Khouw Khe Hien

Khouw Khe Hien (1907–1938) was a Chinese-Indonesian aviation pioneer, businessman and millionaire heir. He is best remembered today for commissioning Walraven 2, the first aeroplane manufactured in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia.

Biography Khouw Khe Hien with the aircraft he commissioned and flew, Walraven 2 (October 1936).

Born on August 29, 1907, in Muntilan, Central Java, Khouw came from a wealthy Peranakan business family. A media sensation, the 20-day-long journey was extensively covered on each of its stops, from Singapore to Rangoon, through Calcutta and Aleppo, and on to its final destination. Walraven 2 arrived at Schiphol, Amsterdam to a rapturous welcome; among others, the Indonesian-born Anthony Fokker, founder of the aircraft manufacturer Fokker, was there to greet Khouw and Terluin.

In 1937, Khouw also made an equally well-publicized trip on Walraven 2 from Batavia to Hong Kong, and on to Guangzhou, Nanjing and Shanghai in China. He was welcomed at his ancestral country by the then Chinese president, Chiang Kai-shek. His sister, Khouw Keng Nio, took the reins of the family business and expanded it.