In its final form, this book marks the culmination of 11 years of original research, translation, writing and rewriting. The original text was researched, translated and written in just six weeks over the summer of 1991 following my graduation from the University of Texas at Austin. At no point, however, did I plan on spending more than a decade fleshing out the details and expanding and rechecking my facts in order to make this text into what I consider to be the most complete history of the naval air war in the Netherlands East Indies in any language to date.
It would have been impossible to reach this point alone. I have received generous encouragement, support and assistance from not only my family, but also dozens of colleagues across the globe. Thanks to the World Wide Web, I have been able to cross international boundaries to exchange information, seek guidance and debate international perspectives that more often than not differ from our idealized American-schoolroom viewpoint.
Of my fellow historians, amateurs and professionals alike, I have met very few in person. Yet all have proven extraordinarily helpful by providing not only factual information, but also their own unique insight as to the events of the Netherlands East Indies campaign. To each, no matter how large or small their contribution over the past decade, I gratefully give my thanks. While there are far too many names to list individually, there are a few that I remain particularly indebted to.
These individuals include Jan Visser and Bert Kossen of the Netherlands and my fellow Americans Mark Jones and Allan Alsleden. Despite my having met only one of these individuals in person, each graciously and without hesitation volunteered their time and expertise to edit and proofread this 100,000-word book no fewer than three times each. Simply put, all went well beyond what was asked of them by checking everything, from spelling to factual content, to help ensure its accuracy.
In particular, Jan Visser and Bert Kossen provided access to numerous out-of-print Dutch-language sources that would have otherwise remained outside my reach. At the same time, Allan Alsleden’s Japanese translations and assistance (particularly with seaplane operations) were nothing short of phenomenal. And Mark Jones—whom I have had the pleasure of meeting in person—provided invaluable guidance with his postgraduate studies and teaching experience in helping me prepare and structure this text for publication.
My search for photographs to illustrate this book led to yet another group of individuals, all of whom showed extraordinary kindness. Most were complete strangers prior to being contacted via email by an unknown American who had just completed a manuscript on the MLD and needed photos to illustrate it. Some work with museums and national archives, while others shared photos from their personal collections, yet all generously provided a wealth of images that I could otherwise never have hoped to obtain.
André de Zwart—founder of the www.dornier24.com Web site—put me in contact with Nol Baarschers, whose uncle of the same name served as a crewman aboard the flying boat X-15. An avid amateur photographer, the elder Baarschers took a plethora of photos of his fellow crewmen and their aircraft. Although crewman Baarschers was killed when his Dornier seaplane disappeared in December 1941, his photos survived and were passed down to his nephew, who graciously provided a large number of images that have not previously been published. In addition, André made available his own personal photo collection and donated a number of equally unique images from his Web site that complemented those of Mr. Baarschers.
Alan Renga, assistant archivist with the San Diego Aerospace Museum in San Diego, California, and his staff of volunteers provided stellar assistance in providing a large number of the photos found in this book. I owe thanks, again, to Jan Visser, for putting me in contact with Jan Klootwijk, who provided photos of MLD seaplane tenders from his personal collection. Joshua Stoff, curator of the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York, and the staffs of both the National Archives of Australia and Institute for Maritime History in The Hague, Netherlands, also proved of tremendous assistance in obtaining photos.
My co-worker, George Campbell, was kind enough to draw the maps for this book. Not only did he endure countless revisions, but he did so without a single complaint. Whether or not he had as much fun in the process as he claimed remains unknown! Mark Hancock, a graphic artist whom I have known and worked with for a decade, also helped immensely by cleaning up numerous photos to make them presentable for publication. Without their help, and that of dozens of others who are too numerous to name here, this book would not have been possible.
In closing, while I have attempted to present the most factually accurate account possible, the confusion surrounding the final days of the East Indies campaign lend uncertainty to an era in which it might never be possible to fully learn the entire truth. It was a time when one’s primary attention was often devoted to basic survival to the extent that record keeping was often of secondary importance. Likewise, many primary Dutch-language records were destroyed prior to the final surrender of the East Indies, making certain elements of the campaign murky at best.
Nonetheless, as the author I alone bear the burden of accurately portraying these elements and freely acknowledge and accept that any errors or omissions found in this manuscript are solely my own. And to anyone—either living or deceased—whom I might have unintentionally overlooked, misrepresented or otherwise erroneously omitted, I offer my sincerest apologies.
Tom Womack
Dallas, Texas
February 2006