DC-3 PH-PBA new historic KLM livery 07122010

Douglas DC-3C-S1C3G c/n 19434 (formerly a C-47A-75-DL) PH-PBA in its new 1960's KLM livery, unveiled on 7 December 2010 in a ceremony at Schiphol Amsterdam airport in The Netherlands (EHAM). Since 2006 PH-PBA had flown with a dual livery, KLM on one side, Air France on the other, to commerate the first flight of a KLM DC-3 to Paris on November 13, 1936. The aircraft was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) in 1944 and came into action for the Normandy landings. In 1947 it went to The Netherlands as PH-PBA and was commissioned as government aircraft, to be used extensively by Prince Bernhard, husband of the then Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. It was then known as "The royal Dakota". In 1975 it was phased out and exhibited in the former Aviodome museum at Schiphol Amsterdam airport. After 21 years on exhibition it was restored to airworthiness by Air Atlantique in Coventry. Parts of DC-3 G-BVOL (c/n 9836) were used to restore PH-PBA. See also the other photo's of PH-PBA in this gallery.