How can a young lady protect you in case of a polar bear attack?
The photos shows KLM flight attendant Joanna Van Duffelen, with a Fairchild Armalite AR–10 combat rifle, dressed in Arctic clothing.
Photo 1959.
The work of flight attendants and stewards begins long before the departure of the aircraft and does not end immediately after landing. The main thing in this job is not food and drinks, but the safety of passengers in any critical situation.
In 1958, KLM launched transarctic flights from Amsterdam to Tokyo with refueling in Anchorage.
It was the era of motor aircraft at the dawn of mass passenger aviation. The company paid special attention to the risk of an emergency landing in the Arctic. Each plane carried a set of survival equipment.
As you can see, KLM Dutch Airlines flight attendant Joanna is ready for the rigors of life in the Arctic. Ms. Van Duffelen is wearing Arctic survival gear aboard every KLM plane flying the polar route from Amsterdam to Tokyo. The set consists of hundreds of items, including sleeping bags, snow goggles, axes, snow saws, knives, traps, fishing nets, and special rations. The rifle, designed and developed by the Armalite division of Fairchild Engine Corporation and Airplane Corporation, is part of KLM's standard survival equipment.
So how can a frail flight attendant survive in the Arctic and protect herself and passengers in the event of a polar bear attack?
The Arctic survival kit included: warm down jackets, shared sleeping bags for 4 people, snowshoes, glasses, a 2-burner burner with dishes, a shovel, an axe, a raft, cords, candles, knives, flares, flasks and much more. But the most important thing is the AR-10 carbines in case of a collision with a polar bear :)
In total, 4-engine DC-7 aircraft took 400 kg of equipment on each flight.
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