Editing KNILM (section)

==War and demise==
[[File:DC-5Japan.jpg|thumb|An ex-KNILM [[Douglas DC-5]] in use with the [[Imperial Japanese Army Air Service]], circa 1942-45]]
During the [[Dutch East Indies campaign|Japanese attack of the Dutch East Indies]], KNILM was utilized for evacuation flights and transport of troops. On December 28, 1941, a KNILM [[Douglas DC-3]] "Nandoe" (PK-ALN) was destroyed on the ground by Japanese fighters at Medan, killing all crew members and passengers. Immediately before and after the Japanese invasion on 1 March 1942, all KNILM aircraft with sufficient range were evacuated to Australia. On 7 March 1942, one day before the capitulation of Java, the last KNILM aircraft took off from the Boeabatoeweg in Bandung. A number of KNILM aircraft in Darwin were destroyed by the Japanese during the [[bombing of Darwin]]. In all, 11 KNILM aircraft managed to escape to Australia: 3 [[Douglas DC-5]]s, 2 [[DC-3]]s, 2 [[DC-2]]s and 3 [[Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra]]s. In mid-May 1942 the remaining aircraft were sold to the American military.

After [[Indonesian National Revolution|Indonesian independence]] the KNILM could no longer operate due to the fighting between Indonesian nationalists and the Dutch military. All flights in the period were flown using military aircraft, coordinated through the [[Netherlands Indies Government Air Transport]] (NIGAT). On paper, KNILM was reinstated to operate charter flights to eastern Indonesian locations. Starting on 16 November 1946 it operated a weekly trans-Pacific flight between Batavia and [[Los Angeles]]. The service was performed with four-engined [[DC-4]]s of the NIGAT. It was not successful and was discontinued after a few months.

KNILM was officially disbanded on 1 August 1947, and the remaining assets were transferred to KLM, which created the [[KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf]] (the precursor of [[Garuda Indonesia]]) to operate air services between islands in the Indonesian archipelago.