This repaint shows the PH-DAT in the livery KLM used between 1954 and 1961.
The top of the fuselage was painted white and the banners were applied over nearly the full length of the fuselage. On the left side of the fuselage it had the English text "The Flying Dutchman" and on the right side "De Vliegende Hollander" in Dutch. registration was not longer there to identify an aircraft from the ground, so the registration code was reduced in size. Personally I think this is the best looking livery the KLM ever had.
The PH-DAT was originally built as C47-A with US registration 42-93424 and was delivered to the RAF, where it served with registration KG603. After the war it was sold to the KLM where it originally received the registration PH-TCT. In 1954 the registration was changed in PH-DAT. It remained with the KLM until 1961, after which it was transferred to the airline "De Kroonduif", a former subsidiary of Dutch airline KLM which operated in Dutch New Guinea.
When New Guinea became Indonesian territory the aircraft entered service with Garuda, the national Indonesian airline. After that it flew with different registration with smaller local operators. It has also been used as a training aircraft for para-jumping by the Indonesian Air Force. It was still commercially flying in 2005. The aircraft is preserved and currently owned by the Indonesian Transport Museum. An amazing life for an aircraft which left the factory in 1943!
The top of the fuselage was painted white and the banners were applied over nearly the full length of the fuselage. On the left side of the fuselage it had the English text "The Flying Dutchman" and on the right side "De Vliegende Hollander" in Dutch. registration was not longer there to identify an aircraft from the ground, so the registration code was reduced in size. Personally I think this is the best looking livery the KLM ever had.
The PH-DAT was originally built as C47-A with US registration 42-93424 and was delivered to the RAF, where it served with registration KG603. After the war it was sold to the KLM where it originally received the registration PH-TCT. In 1954 the registration was changed in PH-DAT. It remained with the KLM until 1961, after which it was transferred to the airline "De Kroonduif", a former subsidiary of Dutch airline KLM which operated in Dutch New Guinea.
When New Guinea became Indonesian territory the aircraft entered service with Garuda, the national Indonesian airline. After that it flew with different registration with smaller local operators. It has also been used as a training aircraft for para-jumping by the Indonesian Air Force. It was still commercially flying in 2005. The aircraft is preserved and currently owned by the Indonesian Transport Museum. An amazing life for an aircraft which left the factory in 1943!
:salute:
