Dutch Ryan STM-2s
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A large number of STMs were exported in the 1930s and early 1940s (prior to the entry of the United States into World War II) to various air forces, with the biggest customer being the military of the Netherlands East Indies (NEI, now Indonesia). The NEI Army and Navy took delivery of 84 STM-2s and 24 STM-S2s in 1940 and early 1941.
After the Japanese invasion of the NEI many Ryans in that country were pressed into combat, especially in reconnaissance roles, and large numbers were shot down or destroyed on the ground. Surviving STM-2s and STM-S2s that were not captured by the Japanese were shipped to Australia, where 34 entered service in the Royal Australian Air Force as trainers. Many of those that survived until the end of World War II were then placed on the civil register in Australia and elsewhere, and some are still flying more than 70 years after they were built
