PH-AKT Douglas DC-2-115H
(c/n 1366)
Whereas the standard engine
for the DC-3 was the Wright Cyclone SGR-1820-F2, The Standard
Oil Company
requested that their executive model be powered with 720 hp Pratt &
Whitney S8EG
Hornet
engines. For comparative purposes, KLM opted to
acquire one such machine also. Not
only did PH-AKT "Toekan" have "non standard"
engines (at least as far as DC-2s were concerned)
but it also
carried "Koninklyke Luchtvarrt Maatshappy" on the port side and "Royal
Dutch Air Lines"
on the
starboard - the reverse of the normal livery. It was
accepted by the airline in May of 1935.
The close-up below
shows the engine installation to better advantage. PH-AKT was
captured by the
advancing
German Army in May of 1940. (The DC-2s on the ground at Schipol
seemed somehow
to escape the
initial bombardment of the airfield). It was then impressed into
service, initially with
Lufthansa as
D-AIAV, and later with the Luftwaffe as NA+LA. It was written off
in a crash at
Lammershagen in
August of 1940