The MLD bases in the NEI
| Located on the north coast of eastern Java, the Marine Establishment was sheltered by the large island of Madoera. West of the naval base was Soerabaja's commercial port, which was capable of handling a substantial number of merchant ships. MVK ( MarineVliegKamp ) Morokrembangan lay a short distance further west past the commercial port, although the distance between it and the ME was still not all that great. A naval airfield at Perak just outside Soerabaja was responsible for providing air cover for the city, port and seaplane base, although the M.L. ( army air force ) was responsible for providing the aircraft operating from it. Although the KM had undertaken to dredge it, the harbor at Soerabaja was very shallow. Although they lay bare and exposed at low tide, a series of mudflats dotted the harbor and were deceptively concealed just beneath the water's surface at high tide. A deep channel leading to the seaplane base was usable at all times and clearly marked. However, without charts or logical knowledge of the channel, it was impossible to know which side of the buoys to stay on. If one strayed off the step, the penalty usually resulted in having to be pulled off the flats by small boat. In 1939 - 1940, MVK Morokrembangan received a series of substantial modifications and renovations as a result of the Dutch government's efforts to strengthen the country's armed forces. These efforts yielded a number of new hangers, ramps, workshops and barracks. By the outbreak of the Pacific War, Morokrembangan had 24 hangers, concrete rampgs, expansive workshops, transport cranes, underground fuel tanks and powerful radion facilities. There were four main support bases, including MVK Priok at Tandjoeng Priok outside Batavia on western Java, MVK Ambon, MVK Tarakan and MVK Prapat on Lake TOba in Central Sumatra. These naval air stations were all major hubs. MVK Priok had two hangers and a number of workshops. Located at Halong on the island of Ambon, MVK Ambon consisted of three hangers, workshops and a number of barracks which were still under construction when the island fell to the Japanese in February 1942. An air station for the MLD since the 1920's, MVK Tarakan was modernized in 1940. In 1941, it received a small floating aircraft dock and expanded facilities which let it carry out major aircraft repairs. MVK Prapat was completed just before the outbreak of war and had only a concrete ramp and barracks for the aircrews. In addition, there were three permanent MVK's at Kalkas on Lake Tondano in northern Celebes, Balikpapan and Pontianak in southern Borneo. The MLD also operated approximately 50 remote bases scattered throughout the East Indies. Although not as large or well-equipped as Morokrembangan and the hub facilities, they provided adequate stopover points for refueling, repairs and rest for the crews. Many were equipped with skeleton ground crews and all had radio facilities which let them maintain contact with Morokrembangan. Developed secondary bases included the Riouw Archipelago, the Talaud islands, Ternate and Morotai in the Molucca Islands and Sorong on the northwest cape of New Guinea. 300 Miles south of Java, in the Indian Ocean, the MLD also reached an agreement with the British to establish a seaplane base on Christmas Island. Although fully stocked, the MLD never had cause or adequate strength to utilize this base during the East Indies campaign. There were also some 50 underdeveloped bases scattered throughout the East Indies. Most of these consisted of little more than remote supply depots of camouflaged fuel drums and crates of oil at a suitable site on a jungle or lake or river. All of these bases were serviced in one way or another by a wide variety of small boats. These included fast motorboats for personnel transport, boats for refueling seaplanes in the harbor, specialized ordinance boats for "bombing up" planes and "crash boats" to rescue survivors or tot ake off wounded. The MLD also operated small harbor boats, which resembled miniature tug boats. These highly-maneuverable boats had a cockpit forward with a towing bit placed amidships. The design allowed the coxswain to put the seaplane in tow where ever he wanted. Although few of these boats were standardized, no base could effectively function without them and their destruction could seriously limit the effectiveness of an MLD base. The lifeline provided by these forward bases was due to large supplies of fuel, oil and ordinance stocked before the war and supporting aircraft tenders of the Gouvernementsmarine. After being militarized by Admiral Helfrich, six patrol boats ( Arend, Fazant, Merel, Poolster, Reiger and Valk ) were put at the disposal of the MLD for use as aircraft tenders. Carrying fuel, oil, supplies and ammunition, they provided an invaluable network of mobile support bases that could simply pick up and move to a new location when threatened. This broad network of seaplane bases and motherships allowed the MLD to maintain a high degree of operational efficiency throughout the East Indies campaign. At the same time, it allowed the Dutch to keep a wide eye on what the Japanese were doing as they moved south towards Java. What areas the MLD could not cover, was patrolled by the militarized seaplanes of the KNILM, which utilized its prewar stopover points in addition to the MLD's bases. Japanese strategy centered around neutralizing these bases and it proved very effective. Throughout the campaign, the GVT.s lived a nomadic existence, being harried from base to base. One squadron was forced to operate from five different bases in 15 days. Adding to the strain, was the fact that Dutch aircrews often flew 16-18 hour missions for days. Although the MLD tried to rotate squadrons out of the line, this was not always possible. And, as the war converged on Java and Morokrembangan, there soon was no safe place left for the squadrons. Explanatory notes: MLD: MarineLuchtvaartDienst, the naval air service of the Royal Netherlands Navy. ME: MarineEtablissement, the naval dockyard in Soerabaja, responsible for maintaining ships and facilities. ML: Militaire Luchtvaart ( of the KNIL ), army air force. MVK: MarineVliegKamp, an air base of relatively large size. This article is part of an unpublished manuscript owned by T. Womack. All rights are reserved, the webmaster has explicit permission of the author to use this chapter for his website. |
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