In November 1942, a rare Dutch (American build) transport aircraft came to rest on an Emergency Landing Ground east of Charleville after a forced landing that ended its flying career. By then, the Douglas DC-5 Wakago had already survived a redirection to the Netherlands Caribbean island of Curacao following the German invasion of the Netherlands, the collapse of the Netherlands East Indies, a dramatic refugee escape to Australia, and months of demanding Allied transport operations. Its crash in outback Queensland was not an isolated accident, but the final chapter in an extraordinary wartime journey that linked Dutch civil aviation, colonial collapse, and Allied cooperation in Australia.
Origins of a rare aircraft
The Douglas DC-5 was one of the least-produced transport aircraft of the Second World War. Designed as a high-wing, twin-engine airliner with a tricycle undercarriage, it differed markedly from the more familiar DC-3. Only a very small number were built, and its limited production meant that it never achieved widespread airline or military use.
DC-5 Wakago was built by Douglas Aircraft Co at El Segundo, near Los Angeles, California. Completed as model DC-5-510. It was powered by two 1100hp Wright Cyclone GR.1820-G102A engines.
KLM (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij – Royal Dutch Airlines) was the only airline to operate the DC-5 in civil service. Wakago was originally ordered before the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940. Because the Netherlands was occupied, the aircraft never entered European airline service and was instead allocated to KLM’s West Indies Division, based in Curaçao. It was registered there as PJ-AIW and named Wakago, meaning “Wild Goose”.
Service in the Netherlands East Indies
In 1941, following instructions from the Netherlands government-in-exile, the aircraft was transferred to the Netherlands East Indies and registered with KNILM (Koninklijke Nederlandsch-Indische Luchtvaart Maatschappij – Royal Netherlands Indies Airways) as PK-ADC. It arrived by ship at Tanjung Priok (Batavia) in September 1941, was assembled by KNILM, and entered service on 29 September 1941.
As the strategic situation deteriorated rapidly, Wakago was allocated to the Netherlands East Indies Air Force and given the military serial D-90. It was camouflaged for military use and increasingly employed for transport and evacuation duties rather than routine civil operations. Its time in the NEI was brief but coincided with the final months before the Japanese invasion.
Escape from Java to Australia
In February 1942, as Japanese forces advanced through Java, KNILM aircraft were concealed at Tjikampek, north of Bandung. On 1 March 1942, Wakago escaped from Java as part of a small group of KNILM aircraft carrying refugees to Australia.
Flown by KNILM captain Dirk Rab, the DC-5 initially aimed to refuel at Broome in Western Australia. On arrival, fuel shortages and congestion prevented refuelling, and authorities advised Rab to continue on to Derby, a further 45 minutes away. With fuel already critically low, he had little choice.
As the aircraft approached Derby, it ran out of fuel entirely. In sight of the airfield, Rab made an emergency landing in three-metre-high alang-alang grass. Despite the difficult conditions, the aircraft suffered no major damage.
Meanwhile, Captain Gerrit Jan Schipper, flying a KNILM DC-2 (PK-AFL), arrived at Broome and was informed that Rab was missing. Schipper flew on to Derby, located the DC-5, and landed nearby. Fuel was transferred from the DC-2 to the DC-5 by Joop Gijzemiiter using hand pumps, allowing both aircraft to return to Broome for the night. Schipper was then instructed to continue onward to Port Hedland.
Luck favoured Rab the following morning. Wakago was the first aircraft to depart Broome on 3 March 1942, later remembered as “Black Tuesday”. Shortly after its departure, Japanese aircraft attacked the unprotected airfield and harbour. Among the aircraft destroyed in the raid was another KNILM aircraft, the DC-3 PK-ALO. Wakago escaped destruction by only minutes.
The aircraft continued on to Sydney, clearing customs at Mascot Airport on 4 March 1942. It was one of several Dutch aircraft that survived the collapse of the Netherlands East Indies and went on to form part of the Allied air transport capacity in Australia.
Allied service in Australia
In March 1942, KNILM aircraft in Australia were ordered transferred under wartime arrangements. Following intervention by General Douglas MacArthur, the Dutch aircraft were assigned to the United States Army Air Forces for military transport duties. Dutch crews initially continued flying them, carrying American personnel and cargo within Australia.
Wakago was allocated the radio call sign VH-CXB and assigned to the 21st Troop Carrier Squadron, 374th Troop Carrier Group, based at Archerfield in Brisbane. It operated courier and transport services within Australia and between Australia and New Guinea. Its lack of a dedicated cargo door limited its load, but it remained useful for personnel movement.
Crash landing near Charleville
On 6 November 1942, while operating as part of the Allied air transport system, Wakago took on board around 20 United States servicemen at Charleville Airfield, travelling to Brisbane on leave.
After departure, the aircraft climbed to approximately 6,000 feet when a newly installed engine failed completely. The crew feathered the propeller but were unable to maintain altitude even with the remaining engine operating at full power. Consulting their maps, they diverted to an emergency landing strip near Lurnea Siding, about 30 miles east of Charleville.
A satisfactory touchdown was achieved, but during the landing roll the aircraft struck a large anthill at an estimated speed of 70 miles per hour. The impact forced an undercarriage strut up through the wing structure, causing substantial damage to the airframe. Although the aircraft was rendered beyond repair, no serious injuries were sustained. The crew and passengers were later returned to Charleville by American personnel from the local base.
36 Squadron News Bulletin Issue 13 July 1993 includes an interview with Arch Widt which describes the lead up to this crash landing. The report can be viewed on Peter Dunn’s website ozatwar
A tangible reminder
Although the aircraft itself was lost as a result of the crash, a small fragment of aluminium from Wakago has since been recovered near the crash site and is preserved at the WWII Secret Base Museum in Charleville. This surviving piece provides a rare physical link to the aircraft’s long journey and to the Dutch-linked aviation presence in wartime Queensland.
A small incident with wider meaning
While the forced landing east of Charleville was a minor event in the broader context of the war, it illustrates how Dutch civil and colonial aviation assets displaced by the fall of the Netherlands East Indies became embedded in Allied operations in Australia. The presence of a rare KLM-derived aircraft, flown under USAAF control and carrying American servicemen across inland Queensland, reflects the multinational and improvised nature of the Allied war effort.
Today, the story of the Douglas DC-5 Wakago stands as a distinctive example of shared Dutch–Australian–American wartime history, linking refugee escape, Allied logistics, and the realities of operating aircraft across a vast and often unforgiving landscape.
By Paul Budde
