26 January 1949

First Flight of Indonesian Airways

VIVAnews - 59 years ago today, on 26 January 1949, Indonesian Airways, the first national airline of Indonesia, made its first commercial flight from Calcutta to Rangoon.

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Indonesian Airways was founded by two Air Force officers, Major Wiweko Supono and Captain Soetardjo Sigit, in late 1940s. The former worked at the Embassy of Indonesia in New Delhi, while the latter served as crew on RI-OO1 Seulawah, a DC-3 aircraft.

RI-001 Seulawah was Indonesia's first transport airplane. The Indonesian government purchased the aircraft not long after the Renville Agreement. Due to the agreement, most of Indonesian areas were separated and surrounded by the Dutch-occupied areas. Therefore the government had difficulty in maintaining rules in those areas.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the commander of the Indonesian Air Forces, Air Chief Marshall Suryadarma proposed a plan to purchase a transport aircraft. Unfortunately, the Indonesian government did not have enough money to make a purchase at the time. After some discussion, President Soekarno decided to go to Aceh and sought financial assistance there.

The Acehnese agreed to help the government. Soon, a fundraising committee was founded to collect the money. The committee successfully collected 20 kg of gold or equal to 120,000 Malaysian dollar (approx. US$ 500,000). The money was used to purchase a DC-3 airplane for the government.

The aircraft, named RI-001 Seulawah, was later used by the government to clear out the Dutch blockades, thus helping to  overcome Indonesia's military and economic troubles.

In November 1948, Vice President Hatta used the airplane to visit several major cities in Sumatra. A month later, the plane went to Calcutta for regular maintenance. Not long after, the Dutch launched its second military aggression against Indonesia.

Since the Dutch forces now reoccupied most of Indonesia's territory, the RI-001 Seulawah could not return to Indonesia nor obtain financial support from the government. Desperate for money, the crew decided to lease the airplane to a third party. Fortunately, the Burmese (Myanmar) government needed their service and agreed to rent the airplane along with its crew.

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Thus, on 26 January 1949, the plane flew to Rangoon under the banner of Indonesian Airways. This was the first commercial flight of Indonesia's first national airline which later led to the establishment of Garuda Indonesia. 

Today, the DC-3 replica of RI-001 Seulawah can still be seen at Blang Padang airfield, Banda Aceh. The original plane went down in Rangoon while still in service for the Burmese government. 

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29 Maret 2024