numbers beginning with the code C3.
By the end of January 1944, the squadron had reached a reported strength of 24 Kittyhawks. Its personnel included:
- 27 officers;
- 18 non-commissioned officers;
- 28 corporals and other Netherlands East Indies personnel;
- five RAAF officers; and
- 229 other RAAF ranks.
Squadron aircrew
The surviving aircrew list reproduced with this article is an important historical document and should be retained. It records personnel who might otherwise be difficult to identify individually. Source: O.G. Ward, De Militaire Luchtvaart van het KNIL in de jaren 1942–1945.
Intended deployment
The original intention was to deploy No. 120 Squadron to northern Australia, where it could operate alongside No. 18 Squadron.
The plans were subsequently changed, and the fighter unit was allocated to Merauke, on the southern coast of Netherlands New Guinea. Merauke remained in Allied hands and was an important defensive position protecting the Torres Strait, northern Australia and the approaches between the Arafura and Coral seas.
The squadron’s proposed move was temporarily interrupted in March 1944 when aircraft from Nos. 18 and 120 Squadrons were sent to Western Australia during the Western Australian Emergency.
Allied intelligence had raised concerns about a possible Japanese naval attack on Western Australia. No attack eventuated.
Two Kittyhawks lost near Mildura
On 5 or 6 April 1944, two No. 120 Squadron P-40N Kittyhawks became lost while flying from Potshot—now Learmonth—to Canberra.
The pilots were forced to abandon their aircraft by parachute. Both survived, but their Kittyhawks crashed near Mildura.
The aircraft and pilots were:
- C3-524, flown by Second Lieutenant A.J. Geerts; and
- C3-527, flown by Sergeant J.D. Brameyer.
The squadron’s movement from Canberra to Merauke continued during April. The main party arrived on 7 May 1944, and Squadron Headquarters became operational shortly afterwards.
The role of No. 120 Squadron at Merauke
No. 120 Squadron operated within the North-Eastern Area of the South-West Pacific Area under the overall command of General Douglas MacArthur.
Its responsibilities included:
- protecting Merauke and the Torres Strait approaches;
- intercepting Japanese reconnaissance or bombing aircraft;
- preventing Japanese vessels from moving between the Arafura and Coral seas;
- conducting armed reconnaissance along the New Guinea coast;
- attacking Japanese posts and small coastal craft; and
- supporting Allied ground forces operating in southern Netherlands New Guinea.
By the time the squadron arrived, the immediate Japanese threat to Merauke had diminished. As a result, its operational opportunities were more limited than its personnel had expected.
First combat operations
No. 120 Squadron undertook its first operational missions on 27 June 1944.
Four reconnaissance sorties were flown, while four Kittyhawks led by Major Maurenbrecher conducted a bombing and strafing attack in cooperation with Australian ground forces.
A second operational mission followed on 5 July. Operations Order MER/88 directed six aircraft to attack the Japanese position at Japero. Each aircraft carried two 500-pound bombs fitted with delays of between eight and eleven seconds.
The Kittyhawks attacked in two waves of three aircraft. The first bombs were dropped at approximately 7.15 am from a height of about 300 feet.
The squadron subsequently conducted strafing and bombing attacks against Japanese positions and small vessels along the New Guinea coast. It also provided support for Allied operations in Netherlands New Guinea.
First squadron aircrew casualty
The squadron suffered its first aircrew fatality on 24 July 1944.
A Kittyhawk flown by Pelsmarker crashed near Nassam village during a training flight. He initially survived the crash but died while being carried back to the base.
His name and the details of the accident should be retained as part of the squadron’s casualty record.
Limited operations and growing frustration
Japanese activity around Merauke remained limited. Other RAAF units were progressively redeployed during late 1944, but No. 120 Squadron remained.
For many members, service at Merauke became monotonous and frustrating. The squadron was stationed on Netherlands East Indies territory, but it was not yet being employed in the wider liberation of the archipelago.
The pilots wanted a more active role, either supporting American operations farther north in New Guinea or attacking Japanese positions elsewhere in the Netherlands East Indies. Courier aircraft operated by the Netherlands East Indies transport service provided an important connection with Australia and other Allied bases.
The loss of Dakota DT-941
No. 120 Squadron suffered a particularly severe loss on 7 September 1944 when Netherlands East Indies Air Force C-47 Dakota DT-941, registered VH-RDK, crashed near Mossman while flying from Merauke to Cairns.
All 20 people aboard were killed. They included four crew members, seven No. 120 Squadron fighter pilots, other Dutch military personnel, two Australians and two civilian women.
The four transport crew members were:
- Lieutenant Hermanus J.H. Daanen, captain;
- Sergeant-Major Willem A. Torn, co-pilot;
- Sergeant Jacques F. Damwijk, flight engineer; and
- Sergeant Eugene Kerdijk, wireless operator.
The seven No. 120 Squadron pilots travelling to Australia for rest and recreation were:
- Lieutenant Bernard van Aken;
- Lieutenant Rudolf Theodoor Braakensiek;
- Lieutenant Hendrik P. Levy;
- Lieutenant Otto Leyding;
- Lieutenant Robert J. Salm;
- Lieutenant Jan S. Zwart; and
- Sergeant Abraham C. Scholte.
The other passengers included:
- Sergeant Martinus J. Straub, Netherlands Naval Aviation Service;
- Sergeant Marinus Boogerman, Netherlands Naval Aviation Service;
- Lieutenant Robert E.J. Boereboom, Netherlands East Indies Forces Intelligence Service;
- Lieutenant Samuel Jacob, Netherlands East Indies Forces Intelligence Service;
- Squadron Leader Leslie Roy “Smokey” Dawson, RAAF liaison officer;
- Lieutenant Horace William Armstrong, Australian Army; and
- two civilian women whose names are recorded on the Cairns memorial.
Two additional No. 120 Squadron pilots had expected to travel aboard the Dakota but were reassigned to ferry Kittyhawks to Canberra for maintenance. Their luggage remained aboard the missing aircraft.
Despite an extensive search, DT-941 was not found until January 1989, when its wreckage was discovered in rugged terrain northwest of Mossman. The recovered remains were buried with full military honours in a communal grave at Cairns War Cemetery on 29 July 1989.
The DACC’s separate article about Samuel Jacob and the Dakota crash provides further information about the tragedy.
Film made by Hans Maurenbrecher
Major Hans Anton Maurenbrecher made an amateur film recording No. 120 Squadron’s personnel and operations during 1944.
The film includes scenes of the fighter pilots at Merauke and a journey from Merauke to Hollandia. It provides rare moving images of the people, aircraft and conditions under which the squadron operated. Source: Netherlands Ministry of Defence.
Move to Biak
During May and June 1945, No. 120 Squadron moved from Merauke to Biak, off the northern coast of Netherlands New Guinea.
From Biak, the squadron was better positioned to support operations farther west. Following Japan’s surrender, it continued flying surveillance and escort missions over northern New Guinea during September and October 1945.
The surviving Kemajoran magazine pages reproduced below provide additional information about the squadron. They also contain an account of the October 1945 crash landing of a Catalina carrying supplies, including alcohol, to personnel on Biak. That incident is discussed separately in the DACC profile of flight engineer Evert Herman van Hummel.
End of the joint Dutch–Australian squadron
After the war, Dutch authorities wanted Nos. 18 and 120 Squadrons transferred to Java.
The RAAF component of No. 120 Squadron was disbanded on 30 October 1945. The last Australian personnel left in February 1946.
On 20 June 1946, the squadron passed fully into the Netherlands East Indies military aviation organisation, ending its formal relationship with the RAAF. It retained the No. 120 Squadron designation and subsequently operated during the Indonesian struggle for independence.
The squadron was disbanded on 1 March 1950 during the transfer and reorganisation of Dutch military aviation following Indonesian independence.
Later use of the squadron number
A new No. 120 Squadron was formed in the Royal Netherlands Air Force in 1961. It was an air-defence unit equipped with Nike Hercules surface-to-air missiles and remained active until 1983.
This later unit used the same squadron number but operated in an entirely different strategic and technological environment.
Preserving the personnel records
The aircrew and casualty lists attached to this article should be retained. They contain names and service information that may be difficult to recover from other sources.
The document below records casualties of the Military Aviation Service of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army. It is retained as a historical record but should not be interpreted as a list limited exclusively to No. 120 Squadron. Source: O.G. Ward, De Militaire Luchtvaart van het KNIL in de jaren 1942–1945.
Sources and further reading
- Australian War Memorial—Australia and the Dutch in the Pacific War
- O.G. Ward, De Militaire Luchtvaart van het KNIL in de jaren 1942–1945
- Peter Boer, Fighter Units of the Netherlands East Indies Army Air Corps and Their Successors (as per the above)
- No. 120 Squadron Operations Record Book, National Archives of Australia
- Dirk Bodemeijer—technical officer with No. 120 Squadron
- Air Force History Index
- DACC Air Force Research Portal
