Talk:Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force

Dutch RAAF squadrons

Off the top of my head I think that the RAAF "NEI" squadrons included some personnel from the MLD (Naval Air Service) in addition to the ML-KNIL. I think this because during the occupation of the Netherlands, the Dutch military started a combined aviation headquarters at Hawkins Field, Jackson, Mississipi. My general feeling about the squadrons is that they were RAAF squadrons with flying personnel supplied by the Netherlands government in exile, rather than "joint" squadrons. But I could be wrong. Grant | Talk 13:44, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

Aparently No. 18 Squadron was officially independent of the RAAF from about late 1942. However, RAAF personnel continued to make up almost all of the ground crew and many of the non-pilot aircrew were also Australian and the unit was under RAAF command and completly dependent on the RAAF for supplies, so this idependence seems to have been nominal at best. The squadron seems to have had seperate commanding officers for its Dutch/NEI personnel and Australian personnel (see: http://www.awm.gov.au/alliesinadversity/australia/nei.asp ). The story of the RAAF-NEI units is an interesting one and might even deserve its own article. --Nick Dowling 23:24, 24 April 2007 (UTC)