Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force | |
---|---|
Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger | |
Active | 1915–1950 |
Country | Netherlands |
Branch | Royal Netherlands East Indies Army |
Type | Air force |
Role | Aerial warfare |
Aircraft | See list below |
Engagements | World War II Indonesian War of Independence |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | See list below |
Insignia | |
Roundel circa 1921–1939 & 1948–1950 | |
Roundel 1939–1942 | |
Roundel 1942–1948 |
The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (Dutch: Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger, ML-KNIL) was the air arm of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from 1939 until 1950. It was an entirely separate organisation from the Royal Netherlands Air Force.
The unit was founded in 1915 as the "Test Flight Service" (Proefvliegafdeling-KNIL, PVA-KNIL). In 1921, it became the "Aviation Service" (Luchtvaartafdeling-KNIL, LA-KNIL), before finally receiving the designation of ML-KNIL on 30 March 1939. In 1950, following Dutch recognition of Indonesian independence, its bases and facilities were handed over to the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU).