Introduction
During the Indonesian Revolution (1945–1949), the conflict between the newly proclaimed Republic of Indonesia and the returning Dutch colonial authorities was fought not only on land and through diplomacy, but also in the air. Less well known is the role aviation played in sustaining the Republican cause under conditions of economic isolation and military blockade. Dutch fighter aircraft actively enforced air control over Republican-held territory, intercepting unauthorised flights. One incident in particular — the shoot-down of an aircraft near Yogyakarta on 29 July 1947 — offers a revealing lens through which to examine this largely overlooked air war.
Indonesian aviation and Dutch colonial legacies
The foundations of Indonesian military aviation were, paradoxically, laid during the colonial period. Before the Second World War, a number of Indonesians received aviation training within the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) air force structure. This training, intended to support Dutch colonial defence, later became an asset for the Republican movement.
One prominent figure was Adisucipto, later recognised as an Indonesian national hero. Like others, he was trained under Dutch auspices before the war and subsequently applied his skills in service of the Indonesian Republic. This colonial inheritance highlights a recurring theme in post-colonial conflicts: military and technical capacities developed within imperial systems were later repurposed against those same systems during struggles for independence.
Breaking the blockade: foreign pilots and surplus aircraft
Following the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Dutch sought to reassert control over the Netherlands East Indies, including through a naval and air blockade designed to isolate Republican-held territory. Aviation quickly emerged as one of the few means by which the Republic could maintain external connections.
This effort relied heavily on foreign ex-World War II pilots — Americans, British and Australians — who flew surplus Douglas C-47 transport aircraft. Operating in defiance of Dutch authority, these pilots flew into and out of Republican-controlled areas, linking Java with destinations such as Manila and Singapore. The flights transported high-value commodities, including quinine and vanilla, which could be exchanged for funds and supplies necessary to sustain the revolutionary administration and armed forces.
These operations occupied a grey zone between commercial enterprise, political sympathy and outright defiance of colonial control. Yet they were critical in undermining the effectiveness of the Dutch blockade.
The Jogja (VT-CLA) incident, 29 July 1947
On 29 July 1947, during a period of intensified Dutch military operations, an unarmed Douglas C-47 transport aircraft identified as VT-CLA was intercepted near Yogyakarta by a Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Force (ML-KNIL) Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk fighter enforcing the air blockade.
The C-47 was engaged and shot down, crashing and killing its pilot, Noel Constantine, an Australian national flying in support of Republican air operations. The interception formed part of a broader Dutch effort to suppress what it regarded as illegal air traffic supplying the Republic during the Indonesian Revolution.
Dutch authorities later justified the action by claiming that the aircraft was carrying weapons in violation of the blockade — a claim that has never been substantiated in Indonesian or independent accounts. Indonesian narratives have consistently denied that the flight was transporting arms, and no verified cargo inventory or recovered material has been produced to confirm the Dutch assertion. The allegation nonetheless played an important role in Dutch military and diplomatic framing of the incident, allowing it to be presented as a legitimate enforcement action rather than an attack on a transport aircraft.
The unresolved nature of this claim underscores the broader informational asymmetry of the conflict, in which assertions and counter-assertions often substituted for verifiable evidence amid wartime conditions.
Memory, commemoration and graves
In Indonesia, the Jogja incident is commemorated annually on 29 July as part of Indonesian Air Force Service Day ceremonies. Constantine’s name is regularly acknowledged in this context, despite his foreign nationality, as part of the broader narrative of sacrifice in the early air war.
Recent aviation history commentary notes that Constantine’s flight carried humanitarian aid and was shot down by Dutch Kittyhawks near Ngoto, Bantul.
Ben Ruesink and the Dutch air campaign
Another pilot linked indirectly with the same phase of Dutch air operations was Lieutenant Bernhard Jan “Ben” Ruesink, a Dutch-trained aviator who served with No. 120 Squadron in ML-KNIL Kittyhawk fighters. Ruesink participated in Dutch counter-air operations that formed part of the enforcement of Dutch military control during the same period in which VT-CLA was intercepted.
Ruesink was killed on 22 December 1947 when the Kittyhawk he was flying was destroyed by the premature detonation of a bomb during an attack near Kaliangkrik, Magelang, Central Java. He is buried at the Dutch Field of Honour Menteng Pulo in Jakarta, providing a tangible point of connection to the Dutch military presence during the final phase of the colonial air campaign.
Further insight into the legacy of these foreign pilots has emerged through research into their burial sites and later commemoration. In the case of Noel Constantine, information regarding his grave and subsequent remembrance has been documented in Indonesian aviation history sources. Notably, the rediscovery and clarification of burial details involved contributions from private researchers, including Elizabeth and Michael Kramer. Michael Kramer’s earlier research and correspondence formed part of the background that prompted the present article, illustrating how individual historical inquiry continues to play an important role in recovering overlooked aspects of the Indonesian Revolution and its international participants.
Conclusion
The Jogja incident of 29 July 1947 reveals a complex intersection of colonial legacies, revolutionary necessity and international involvement. It demonstrates how air power and logistics played a crucial role in sustaining the Indonesian Republic under blockade, and how individuals from outside the region became entangled in the decolonisation process.
For Dutch–Australian–Indonesian history, the episode underscores the need to look beyond formal diplomacy and battlefield engagements. Aviation networks, supply routes and individual agency were central to the outcome of the Indonesian Revolution, yet remain under-represented in historical narratives. Revisiting incidents such as this helps illuminate the broader, interconnected history of decolonisation in Southeast Asia.
With thanks to Michael Kramer.
Source note
This article draws in part on the Indonesian-language publication Awal Kedirgantaraan Indonesia (The Beginnings of Indonesian Aviation), an official historical work on the early development of Indonesian aviation during the revolutionary period. The book documents the role of Indonesian personnel, foreign pilots and international aviation links in sustaining the Republic of Indonesia under Dutch blockade following the Second World War.
In particular, this article makes use of Bab VI – Hubungan Penerbangan Luar Negeri (Chapter VI – Foreign Aviation Relations), which discusses foreign-operated flights, surplus aircraft, and the involvement of American, British and Australian pilots, including the VT-CLA (Jogja) incident of 29 July 1947 and the death of Australian pilot Noel Constantine.
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