Gerardus Meinardus Bruggink (4 August 1917 – 5 December 2005) was a Dutch pilot of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force.

[2] A replica B-339C Brewster Buffalo (B-3107) was built in July 2008 and delivered to the National Military Museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands, carrying the markings of the plane flown by Bruggink.

His wingman, Jan Scheffer escorted him back to Andir airfield under a tropical rainstorm, where Deibel crashed landed his aircraft without suffering any injuries.

After the Dutch East Indies surrendered, Bruggink became a prisoner of war and was forced to work on the infamous Burma Railway, while his wife was interned in a camp in Java.

[2] In 1955, Bruggink left the Royal Netherlands Air Force and emigrated with his family to the United States, where he worked as a flight instructor for civil aviation in Texas.