Acquisition of the Douglas DB-7B and DB-7C for the Netherlands East Indies Navy

There has been confusion in accounts of the acquisition and use of the Douglas DB-7B and DB-7C by the Marine Luchtuaartdienst (MLD) – the Naval Air Service of the Netherlands East Indies – between October 1940 and May 1942. It was a tumultuous period, and few primary sources are available. In an effort to provide a more complete account of this subject, the following combines material from primary sources, particularly the archives at the Douglas Aircraft Co., with secondary source material that directly cites primary sources. From these records, a reasonably complete account of the 32 DB-7Bs and 48 DB-7Cs that were planned to be placed in service with the Marine Luchtuaartdienst (MLD), or Naval Air Service of the Netherlands East Indies, is presented.

Background

Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, after the German invasion of Poland. During the "Phony War" period that followed, the British and French continued frantically trying to rearm. The Netherlands joined the French and British effort, and all three turned to the United States for weapons, particularly aircraft.

The Netherlands government combined several initiatives to procure arms from the U.S. through the Netherlands Purchasing Commission (NPC), based in New York. Efforts to place orders for aircraft were necessarily complicated by the clamor for production from the expanding but still limited output of American factories. The priority offered to the British and French in the rearming effort often pushed the NPC to the back of the line. In October 1939, the NPC placed an order for 24 Curtiss Model 75 Hawk fighters, the export version of the Air Corps P-36. However, efforts made to place orders with other manufacturers were frustrated by priorities and engine shortages.

The situation changed radically in May 1940 with the German invasion of the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. The Dutch army surrendered on May 14, 1940, but the government went into exile in London. The Dutch colonies, including the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), continued efforts to rearm. In June 1940, the NPC ordered 108 Brewster Model 340s, the export version of the U.S. Navy’s SB2A, for the MLD. In October, 72 Brewster Model 339 Buffaloes, the export version of the Navy F2A, were ordered for Militaire Luchtvarrt KNIL (ML-KNIL), the equivalent of the Dutch East Indies Army Air Force. Engine shortages remained as a production roadblock and in many cases the engines to equip these orders had to be obtained through second-hand channels. Although these two production orders were placed in the summer and fall of 1940, deliveries were not scheduled until 1941.

The Douglas DB-7

The Douglas DB-7 was a very capable twin-engine attack bomber, derived from the Model 7B, which first flew in October 1938. In February 1939, the French government received permission from the U.S. to purchase 100 DB-7s, the initial version of the upgraded 7B design. The French DB-7 was powered by a pair of 900-hp Pratt & Whitney SC3-G Twin Wasp engines. (Note: In this article, the manufacturer’s designation is used for those aircraft/engines not originally ordered by the . . .