I borrowed this print for a scan, a unique insight into the very early days of commercial aviation !

Sources:
Loet Kuipers, Air Britain Netherlands Branch
Terry Murphy, Air-Britain member
Gerben Tornij
Herman Dekker's Dutch register notes: www.xs4all.nl/~ftpfl002/Nazorg/nazorgph.html

In the days several aircraft would fit in a hangar and have room to spare!	Control Tower, Amsterdam Municipal Airport
The old days, when the crowds were thin and security relaxed: oh days of innocence !	KLM's DC-3-194B PH-ALU "Uil" , in preparation. 'LU was destroyed during a German attack on Schiphol, 10May1940

Until the mid-1920s, American commercial airplanes were built for mail, not people... Boeing's model 80, along with the Ford and Fokker tri-motors, were a new breed of of passenger aircraft. The 80 provided a heated cabin, and leather seats (but the cabin wasn’t pressurized, engine noise made conversation difficult, and despite heaters, the cabin was sometimes very cold). The model 80 first flew on 27Jul1928, and was flying Boeing Air Transport's (BAT) route two weeks later. The 12-passenger Model 80 and the more powerful 18-passenger 80-A (redesignated 80A-1 when the tail surfaces were modified in 1930) stayed in service until 1934, when replaced by the all-metal Boeing 247. Unlike the other passenger planes of the era, the Model 80 was a biplane. This design feature enabled it to have a slow landing speed at the high-altitude airports along Boeing Air Transport's San Francisco-to-Chicago route.

this particular aircraft was retired from service with B.A.T. in 1934. It became a cargo aircraft in 1941 with a construction firm in Alaska. To carry large equipment, including a massive 11.000 pound (4.950 kgs) boiler, a cargodoor was cut into the plane's side. After WW2 NC224M (I don't know if it ever carried that serial outside the museum) was parked at an airfield and disgarded. Fortunately, it was recovered from a dump in 1960 and eventually brought to Seattle for restoration. It is the only surviving example of the Boeing Model 80 series. Some eye-catching details: look how small the prop is and how simple the engine is fitted between the wings; also the protection placed above the wheels to protect the wings from stones damaging the wing is very nice.

"Thought you might like this one... It was taken in October 1950 at Schiphol by the father of a friend of mine, Gerhard Stoopman. He worked for Shell in Curacao and was visiting home in the Netherlands when he photographed this Lockheed Constellation. Unfortunately the original is very small - only about 3" by 2". " Courtesy Robert J. Ribando.

On 09Mar1916 the Dutch Minister of War gave his permission to buy some land in the Haarlemmermeer, to build a 2nd (military) airport besides Soesterberg AB. Despite extensive drainage, the wheels of the Farmans, Rumplers and Spijkers kept sinking in the mud after a bit of rain. Albert Plesman was convinced there was a future for commercial aviation and he founded KLM in 1919. Initially he wanted to fly from an area in Wassenaar but the English pilots thought the area unsuitable. On 17May1920 the first KLM flight left London for Amsterdam; its load was 2 journalists, newspapers and a letter for the mayor of Amsterdam. And this was the day that mud patch became Amsterdam Municipal Airport. But those early passengers were carried by strong men from and to the planes when it had rained, as it was still a muddy airstrip. There was no terminal, nothing much of anything. The name Schiphol has been explained in various ways. There used to be an inland sea here and strong winds caused many ships to sink: Ship's Hell. Another explanation is, in old terminology, the name Schiphol would relate to a a low lying patch of land, swampy, with trees. In 1921 KLM tried to change the name but people kept using Schiphol so it was left at that. Consider this: in 2006 the airport authorities has a budget for 200 million euro for security, a quarter of the airport's total budget. Jan Dellaert became Station Manager and Chief Flight Division on 15Jun1920 and he was to rule Schiphol for 40 years. Jan Dellaert became for Amsterdam IAP what Albert Plesman meant for KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines. In those early days operations weren't exactly "24/7"... During the winter all flying ceased and the airport went into hybernation! On 03Feb26 Amsterdam and the Dutch government reached an agreement and investments were made to change this "mudhole" into a serious airport: drainage was put in place, a restaurant and lounges were built. It took until 1932 to install radio telecommunication facilities. During the 1930s passenger transport took off; a big boost was KLM's contribution to the London-Melbourne race in 1934: Douglas DC-2 PH-AJU "Uiver" won the handicap race (it arrived second, but first place was a racer built for airraces). During these 1930s yearly passengernumbers accumulated to 200.000 - 300.000; much traffic went to the Dutch Indies. In 1938 the location came underdiscussion: the government suggested to move the airport to Leiderdorp; even KLM was in favour. But a large crowd gathered on 02Jul38 in protest and the idea was abandoned. However, the issue to relocate this international airport comes up every now and again: during the 1990s a study was made to relocate to a location off the coast, on reclaimed land. It hasn't happened... yet! Shortly before the war the construction of the highway Den Haag - Amsterdam was completed, hangars had been raised, a concrete runway had been established and runwaylighting for nightoperations (by Philips of course) had been put in place. Then World War 2 broke out: Holland was invaded in the night of May 9th and 10th, 1940 by the Germans. Much damage was made to the national airport but the Germans quickly repaired this and even expanded! This Fliegerhorst played an important role in Luiftwaffe's battle against Britain. In return the Allied forces bombed Amsterdam Airport: on 13Dec43 208 Marauder bombers of the 9th Air Force participated in an attack and destruction was to such a degree that the Germans gave up their use only to return in Sep44 to demolish all that remained and thus prevent use by the approaching Allied forces. After the war they could, literally, start from scrap again..   Frans van den Berg (Nijmegen,NL) sent me these bagage labels and explained: " I was 8 years old in 1947 and flew with my parents in a DC-3 from Beek (Limburg) to Amsterdam, returning to Haarlem after our holidays. I have kept this bagage label ever since. My son and I found your website when we looked for the identity of this DC-3 I had flown in and found your reference to PH-TBA with your description of N94530: that same DC-3 you had come across in Savannah, GA in 2005! Frans van den Berg, photos © Nijmegen.

A few important years for "Schiphol": 1916- purchase of a piece of land for military aviation purposes 1920- First KLM flight from London arrives; Schiphol becomes a civilian airport 1920- Jan Dellaert starts with KLM 1926- The military turn the airfield over to the City of Amsterdam 1928- Many improvements completed in time for Olympic Games at Amsterdam 1929- KLM starts with first intercontinental schedule on the Dutch Indies 1940- Schiphol falls into the hands of the Germans and becomes a Fliegerhorst 1944- The German occupational troops inflict great destruction on the airport 1949- opening semi-permanent terminal building 1950- Jan Dellaert accepts position as Director of Schiphol Airport 1952- commercial aviation sees introduction of economy class 1955- start of the jet-age 1955- Schiphol registers more than a million visitors 1957- start op tax-free shops at the airport 1958- Amsterdam Municipal Airport becomes NV Luchthaven Schiphol 1959- Schiphol registers more than a million travellers 1960- Jan Dellaert retires (and dies) 1963- major expansion, including new runways, is started 1967- Schiphol-Centre is opened by Queen Juliana 1970- first Boeing 747 (Pan Am) lands at SPL, july 2nd 1978- railway connection to the airport is established 1991- new atc-tower becomes operational 2003- runway 18R/36L ("Polderbaan") becomes operational 2006- Schiphol celebrates 60th anniversary Source: Schipholland, jubilee-edition 2006

Lockheed L.1049E Super Constellation PH-LKS awaits a new assignment at Amsterdam Int'l Airport	Convair 340, PH-CGF and some unique groundtransport!
A flypast by a Lockheed Constellation over Amsterdam Airport	Passengers exiting Convair 240 PH-TEE "Jan Steen"; passed on to Swissair in 1953.

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