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Stock locations 1171 (Sambas) and 1172 (Sinkawang)
are correctly located. However, their roles seem to be reversed
in terms of infrastructure - and for that reason - in terms of unit
basing.

Sambas had (and still has) a medium sized airport. Sinkawang
had no airport at all - and is generally still lasted as not having one
(although in fact there is a tiny light plane airport build sometime
since WW2).

This matters since air groups 2902 and 2914 - Buffalos and B-10s -
are based at Sinkawang - where there is no airport to service them.

I assumed (incorrectly) that the flying boat detachments were also
reversed - and probably used the seaport on the sea. I was wrong.
According to The Dutch Naval Air Force Against Japan, MLD had
its base at Sambas. The KNIL base force at Sambas - slot 5883 -
apparently was an MLD base force. The KNIL base force at
Sinkawang - slot 5882 - apparently did not exist. I now use
slot 5882 for the Hollandia Base Force - which did exist but
seems not to be present in stock or any of the mods I checked.

Checking locations permits more than getting economics
and infrastructures right. It often identifies missing units (e.g.
the Hollandia base force) or units that are mis-located - as in
this case.

I did not want to start Test Ten with bad data in important places -
so have been checking up "center of the chessboard" NEI
locations not reworked in some years, or never.

Stock data is correct. At Sambas there was an auxiliary MLD Air Station, represented by a
small Base Force. Singkawang had no airfield, that's true. The airfields the MLKNIL used
were named Singkawang II (the second most important AF on Borneo after Samarinda II) and
Singkawang III. Singkawang III was a small emergency strip. Both airfields were located
in the jungle several miles west of Singkawang.

Same Situation at Samarinda. Samarinda II was located in the jungle north of Samarinda. For
playability reasons these important airfields 'moved' to Singkawang/Samarinda respectively.

Neither MLD or MLKNIL ever used Hollandia.

Harald

To be a teensy bit more precise Harald, Singkawang II was about 20 km across the border and about midway between Sarawak and Singkawang, proper, on the (then) road/track from Sarawak, through Bau, in the table uplands that are now the Taman/Masjid (Al Qur'an) areas in the Sambas Redional District.

I totally agree with your conclusion that there was nothing in Hollandia, except a small administrative staff (18 personnel) for the District. No military presence at all.

Sid only consults Wikipedia and makes pronunciamento. He has no feeling for the scope of the playing field in the 1940s time frame. Unfortunate, but one must consider the source.

[ed] BTW, the Babes scenarios have Samarinda II, along with a 'secret' track, included as a result of your input. You have been invaluable.

Ciao. JWE

I refer you, again, to the Dutch Naval Air Force Against Japan
more properly cited here - this is relatively new material by a Dutch
author - with scholarly notes and bibliography for further reading.

ISBN 0 7864 2365 X

Note, however, that I was NOT using this as my source - I was using local
airport data and imagery originally and the book only to deal with the NAVAL
air base. The LAND bombers and fighters COULD NOT be stationed where there was
no airfield. I assumed stock had reversed the data for MLD (naval planes) -
but it was indeed CORRECT - ALL the planes were at SAMBAS - NONE were at
Sinkawang - and it is the LANDPLANES that have to be moved (as well as the
Level 6 build Level 3 airfield deconstructed).

The locations were reversed politically - SAMBAS was head of the regency and
a larger city - today it is the reverse - but SAMBAS still has the airport.
There is allegedly a light plane airport at Sinkawang by one source - but it
apparently has no code and does not make the major references - and many
travel databases say there is none at all. I also do not see it on imagery -
so it must be pretty tiny.


As for Hollandia, there WAS a military force - because there WAS a battle there
according to local history as well as according to Japanese history. It was
small. It appears Hollandia was NOT on the civil airline route either -
this ends at Babo in Western New Guinea. I do not have specific information about MLD
or KNIL support - but it was the capital of all Dutch New Guinea and it did
have a military contingent. It is not likely no official ever flew there and
there WAS an airfield for somebody to use. There are two other towns in NG that once had
military forces but which I have not yet been able to show did in 1941 - so
have not added them. I estimate the base force as a company sized formation
and modeled it on other bases forces in NEI.

ORIGINAL: Harald Velemans

Stock data is correct. At Sambas there was an auxiliary MLD Air Station, represented by a
small Base Force. Singkawang had no airfield, that's true. The airfields the MLKNIL used
were named Singkawang II (the second most important AF on Borneo after Samarinda II) and
Singkawang III. Singkawang III was a small emergency strip. Both airfields were located
in the jungle several miles west of Singkawang.

Same Situation at Samarinda. Samarinda II was located in the jungle north of Samarinda. For
playability reasons these important airfields 'moved' to Singkawang/Samarinda respectively.

Neither MLD or MLKNIL ever used Hollandia.

Harald

Singkawang II still exists, in the marked location. It is still called Singkawang II (DGAC), with airfield code WIOI. For the pilots, or simulator folks, its NavAid is Singkawang NDB, sqwaking NF, freq 210.00. The field is almost exactly as it was in 1941/42. 3168 x 98 ft, with hard dirt surface. The field is very well maintained. One can make out the old taxiway accesses and even see some ghost vestiges of bomb craters in the surrounding terrain. Runway 02 threshold is 41.2 statute miles (35.8 nautical miles) East (bearing 87 degrees) from the Singkawang town center datum.

The original access was from Kuching, through Bao, on what is now the Jalan Raya Ledo. But this road stopped short at the river. The connection with Singkawang proper was a dirt track from Bengkayang to the river, now called the Sanggau Ledo. There was a light bridge, suitable for light vehicles, and a ferry, the remnants of which can still be seen today, but supplies to Singkawang II preferably came via Kuching or by air.

Since there were no other connections of Singkawang II to anywhere else (same is true, even today), and since Singkawang II was within a game hex width from Singkawang proper, it was thought reasonable to subsume it, therein.

It was the most important and active Dutch airfield in North and West Borneo. I do not have the squadron designations at hand, but the vast majority of the Dutch F2As and B-10s, in NW Borneo, were based at Singkawang II.