Uiver
| Uiver | |
|---|---|
 KLM Douglas DC-2 PH-AJU Uiver | |
| General information | |
| Type | Douglas DC-2 |
| Manufacturer | Douglas Aircraft Company |
| Status | Crashed and burned down near Rutbah, Iraq |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1934 |
| Retired | 20 December 1934 (destroyed) |
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Uiver was the name of the Douglas DC-2 airliner with registration PH-AJU operated by Dutch airline KLM. This innovative aluminum aircraft became famous in 1934, both in the Netherlands and internationally, for winning the MacRobertson Air Race. Later that year, the plane crashed during a record attempt, killing all seven on board. A report blaming KLM director Albert Plesman and minister Jacob Kalff was reportedly suppressed in what became known as an "Doofpotaffaire" (cover-up affair).
Name
[edit]KLM named its aircraft after birds corresponding to the last letter of the registration. For example, PH-AIP was Pelikaan (Pelican), and PH-AJA was Arend (Eagle). However, PH-AJU posed a problem—there were no bird names in standard Dutch beginning with "U" that hadn’t already been used. Someone then suggested "Uiver", the Betuwe dialect word for stork.[2]
Delivery and First Flight
[edit]
The first DC-2 ordered by KLM on 28 March 1934 was the Uiver. It was a DC-2-115A, the 18th DC-2 built by Douglas Aircraft Company in Santa Monica, California. After acceptance, the aircraft flew to New York on 22 August 1934, where it was partly disassembled and shipped aboard the Statendam to Rotterdam. On 13 September, the aircraft arrived in the Netherlands and was reassembled at Waalhaven Airport. Its first Dutch flight was on 19 September 1934, and it was christened "Uiver" on 28 September.[3]
Its all-metal aluminum construction marked a technological leap, replacing the then-common wooden, linen-covered airframes. Impressed, KLM promptly ordered 14 more DC-2s, to be assembled by Fokker.[4]
Melbourne Race
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The Uiver gained fame in the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race from Mildenhall (UK) to Melbourne (Australia), held from 20 to 24 October 1934. The crew included:
- Captain Koene Dirk Parmentier[5]
- Co-pilot Jan Moll[6]
- Flight engineer Bouwe Prins
- Radio operator Cornelis van Brugge[7]
Three passengers were aboard: P.M. Gilissen, R.J. Domenie, and German pilot-journalist Thea Rasche.
Race
[edit]Uiver won the handicap division, completing the 19,877 km in 90 hours and 17 minutes. In the overall ranking, it placed second behind C.W.A. Scott and Tom Campbell Black in their red de Havilland DH.88 Comet Grosvenor House (71 hours). After the race, a wave of national enthusiasm followed in the Netherlands. Songs, commemorative items, and even a rose named Aviator Parmentier were created in the plane’s honor.[8]
Fate
[edit]
On 20 December 1934, the Uiver departed from Schiphol for Batavia (Dutch East Indies) with 350 kg of Christmas mail. Captain Willem Beekman initially refused to depart from Cairo due to bad weather, but KLM director Plesman allegedly threatened dismissal if the flight was delayed.[9]
The Uiver crashed near Rutbah in Iraq. All seven onboard were killed:
- Crew: Beekman, co-pilot Van Steenbergen, engineer Waalewijn, radio operator Van Zadelhoff
- Passengers: newspaper magnate Dominique Willem Berretty, medical professor Eduard Willem Walch and businessman Jacob Thymen Kort.[9]
The Uiver had flown for just three months. Fourteen more DC-2s had been ordered, but five were lost in crashes within three years, prompting public concern.
The Second Uiver
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In 1983, a US-built DC-2 was shipped to the Netherlands for a documentary. It reenacted the Melbourne flight from 18 December 1983 to 5 February 1984. For this ‘memorial flight’ the original registration PH-AJU and race number (44) were applied. It returned on 31 March 1984.[4]
Crew included:
- Captain Jan Plesman (grandson of Albert Plesman)
- Co-pilot Fred Schouten
- Engineers Bonne Pijpstra and Ton Degenaars
The aircraft was returned to owner Colgate W. Darden III. In 1999, it was bought through crowdfunding and restored with original Uiver colors and registration PH-AJU. It is displayed at the Aviodrome in Lelystad Airport.[4]
It was grounded in 2005 due to gear failure but repaired by volunteers and flew again in 2007.
References
[edit]- ^ The image caption on Wikimedia Commons incorrectly states Schiphol; it should be Waalhaven.
- ^ "Airplanes at Schiphol | 1934". Schiphol. Retrieved 2025-04-23.
- ^ Geldhof, Kok: Douglas DC-2, de eerste blikken vogel van de KLM en de KNILM, 1997.
- ^ a b c "Douglas DC-2". Aviodrome (in Dutch). Retrieved 2025-04-23.
- ^ Parmentier died in 1948 in the Crash of the Nijmegen near Prestwick Airport.
- ^ Became a KLM commodore in the 1950s.
- ^ Van Brugge died in the 1943 shootdown of PH-ALI Ibis (BOAC Flight 777).
- ^ J.P. Nater: De Uiver - Glorie en tragiek in de Melbourne race - Hoogtepunten uit de luchtvaarthistorie in de jaren dertig. Ad. Donker, Rotterdam, 1983, ISBN 90 6100 220 6
- ^ a b "Fantasie en feiten rond de Uiverramp". Het Vrije Volk (in Dutch). 28 January 1984. p. 7 – via Delpher.
Further reading
[edit]- Norbert F. Heerkens: Met de "Uiver" naar Melbourne - Een actueel boek voor de Nederlandsche jeugd. Boek- en Handelsdrukkerij Helmond, Helmond, 1934. 124 p.
- H.P. Geerke: De Melbourne-race. Meulenhoff, Amsterdam, 1934. 24 p.
- Adriaan Viruly, Han Hollander: Het Uiver Album - The Flying Dutchman going strong. Hobera, Amsterdam, 1935.
- K.D. Parmentier: In drie dagen naar Australië - Met de Uiver in de Melbourne-race. Scheltens & Giltay, Amsterdam, 1935. 316 p.
- Mr. P.J. Mijksenaar: "Wij" in de Melbourne-race - Spannende octoberdagen van 1934. Andries Blitz, Amsterdam, 1935. 192 p.
- J.J. Moll: Langs de hoge weg - Herinneringen uit een vliegersleven. W. van Hoeve, Den Haag, 1959. 312 p.
- J.P. Nater: De Uiver - Glorie en tragiek in de Melbourne race - Hoogtepunten uit de luchtvaarthistorie in de jaren dertig. Ad. Donker, Rotterdam, 1983, ISBN 90 6100 220 6
- Wolf Kielich, Rob Swanenburg: Race door de tijd - Vliegende Hollanders voor en na de triomf van de Uiver. Uniepers, Hoorn, 1984. 128 p., ISBN 90 68 25 010 8
- Wim Kroese: De legendarische vlucht van de Uiver. Teleboek, Amsterdam, 1984. 120 p., ISBN 90 6122 130 7
- N. Geldhof, P.C. Kok: Douglas DC-2, de eerste blikken vogel van de KLM en de KNILM. Bonneville, Bergen (N.H.), 1997. 335 p., ISBN 90 73304 19 9
