De Kroonduif, a former subsidiary of Dutch airline KLM, was the national carrier of Netherlands New Guinea

Netherlands New Guinea

Netherlands New Guinea refers to the West Papua region while it was an overseas territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1949 to 1962. Until 1949 it was a part of the Netherlands Indies. It was commonly known as Dutch New Guinea...

 (present day Western New Guinea

Western New Guinea

West Papua informally refers to the Indonesian western half of the island of New Guinea and other smaller islands to its west. The region is officially administered as two provinces: Papua and West Papua. The eastern half of New Guinea is Papua New Guinea.The population of approximately 3 million...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

), between 1955 and 1963. The name 'kroonduif' is the Dutch term for the crowned pigeon

Victoria Crowned Pigeon

The Victoria Crowned Pigeon, Goura victoria, is a large, bluish-grey pigeon with elegant blue lace-like crests, maroon breast and red iris. The bird may be easily recognized by the unique white tips on its crests. Both sexes are similar. It is on average 74 cm long and weighs 2,384 grams...

 endemic to New Guinea, which was assumed as the logo of the company.

History

On the 14th July 1955, the company Nederlands Nieuw Guinea Luchtvaart Maatschappij (NNGLM) was established as a subsidiary of Dutch airline KLM, to provide air services within the Dutch territory of Netherlands New Guinea

Netherlands New Guinea

Netherlands New Guinea refers to the West Papua region while it was an overseas territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1949 to 1962. Until 1949 it was a part of the Netherlands Indies. It was commonly known as Dutch New Guinea...

. This new airline, operating under the name of De Kroonduif, was based at Biak, and operated several routes throughout the territory with two de Havilland Canada Beavers.

Later the fleet was also supplemented with Douglas DC-3 Dakotas and Twin Pioneers.

As Western New Guinea was being incorporated into Indonesian territory, on the 1st January 1963, the operations of De Kroonduif were absorbed by Indonesian airline Garuda

Garuda Indonesia

PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk , publicly known as Garuda Indonesia, is the flag carrier of Indonesia. It is named after the mystical giant bird Garuda of Hinduism and Buddhist mythology. It is headquartered at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, near Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia...

.

Destinations

According to the De Kroonduif timetable dated 1 December 1958, at the time the following destinations were served:

• Biak
  Biak
  Biak features a tropical rainforest climate with nearly identical temperatures throughout the course of the year. The average annual temperature in the city is 27 degrees celsius, which is also generally the average temperature of each day in Biak...
  
  , Ajamaroe, Fak Fak, Hollandia
  Jayapura
  Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....
  
  , Kaimana
  Kaimana
  Kaimana is a small port town in West Papua, Indonesia and capital of the Kaimana Regency.It is served by Kaimana Airport. Kaimana is part of a Sea Conservation Area in West Papua.Butterflies in the surrounding forest of Karora are reported to be on the brink of extinction due to logging in the...
  
  , Kebar, Kokonao, Manawi, Manokwari
  Manokwari
  Manokwari is a city in Indonesia. It is the largest city and, since 2003, the capital of the province of West Papua, at the western end of New Guinea. The city has many resorts and is a major tourist area. It is one of the seats of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manokwari–Sorong. It is also the...
  
  , Merauke
  Merauke
  Merauke is a town considered to be one of the easternmost towns in Indonesia, located in Merauke Regency, Papua province, Indonesia. It is next to Maro River.In 2006 it had a population of 71,838....
  
  , Napan, Noemfoer, Ransiki
  Ranswiki
  Ransiki is a small town in West Papua, Indonesia. The town is located on the eastern coast of the Bird's Head Peninsula.The town is served by Ranswiki Airport. During World War II a ship sank off the Ranswiki coastline....
  
  , Sorong
  Sorong
  Sorong is a chartered coastal city in the eastern Indonesian province of West Papua. Its only land borders are with Sorong Regency. It is the gateway to Indonesia's Raja Ampat Islands, species rich coral reef islands in an area considered the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity. It also...
  
  , Steenkool
  Bintuni
  Bintuni is a small town in West Papua, Indonesia and seat of the Teluk Bintuni Regency. The village is located near southeast coast of the Bird's Head Peninsula on Bintuni Bay. It is served by Bintuni Airport....
  
  , Tanah Merah
  Tanah Merah
  Tanah Merah is a territory and town in the state of Kelantan in northeast Malaysia.The capital and main town is Bandar Tanah Merah where is situated nearby Sungai Kelantan.It is bordered by Pasir Mas in the north, Machang to the East, Kuala Krai to the South East, Jeli to the South West and...
  
  , Teminaboean, Wasior, Wisselmeren