De Kroonduif, a former subsidiary of Dutch airline

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...

, was the national carrier of

Netherlands New Guinea Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea ( nl, Nederlands-Nieuw-Guinea, id, Nugini Belanda) was the western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas territory of the Kingd ...

(present day

Western New Guinea Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, or Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

), between 1955 and 1963. The name 'kroonduif' is the Dutch term for the crowned pigeon endemic to New Guinea, which was assumed as the logo of the company.

History

On 14 July 1955, the company Nederlands Nieuw Guinea Luchtvaart Maatschappij (NNGLM) was established as a subsidiary of Dutch airline

, to provide air services within the Dutch territory of

. This new airline, operating under the name of De Kroonduif, was based at Biak, and operated several routes throughout the territory with two

de Havilland Canada Beaver The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined high-wing propeller-driven short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft developed and manufactured by de Havilland Canada. It has been primarily operated as a bush plane and has been used ...

s. Later the fleet was also supplemented with Douglas

DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

Dakotas and Twin Pioneers. As

Dutch New Guinea Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea ( nl, Nederlands-Nieuw-Guinea, id, Nugini Belanda) was the western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas territory of the Kingd ...

was being incorporated into Indonesian territory on 1 January 1963, the operations of ''De Kroonduif'' were absorbed by Indonesian airline Garuda Indonesia, which shortly afterwards assigned them to ''

Merpati Nusantara Airlines PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines, operating as Merpati Nusantara Airlines, was an airline in Indonesia based in Central Jakarta, Jakarta. It operated scheduled domestic services to more than 25 destinations in Indonesia, as well as scheduled intern ...

'', a company that since 1978 was fully owned by Garuda.

Destinations

According to the De Kroonduif timetable dated 1 December 1958, at the time the following destinations were served: *

Biak Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and corals. The large ...

, Ajamaroe, Fak Fak, Hollandia,

Kaimana Kaimana is a small port town in West Papua, Indonesia and capital of the Kaimana Regency. It had a population of 13,613 at the 2010 Census. In March 2007, the Indonesian Navy conducted a training exercise off the coast of Kaimana in Kaimana Ba ...

, Kebar, Kokonao, Manawi,

Manokwari Manokwari is a coastal town and the capital of the Indonesian province of West Papua. It is one of only seven provincial capitals of Indonesia without a city status. It is also the administrative seat of Manokwari Regency. However, under pr ...

Merauke Merauke is a large town and the capital of the South Papua province, Indonesia. It is also the administrative centre of Merauke Regency in South Papua. It is considered the easternmost city in Indonesia. The town was originally called Ermasoe. It ...

, Napan, Noemfoer, Ransiki,

Sorong Sorong is the largest city and the capital of the Indonesian province of Southwest Papua. The city is located on the western tip of the island of New Guinea with its only land borders being with Sorong Regency. It is the gateway to Indonesia's ...

, Steenkool,

Tanahmerah Tanah Merah (or Tanamerah, literally means ''Red Land'') is a town in South Papua province of Indonesia (not to be confused with Tanahmerah Bay) on the bank of Digul river, located some two hundred miles from Merauke within the interior of Wester ...

, Teminaboean, Wasior, Wisselmeren

References

* Time Table, De Kroonduif, 1 December 1958
Vliegen in het stenen tijdperk: De Dakota's van de Kroonduif
(

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

) {{Airlines of Indonesia Organizations based in Dutch New Guinea Defunct airlines of Indonesia Airlines established in 1955 Airlines disestablished in 1963 1955 establishments in Southeast Asia 1955 establishments in the Dutch Empire 1963 disestablishments in Indonesia

History

Destinations

See also

References