Saved from the dustbin (11)

When KLM Royal Dutch Airlines decided to fly to Tokyo via the North Pole, it must have been considered as quite an adventure. For the passengers that is, and possibly also for the crew. I mean, the prospect of an emergency landing may have been nice for members of the KLM Ski club, the average business passenger possibly had to convince his wife and children that flying via the Pole was so much quicker than the traditional route via the south. So on November 1, 1958 the PH-DSC "Yellow Sea" left for Tokyo via Anchorage. The aircraft was the reliable Douglas DC7C capable of carrying some 100 passengers. A crew of ten took care of their well being.


Left to right: Capt. Snitslaar, Rijpstra, Bik, Groothoff, Welscher, Germann, Ten Hoopen, Galama, Buren and Jansen.

It was obvious that KLM had to take certain precautionary measures adapted to flying over hitherto unknown, uninhabited, snow covered and deep frozen territory.  So in the unlikely event of an emergency landing there was a survival kit containing among others a gas burner, cups and straws, sunglasses against snow blindness, an ice saw, a shovel, an ax, rubber gloves, kleenex, rope, candles, a box with the text  'emergency ...' on it and a hunting knife. The picture also shows a couple of articles I do not recognize. For the long polar nights there was this booklet with the promising title "Life in the arctic". And then, last but not least, a rifle!


On Polar flights KLM carried this survival kit. Some of the items on this table I do not recognize. And where is the ammo?

The picture below suggests that stewardesses were trained in the use of this weapon. However, pulling the trigger with those gloves does not look easy. But on the other hand, everything becomes possible when a polar bear comes charging at you!



Polar bears may be a serious risk there, the chance that you meet one is limited. But the extreme low temperatures and freezing winds create a greater hazard for stranded passengers and crew. So KLM experts must have thought "if you can't heat them, join them!" and invented the 4-person sleeping bag demonstrated below. I don't think this very social piece of camping gear has ever been used in practice but I bet that reading a user report would have made my day!


Sleeping bag for four persons.

Being on the subject of auxiliary equipment, on certain routes KLM frequently carried missionaries. To enable these clergymen to celebrate mass during stopovers, there was a small suitcase with all requisites.



Frequent readers know where all these old KLM pictures come from. For those who don't, they have been saved by Aris Zwart from a former KLM office in Copenhagen. Colleague Bert Besseling† sorted all these pictures and made them accessible for us.
Aircraft data have been obtained from the impressive site of Herman Dekker.

http://patmcast.blogspot.pt/2012/09/saved-from-dustbin-11.html
http://www.patmcast.blogspot.pt/2012/01/tekeningen-2.html

That is pretty awesome! Where do you find all of this cool stuff armeiro?

thank you for this mornings history lesson.

Wonder which guy thought up the 3xFlight attendant+1 sleeping bag?

A fella could have a pretty good time in Vegas with some of that stuff...

Especially with KLM stewardesses.  Yum

The pilot of course.

1958 KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Polar Route Survival Gear Press Photo



http://www.ebay.ie/itm/1958-KLM-Royal-Dutch-Airlines-Polar-Route-Survival-Gear-Press-Photo-/251019546625

Or Dallas.

Mmmm.... Dutch girls.....

The thing below the shovel is a snow shoe, lack of curved tip shows that it was desgned to be easy to pack vs use, the ammo might be in the black box at the top right, the saw is a snow saw for cutting blocks to build igloos,  or grave style shelters(you feel a little burried alive when you are in one, but warm).  And i need to locate one of those sleeping bags and a KLM stewardess(or JAL, or China Air, or if it was really cold United), you know for testing purposes, it gets cold up here...

Curved tip or not, I'm thinking it would be damned tiring trying to get around on just ONE snowshoe!  I'm picturing someone walking in perpetual circles till they freeze to death.

As for the ammo...maybe it's in the mag??   (I wonder how many rounds they'd provision.)

There is a reason that the AR-10's & -15's trigger guard is made the way it is (at least before Magpul started making money, by deleting that option). Push in the detents and the the trigger guard flips down, enough so that a mitten-ed hand could pull the trigger and fire the rifle.


 
http://weaponsman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ar-10_porto_right_side.jpg
 

 

I believe I have located an ammo tin from the KLM survival kit.  Trying to get photos from the guy.  Unfortunately, it is overseas and must stay there because it is still full of ammo.

Agreed.....Either in the mag or a Tin.  Likely in the mag stored seperate so as one has not to load under harsh and stressfull conditions.

"Survival kit contents check. In them you'll find: one forty-five caliber automatic; two boxes of ammunition; four days' concentrated emergency rations; one drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills; one miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible; one hundred dollars in rubles; one hundred dollars in gold; nine packs of chewing gum; one issue of prophylactics; three lipsticks; three pair of nylon stockings. Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff."

I see the rifle had no flash hider...where there any other mods:  Was it F/A or a neutered semi?

all in all, a good idea.  Hell, all we had in the MD 11 where snow suits.  I mean, really, where was MY gun?

ka

The KLM survival rifles were select fire but had a selector block screwed in to the inside of the lower receiver.  

The deliver documents say that the rifles were sent to from the factory by private car to the Schipol airport offices of KLM.
Date 3-9-58, Probably means Sept 3, 1958
Related equipment
4 straps
4 magazines

Wow, one magazine per rifle.

"Update Sept. 26, 2012: For further information about the ammo and comments about this blog, please see www.ar15.com. It's fun to see that one of my posts attracts so much attention!"


http://patmcast.blogspot.pt/2012/09/saved-from-dustbin-11.html

As requested:

"we can imagine that you see so
of the printed photo immediately
thinks of a new stunt a la operation mustache!
we feel the jealous glances at our backs
they burn. ... also we hear all speculation about the
Next there is for us perhaps brochures.
a place in the operation team?
the ladies can safely remain at
over its men. This photo was US n.l.
available by the K.L.M. and the charming
Lady with the slightly less charming AR-10 rifle
is a stewardess of our airline.
She is wrapped in a pool equipment and it is the
intention that the rifle is serving in emergency cases
at a landing during the polar route.
emergency landings to the pool belong to the very
rare exceptions ..."

http://patmcast.blogspot.pt/2012/09/saved-from-dustbin-11.html

Man, I love stuff like this!  Thanks for posting.

Such great stuff, big thanks for sharing!!

Thanks Armeiro for posting.  Appears to be a pretty decent survival kit.  Definately no M-6 there.  I think a few drinks actually helped when I was flying over the N Pole and the fact that few ever survive a plane crash but failing to plan is planning to fail.

When you ask "where is the ammo?" the answer is, it's in the magazine. Most people buy their ammo in boxes a 20 rounds. You would not need much in a survival situation.

I have been in contact with a Dutchman who used to have one of the ammo tins that were part of the survival kit.  I will ask again for a photo.

Storing the ammo in the mag is a no-no.  Those mags become mis-shaped and will not insert in the magwell.

Very, very cool.