The Lake Boga Flying Boat Museum in northern Victoria preserves the forward fuselage of what is believed to be the last surviving Dornier Do 24K from the six former Netherlands Naval Aviation Service flying boats taken over by the Royal Australian Air Force during the Second World War. This unusual Read more
Dutch bombers over northern Australia During 1942 and 1943 No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) RAAF Squadron operated North American B-25 Mitchell bombers from northern Australian airfields as part of Allied operations against Japanese forces in Timor and the Netherlands East Indies. These missions included armed reconnaissance, strike operations and maritime Read more
The Broome Historical Museum preserves one of Australia’s most important collections relating to the Japanese air raid on Broome on 3 March 1942 and the Dutch and Netherlands East Indies evacuees caught in the attack. Operated by the Broome Historical Society, the museum occupies Broome’s former Customs House and adjoining Read more
A radial engine and propeller from a Dutch Dornier Do 24K flying boat are preserved at the Broome Historical Museum in Western Australia. Recovered from Roebuck Bay during the late 1970s, the artefact is a tangible reminder of the Japanese air raid on Broome on 3 March 1942 and the Read more
The Dutch passenger liner Oranje became one of the most important hospital ships serving Australian and New Zealand forces during the Second World War. Offered by the Netherlands Government-in-Exile for Allied use in 1941, she completed 41 wartime voyages, travelled more than 382,000 nautical miles and carried 32,461 sick and Read more
The wartime story of Jan Bakker and his family The story of Johannes (Jan) Bakker and his wife Maria van Rijswijk is one of war, separation, loss and rebuilding across continents. It begins in the Netherlands in the late 1930s, moves to the Netherlands East Indies during the final years Read more
Samanuddin was born in 1906 in Dacca (now Dhaka, Bangladesh), then part of British India. He later served as a seaman in the Netherlands Merchant Navy. Like many Asian sailors recruited by Dutch shipping companies during the interwar and wartime years, he became part of the multinational crews that operated Read more
The North American B-25 Mitchell N5-128 was one of the early aircraft operated by No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF during its formative period in Australia in World War II. Arriving during 1942, N5-128 formed part of the initial group of B-25 bombers that arrived at Archerfield Airport in Read more
The Aviation Heritage Museum at Bull Creek in Perth preserves an extensive collection of military and civil aircraft connected with Australian and Western Australian aviation history. Among its Second World War exhibits is a Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina. Although this particular aircraft did not serve with the Netherlands Naval Aviation Service, Read more
The American shipwreck at Tulamben in Bali, well known today among divers, is the remains of the USAT Liberty. I was alerted to this wreck by my grandson, Neriya, who dived the site in February 2026. While the vessel itself was American, its final voyage in January 1942 unfolded within Read more