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The years 1939-1948
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| Reopening
of KLM domestic services from Amsterdam Schiphol after the Second World
War. |
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1939
KLM aircraft neutral
In the tense wartime situation in European skies all KLM aircraft still operating had 'Holland' painted in large letters on their fuselage to identify them as neutral. |
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1940
Douglas DC-5
The Douglas DC-5 was introduced on flights connecting the Antennae Islands and Surinam on mainland South America. KLM is a loyal Douglas customer, from the DC-2 to the MD-11. |
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1941
Link Bristol and Lisbon
During the war, KLM aircraft and pilots
played their part by maintaining a link between Bristol and Lisbon, later
extended to Gibraltar. Caribbean services were also kept going. |
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1942
Sorry, no material available for this year. |
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1943
Lockheed L-18 Lodestar
KLM activities in the Caribbean were even extended. The company started scheduled flights between Curacao and Miami on August 17th, 1943, the first KLM link with the United States and a new aircraft was added to the fleet, the Lockheed L-18 'Lodestar'. |
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1944
Sorry, no material available for this year. |
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1945
Rebuilding KLM
The moment hostilities had ceased, Plesman
immediately took the rebuilding of 'his' KLM in hand. Half a year later 'Uiver'
hero Captain Parmentier was on his way piloting a Douglas C-54A 'Skymaster'
on the first post-war flight to Indonesia. |
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1946
Inaugural flight New York
Captain Evert van Dijk took a Douglas DC-4, the PH-TAR 'Rotterdam', on KLM's inaugural flight to New York, May 31st, 1946. KLM was the first continental European airline to start scheduled flights to the American metropolis after the war. |
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1947
Lockheed Constellation
In this year the Lockheed Constellation was an important addition to the KLM fleet. |
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1948
Convair 240 and DC-6
Yet two more aircraft types were added to the fleet this year, the Convair 240 and Douglas DC-6. |
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pictures/information on this page have a copyright by KLM (See Legal
Notes) |
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