The Pelican's Christmas Flight to the Dutch East Indies

The Fokker F-XVIII Pelikaan (PH-AIP) departed on 18 December 1933 for an accelerated Christmas flight to Batavia in the then Dutch East Indies.

This flight was to be carried out by the faster Fokker F.XX Zilvermeeuw (PH-AIZ), but a serious engine failure occurred during warming up.

The Pelican was then hastily prepared for takeoff. The crew, under Captain Iwan Smirnoff, managed to complete the flight in record time.

On December 22, 1933, the plane arrived in Batavia, and four days later it departed for the return flight.

Despite bad weather, the return journey was completed a little faster, and on the evening of December 30, 1933, the Pelican landed at a cold and foggy Schiphol Airport.

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker_F.XVIII

https://blog.klm.com/nl/een-klm-kerstverhaal/

Much about captain Schmirnoff and the journey to the Dutch East Indies

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The Fokker F-XVIII 'Pelican' departs from Schiphol Source: https://blog.klm.com/
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Departure from Schiphol
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The Pelican in Batavia, Dutch East Indies Source: https://blog.klm.com/
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The Pelican is back at the soaking wet Schiphol
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One of the many 'memorabilia' created to commemorate this journey.
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The Pelican's Christmas Flight to the Dutch East Indies

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