tjililitan, catalina en spitfire

[toon]

Ik ben benieuwd of iemand me meer over deze foto's kan vertellen.

Op de spit staat MFWW (of MIWW) met daaronder NFLS

Wie de twee mannen zijn weet ik niet maar aangezien er op deze foto Tjililitan staat en ze bij de andere foto's horen denk ik dat alle foto's hier zijn gemaakt.

Op de ene foto van de Catalina's staat De Smokkel "Cat", op de ander De Wapensmokkelaar "Cat". De foto's schijnen gespiegeld afgedrukt te zijn.
De catalina is in 2008 op een ander forum het onderwerp van een discussie geweest. Zie link hieronder.

Identity of this Catalina? - Key Publishing Ltd Aviation Forums

[eric7325]

over de Catalina PI-C224 is denk ik dit van toepassing :

14.09.1948
Op Airaboe, behorende bij de groep Anambas, werd een Australische motorboot afkomstig van Singapore en een Catalina amfibie van Insular Airways Corp. (beide met wapens totale waarde 300.000 Strait dollars) aangehouden.
Van de motorboot werden 2 Engelsen en een Engelse vrouw gearresteerd en verder de vliegtuigbemanning bestaande uit 3 Amerikanen en een Philippino. De arrestanten worden per boor naar Tandjong Priok gebracht, de Catalina wordt door een Marinebemanning naar Batavia overgevlogen.
Onder de arrestanten bevindt zich vermoedelijk de bekende wapensmokkelaar Hire uit Singapore. Het staat vast dat Hire vooraf contact heeft gehad met Kolonel Kawilarang

bron : Illegale vluchten

en dan dit bij bericht 18 : "the Dutch did capture two Cats - PI-C224 and RI-006"

Identity of this Catalina? - Key Publishing Ltd Aviation Forums

[Jos Heyman]

May be this enquiry should go to the Netherlands East Indies section.

Here is what I got on PI-C224:
Other sources suggest that in 1947(?) the Dutch captured a PBY Catalina owned by Trans Asiatic Airlines of the Philippines[i]. The aircraft was allegedly flying for the Indonesian military. This company had also an associated company in Thailand and is believed to have been a CIA sponsored organisation. Another PBY Catalina (or may be the one owned by Trans Asiatic Airlines) was PI-C224 operated by Insular Airways. It was captured by the Dutch at Tandjong Priok but was not flown by the Dutch[ii]. On 14 September 1948 a Catalina of Insular Airways Corp. was captured at Airaboe in the Anambas group. The aircraft, which smuggled weapons, was flown to Batavia by a crew of the Marine Luchtvaart Dienst. No details of the aircraft registration or fate are known but it is possible that this refers to the incident with PI-C224.

[I] Davies, R.E.G., Airlines of Asia since 1920, London, 1997,p.288

[ii] Legg, D., Consolidated PBY Catalina – The Peacetime Record, Annapolis, 2002, p.146

And I have the following on RI-006:
The Catalina, RI-006, was previously owned by James Fleming who flew it in the Philippines with registration PI-C274. Fleming also flew the aircraft in Indonesia with an Indonesian officer as second pilot on most flights.
It made its first flight from Manila to Maguwo on 23 October 1948 and was registered on 26 October 1948. It made a second flight on 26 November 1948 from Yogyakarta to Jambi and Payakumbuh and back. The third flight was on 15 December 1948 when it flew from Manila to Yogyakarta with a cargo consisting of 100 kg of medicines. In addition Fleming carried some private cargo consisting of cloth samples whilst his partner named Arkin was also on board.
On 18 December 1948 the aircraft was chartered by the Indonesian Federal Commercial Organization for a flight to Tanjung Karang, on which flight it carried 25 civilians and their luggage. He returned the same day to Yogyakarta and left again for Tanjung Karang (or Lampung) on 19 December 1948. The same day, 19 December 1948, he made the return flight with eight passengers, but unaware that the Maguwo airfield had been taken over by the Dutch forces, Fleming landed on the field and was arrested. One of the passengers was found to carry some opium samples as well as 1 kg of gold destined for the Indonesian government in Yogyakarta.
Fleming’s efforts to get the aircraft back were to no avail and on 31 December 1948 Dutch navy officers flew the aircraft, still identified as RI-006, to Tjililitan. Eventually it was transferred to the MLD and broken down for spares.