The Hungarian Uprising: the Dutch contribution
Thousands of people were injured during the Hungarian Uprising. Hungary asked international aid organisations to deliver medical supplies. The Netherlands Red Cross therefore asked the Ministry of War, now the Ministry of Defence, to make aircraft available for the delivery of blood plasma to Hungary.
Transport of blood plasma
On Sunday, 28 October 1956, 2 Dakota transport aircraft of the Royal Netherlands Air Force (334 Squadron) departed for the Austrian capital Vienna carrying boxes of blood plasma. The Dutch aircrews could not fly to Hungary itself, since the country was a member of the Warsaw Pact and flying over ‘hostile’ territory was not an option. Red Cross workers ensured that the blood plasma was transported from Vienna to Hungary.