air ceylon
opening of ceylon air academy by prime minister hon. d. s. senanayake
air ceylon was the flag carrier airline of sri lanka (known as ceylon until 1972) from 1947 until 1978, when it was replaced by air lanka .
file: air ceylon douglas dc - 8 at zurich airport in june 1977. jpg
to supplement the avro 748, air ceylon bought a nord 262 for domestic routes in 1967 .
when vernon and the family left sri lanka for england, they flew on air ceylon’s sleek dc8 aircraft with several stops enroute to london’s heathrow airport. air ceylon’s dc8 jetliner was based at katunayake airport .
air ceylon was ceylon ‘s (later sri lanka’s) national carrier, commencing scheduled operations in december 1947, and was fully state - owned. it ceased operations in 1978 and was replaced by air lanka .
becoming air ceylon 's fourth international partner in 25 years, uta provided a douglas dc - 8 jet for the long - haul services. originally operated by uta pilots with sri lankan cabin attendants, the dc - 8 was subsequently bought outright by air ceylon and flown with a 100 percent air ceylon crew .
before ending operations in 1979, air ceylon had 1 hawker siddeley hs 748 and 1 hawker siddeley trident .
so, air ceylon management had no option but to go into partnership with boac to conduct air ceylon flights to london. the comet 4s were not painted in air ceylon colours but merely had an ‘air ceylon’ sticker placed over the door each time they operated an air ceylon service, the sticker being removed when that particular airplane was next rostered to fly a regular boac service. this pattern was repeated when boac upgraded the equipment to the vickers (bac) vc10 commencing in 1965. on all boac / air ceylon services the flightdeck crewmembers were all britishers, while some of the cabin attendants were ceylonese (although first class was handled by boac’s own cabin crew) .
in 1972, union de transports aériens (uta) became air ceylon' s partner, introducing french - made aircraft into the fleet. uta ended the partnership on 31 march 1977, leaving air ceylon without a european aide. [ 1 ] in 1978, air ceylon was shut down by the sri lankan government due to bankruptcy, and air lanka was established as new national carrier .
sri lankan broadcaster vernon corea wanted his family to experience flying for the first time. he arranged for his wife and children to fly on air ceylon in way back in 1962. the family travelled to ratmalana airport also known as colombo airport (where air ceylon was based) and boarded a special one hour flight – the aircraft was a air ceylon dc3 .
in 1972, union de transports aériens (uta) became air ceylon' s partner, selling one douglas dc - 8 to the airline and giving technical support. uta ended the partnership in september 1976, leaving air ceylon without a european aide. [ 14 ] in 1979, air ceylon was shut down by the sri lankan government due to bankruptcy, and air lanka was established as new national carrier .
lord louis mountbatten, supreme allied commander south east asia, visits british fleet air arm and royal air force dutch catalina flying boat squadrons in ceylon (sri lanka) .
the fleet air arm was formed on 1 april 1924 from the royal air force squadrons operating at sea .
during that period, air ceylon offered multiple - stopover flights, which were leaving colombo on three routes: to europe, to australia, and a regional one to india. klm was the important partner airline, serving as general sales agent for air ceylon. [ 2 ] [ 3 ]
during that period, air ceylon offered multiple - stopover flights, which were leaving colombo on three routes: to europe, to australia, and a regional one to india. klm was the important partner airline, serving as general sales agent for air ceylon. [ 15 ] [ 16 ]
this purchase was applauded as a breakthrough in air ceylon 's struggle to shed the shackles of foreign influence. air ceylon had, at last, come of age. as the last of the airline 's faithful dc - 3s were phased out, a second avro hs 748 was bought .
the royal naval air service was the original air force of the royal navy. in april 1918 it merged with the royal flying corps to become the royal air force .
bharat rakshak: indian air force - indian air force history for incident [ www. bharat - rakshak. com ]
s ri lanka' s first national airline, air ceylon, began life in december 1947 with a small fleet comprising three douglas dc - 3 dakota aircraft. when air ceylon was disbanded 32 years later, it boasted a fatality - free record, a distinction few airlines could claim then or now. but one of air ceylon' s original trio of dc - 3s came close to ruining that record - not once but twice - by the time the fledgling airline was scarcely two years old .
( 1) there shall, on the appointed date or as soon as may be thereafter, be established a corporation to be called and known as
air ceylon limited” .
before ending operations in 1978, air ceylon had 3 douglas dc - 8' s. 2 of them were sold to biman bangladesh airlines and pomair. the other was scrapped .
lanka' s new - found confidence and optimism provided the answer. the country now had a small but growing naval force, the ceylon royal naval volunteer reserve (crnvr), derived from men who had served during the war with britain' s royal navy, the fleet air arm and the ceylon naval volunteer force. and didn' t ceylon also possess its own national airline? so why not use air ceylon to fly out a group of ceylonese naval officers and other ranks to sydney, where they would take over the trawler and sail it back on an 8, 000 - mile voyage to colombo ?
sir john kotelawala, then minister for transport and works promoted private flying through the aero club of ceylon in the 1930s .
in 1972 ceylon became sri lanka and yet again switched its partner, this time to uta of france. a dc - 8 was leased and subsequently purchased so that for the first time air ceylon operated its own long - haul services. a second hs748 also arrived allowing the final retirement of the dc - 3s .
from the mid - 1960s, the hawker siddeley hs 748 became the aircraft mainly used on air ceylon' s short - haul routes, along with the aérospatiale n 262. when bandaranaike international airport was completed in 1967, air ceylon opened its hub there. a hawker siddeley trident jet airliner was purchased in 1969 and it was operated on regional routes until it was withdrawn in july 1978 .
soon, air ceylon faced competition from british overseas airways corporation (boac) and twa, who had also extended their flights through colombo using more advanced aircraft. boac was using the de havilland comet – which was a pressurised airplane and also the world’s first jet airliner – while twa operated the four - engine lockheed constellation, another pressurised aircraft built to compete with pan american airways at the behest of the eccentric millionaire howard hughes who was then a major stakeholder in twa. the unpressurised dc - 4 was no match for the comet and constellation, and by the summer of 1953 all of air ceylon’s international dc - 4 operations had ceased. ana too was facing problems in australia, probably because they had overstretched themselves. they were reduced to a sleeping partner while the ceylon air academy and air ceylon operated their internal and regional services, respectively .
hope thivya will not come and start the history of air peelam ...
browse the websites of the fleet air arm museum and the royal aeronautical society .
indian air force accidents and incidents [ www. bharat - rakshak. com ]
dan - air changed its policy of employing exclusively female flight attendants in 1986 .
, of the 81st air base squadron, piloted by gordon h. fleisch ,
official site of the u. s. air force – history milestones
lieutenant colonel elmer d. perrin, a native texan, and the district supervisor, eastern air corps procurement district, since 1939, and air corps representative to the
initial services, which were domestic and regional, used douglas dc - 3 dakotas. the home base was colombo ratmalana airport. on 21 december 1949, an air ceylon douglas dc - 3 crashed at trichinopoly, india .
f ifty years ago, the then national airline air ceylon was a thriving, buoyant outfit. after a quiet start in december 1947, two years later it was making steady progress not only as a domestic and regional carrier but on overseas routes too. in february 1949, air ceylon' s fleet of four douglas dc - 3 dakota aircraft had been augmented with the purchase of two large four - engine douglas dc - 4 skymasters. carrying the names laxapana and ratmalana, the pair of skymasters began international services between ceylon and britain, a first for lanka' s fledgling airline .
an avro (hawker siddeley) 748 turboprop was obtained in 1964. a second hs 748 was added later. the type became the mainstay of air ceylon’s regional and domestic routes and would continue until the airline was closed down .
mueller, robert ,
air force bases volume 1: active air force bases within the united states of america on 17 september 1982
, united states air force historical research center, office of air force history, washington, d. c. , 1989, isbn 978 - 0 - 912799 - 53 - 7, p. 471 .
mueller, robert ,
air force bases volume 1: active air force bases within the united states of america on 17 september 1982
, united states air force historical research center, office of air force history, washington, d. c. , 1989, isbn 978 - 0 - 912799 - 53 - 7, p. 5 .
mueller, robert ,
air force bases volume 1: active air force bases within the united states of america on 17 september 1982
, united states air force historical research center, office of air force history, washington, d. c. , 1989, isbn 978 - 0 - 912799 - 53 - 7, p. 117 .
from 1964 the hawker siddeley hs 748 became the aircraft mainly used on air ceylon' s short - haul routes to madras and bombay, along with the aérospatiale n 262, that was bought in 1967. when bandaranaike international airport was completed in 1967, air ceylon opened its hub there. a hawker siddeley trident jet airliner was purchased in 1969 and it was operated on regional routes to until it was withdrawn in august 1979. [ 12 ] [ 13 ]
the situation continued until february 1, 1956, when air ceylon entered into another partnership with klm - royal dutch airlines, who bought out ana’s shares. the chairman of air ceylon was mr. j. l. m. fernando (
jlm and klm
!). the next year ana itself was history when it was taken over by ansett airways, another progressive australian domestic airline. soon, air ceylon was flying its colours internationally again, this time with a lockheed 749 constellation leased from klm, to bombay, karachi, bahrain, cairo, rome, and london to the west; and bangkok and singapore to the east. a few ceylonese captains, first officers, flight engineers, and radio officers were trained on the constellation, but the numbers were not enough to make the difference. however, the cabin crewmembers were mostly ceylonese. the ground engineers and other air ceylon staff were trained to klm standards .
during its life span from 1947 to 1978, air ceylon entered into partnership with four international airlines viz. australian national airways (ana), klm royal dutch airlines, british overseas airways corporation (boac) and french airline uta .
an excellent document on air stations is available through the cloud observers website; scroll down the page to downloads for 100 royal naval air stations; available as. pdf or powerpoint .
dan air carried 500, 000 passengers in one year for the first time in 1969 .
war department, u. s. army air forces report of aircraft accident # 43–2–17–11 .
freeman army air field. indianamilitary. org. retrieved on 2010 - 08 - 05 .
jet services began using boac comet 4s operating to london via karachi, cairo and rome a well as singapore via kuala lumpur. vc - 10s were later used but none of these aircraft wore the full colours of air ceylon unlike the constellations .
footnote 1: dixon kotelawala was later appointed director of civil aviation. his cousin, sir john kotelawala, was prime minister of ceylon at the time .
werrell, kenneth p. ,
the evolution of the cruise missile
, air university, maxwell air force base, montgomery, alabama, first printing 1985, second printing 1998 ,
( 5) the head office of the corporation shall be at colombo or at such other place in ceylon as may be approved by the minister in that behalf .
enactment of air navigation (special provisions) act no. 2 of 1982 making provisions appointment of agent
rnas cardington, bedfordshire was the centre for naval air ship development, moving from pulham in 1919 .
, flown by f / o j. c. hawley, breaks up in mid - air over
, england, killing royal air force pilot victor william gunther, service number 113404, age 31 .
due to more modern aircraft with a longer range, fewer stops were required on the long - distance routes, reducing travel time. air ceylon passengers could reach additional destinations (in europe and towards australia) with co - operative boac or qantas flights. [ 4 ]
due to more modern aircraft with a longer range, fewer stops were required on the long - distance routes, reducing travel time. air ceylon passengers could reach additional destinations (in europe and towards australia) with co - operative boac or qantas flights. [ 17 ]
lodger facilities from 01. 08. 1940 on an raf station in ceylon with the air section borne on the books of hms lanka, the local naval base. the faa base moved to mombassa after the japanese strike on ceylon, easter 1942 but faa squadrons continued to use the station and these came under hms highflyer (naval base at trincomalee) until 01. 01. 1944 when hms bambara commissioned to comprise the rn section ...
in 1972, air ceylon leased a douglas dc - 8 from union des transports aériens for its european services, which also included paris. this aircraft was replaced in 1977 by another unit of the same make purchased by the airline. also leased was a boeing 720 jet .
on 21 december 1949, an air ceylon douglas c - 47 dakota (registered vp - cat) was damaged beyond repair in a crash landing at tiruchirapalli airport following a scheduled passenger flight from jaffna. the 21 passengers and three crew members survived the accident. [ 8 ]
on 21 december 1949, an air ceylon douglas c - 47 dakota (registered vp - cat) was damaged beyond repair in a crash landing at tiruchirapalli airport following a scheduled passenger flight from jaffna. the 21 passengers and three crew members survived the accident. [ 21 ]
the experienced technical staff in air ceylon contended that they could ‘go it alone’, without australian involvement, as the non - pressurised dc - 4 was effectively a dc - 3 with two extra engines, whose maintenance and operation was well within the capabilities of ceylonese nationals. but the protests of air ceylon pilots and engineers, over the proposed australian tie - up, fell on deaf ears. in fact it almost turned into a diplomatic incident. for their part, the australians insisted that they came to teach
your boys
to fly the dc - 4s and that it was an act of good faith. in reality, ana wanted to get involved with air ceylon purely to be able to use ceylonese traffic rights between australia and england so that they (ana) could compete with qantas airways on the lucrative ‘kangaroo route’ between those two countries. ceylon had been one of the original signatories to the chicago convention of the international civil aviation organisation (icao) and that spurred the australians’ interest .
air ceylon came into being even before independence in 1948 when the airline was setup the year before with a trio of war surplus dc - 3s. the aircraft were used for route proving trials, pilot training and flood relief operations prior to the december 10th start of scheduled operations .
the co - operation with boac and qantas was reduced at that time, instead a codeshare - like agreement was signed with indian airlines. as a consequence, air ceylon re - launched services to australia and expanded its european network. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ]
the co - operation with boac and qantas was reduced at that time, instead a codeshare - like agreement was signed with indian airlines. as a consequence, air ceylon re - launched services to australia and expanded its european network. [ 18 ] [ 19 ] [ 20 ]
and air ceylon was no exception. in early 1947, the former raf dakota identified as fl566 joined two other douglas dakotas, also sourced from surplus stocks in india, to form the nucleus of ceylon' s new national carrier. re - designated as a dc - 3 dakota (' dc' stands for' douglas commercial'), the airplane received the ceylonese civil registration vp - cat and was given the fleet name sunethra devi. for the record, the other two air ceylon dakotas were named sita devi (vp - car) and viharamaha devi (vp - cas). later, in 1948, a dc - 3 from scotland boosted the fleet to four, and became sri lanka devi (vp - cba) .
you 've got it wrong. that 's the catchphrase of prabha 's takaran air force .
ana' s influence in air ceylon was not confined to overseas operations. from early 1949 onwards, a few australians occupied senior positions in the lankan airline' s hierarchy. based in colombo, w. w. doyle served as chairman, while operations manager was capt. peter gibbes, a pilot with great skill and vast experience. even today, gibbes is fondly spoken of by former air ceylon pilots who flew dc - 3s on domestic and regional services under his watchful supervision. they remember him as a stickler for operational correctness while remaining an amiable colleague .
air ceylon discontinued all long - haul fights and gave up its partnership with ana in september 1953 after boac had introduced de havilland comet between london and colombo. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] the 49 percent stake held by ana was taken over by klm in 1955. [ 8 ]
air ceylon was formed by the ceylonese government in 1947, and in the same year two l - 749 were ordered for use on an international route to london. the order was canceled and dc - 4' s leased from australian national airways operated the route from 1949 until 1953. boac comet' s and twa connies' had lead to a severe drop in traffic. air ceylon restarted its weekly colombo to london service in february 1956 with a l - 749a leased from klm. the aircraft carried ph - registration but was fully painted in air ceylon' s attractive livery. the l - 749a was replaced by a (klm) l - 1049g in november 1958. the former ph - registration was replaced by a 4r - ceylonese registration later that year. the super connie was in use until november 1960 when a leased klm l - 188 replaced it .
this month the civil aviation authority of sri lanka (caasl) is commemorating 100 years of aviation in ceylon / sri lanka. but the first flight of an aeroplane in ceylon took place on december 25, 1911. that’s right – 101 years ago. so why are sri lankan ‘aerocrats’ celebrating the centenary in 2012? are they living up [... ]
the crew consisted of capt. dixon kotelawala, first officer (co - pilot) simon rasiah, radio officer hector fernando and air hostess ranee ranawake (later mrs. ranee raymond). dixon kotelawala began his aviation career as an assistant aerodromes officer at ratmalana. he later joined air ceylon as a first officer on dc - 3s, and not long before this fateful flight had been appointed as captain .
air navigation regulations of 1956 (gazette no 10946 15 jun 56) [ pdf - 2. 5 mb ]
air navigation regulations of 1957 (gazette no 11128 7 jun 57) [ pdf - 1. 2 mb ]
( 2 otu raaf) collide in mid - air becoming locked together. a successful emergency landing was made at
. accident is reported to naval aeronautical headquarters, the naval aeronautical technical establishment, and the yokosuka air corps .
, the ferrying of combat aircraft from the u. s. to england by air, a flight of two
ultimately, it was all deemed to be an innocent misunderstanding, but not before much huffing and puffing by the british colonial powers - that - were, with even the governor of ceylon, sir henry mccallum, becoming involved. with the frenchman released from interrogation, the ‘times of ceylon cup’ went ahead the next day as planned, and georges verminck was declared the victor .
“air lanka” added it’s first “airbus” aircraft to the fleet and registered as “4r –aba”. it was a a320 aircraft .
during the 1970s ias cargo airlines sub - contracted dan - air to operate zambia airways' weekly scheduled heathrow - lusaka all - cargo service with a small fleet of 707 freighters in hybrid dan - air / ias cargo airlines livery .
5th ferrying group, air transport command, piloted by captain james m. treweek, is on a routine flight from
a later report stated that the b - 25 was en route to greenville army air base from meridian, mississippi .
, international air power review, volume 1, airtime publishing inc. , westport, connecticut, summer 2001 ,
war department, u. s. army air forces form 14, report of aircraft accident, 25 may 1943 .
air lanka was set up by the government of sri lanka in july 1979 following the closure of air ceylon in 1978. initially, the new air carrier operated 2 boeing 707 jets on lease from singapore airlines, but air lanka ended up keeping the boeing 707s, which were purchased in 1979, while a boeing 737 was acquired for shorter routes. during the 1980s, the airline increased the number of destinations served and made additions to its fleet. during the mid - 1980s the airline operated two boeing 747 - 200 aircraft to a number of european destinations. the airline’s golden aircraft was the lockheed l1011 tristar, which served the airline from 1980 to 2000 .
on 7 september 1978, an air ceylon hawker siddeley hs 748 (registered 4r - acj) was destroyed in a fire while parked at ratmalana airport. two pilots had been carrying out pre - departure checkups, when the fire started by the explosion of a bomb in the aircraft cargo hold. [ 9 ]
on 7 september 1978, an air ceylon hawker siddeley hs 748 (registered 4r - acj) was destroyed in a fire while parked at ratmalana airport. two pilots had been carrying out pre - departure checkups, when the fire started by the explosion of a bomb in the aircraft cargo hold. [ 22 ]
initially operating scheduled domestic flights using douglas c - 47 dakota aircraft. international services with douglas dc - 4s commenced in 1949, in a co - operation with australian national airways (ana), which acquired a 49 percent stake in air ceylon. the longest route flown at that time was to london heathrow airport .
later, klm upgraded the 749 constellation to a 1049 super constellation, and later still – in 1960 – supplied a modern lockheed 188 electra four - engine turboprop for air ceylon services. however, by then klm’s share holding in air ceylon had been reduced to 24% . nevertheless, klm had plans to further upgrade the equipment to the mcdonnell douglas dc - 8 four - engine jetliner. unfortunately, our runways at ratmalana and katunayake were not long and strong enough to accommodate these heavy, new - generation airplanes. sadly, it became apparent that the ceylonese policy makers had blundered and not kept up with worldwide developments in civil aviation .
that flight was the catalyst for many more from across palk strait over the next few years. on april 8, 1932 vintcent flew india’s director of civil aviation, f. w. tymms, to colombo, again in a puss moth, for talks with the government about a proposed air service between india and ceylon .
( air 50). the records mainly consist of either a printed personal combat report or a fighter command combat report .
in may 1983 dan - air became the first to put the four - engine bae 146 regional jetliner into commercial service .
this month the civil aviation authority of sri lanka (caasl) is commemorating 100 years of aviation in ceylon / sri lanka. but the first flight of an aeroplane in ceylon took place on december 25, 1911. that’s right – 101 years ago. so why are sri lankan ‘aerocrats’ celebrating the centenary in 2012? are they living up to that unkind tag bestowed on srilankan airlines and its predecessor air lanka: ‘ul’ (usually late)? or is there a good reason? let’s look at the facts, then you be the judge .
hmas albatross aka naval air station (nas) nowra, in nsw, australia, 1946 - to present. before and during most of wwii it was known as royal australian air force (raaf) base nowra. it was lent to the rn 2. 1. 45 housing a mobile operational naval air base, monab i aka hms nabbington which was replaced 15. 11. 45 by monab v aka hms nabswick until 18. 3. 46 when the air station became hmas albatross home ...
factsheet: lockheed uc - 40d .
national museum of the united states air force. retrieved: 8 january 2010 .
, when it suffers engine failure on take - off from air support command base, near colorado springs, colorado. field is renamed
and that, it seems, is how air ceylon lost the first of two aircraft during its 32 - year existence (the second, an avro 748, was destroyed by a bomb in 1978 but again with no loss of lives). for sunethra devi it was the end of a colourful military and commercial career that began just six years before .
the expansion of dan - air' s scheduled operation at gatwick continued throughout 1992, resulting in the resumption of former air europe routes from gatwick to stockholm arlanda in february and from gatwick to rome fiumicino in april. in addition, dan - air launched gatwick - athens in march and re - launched gatwick - barcelona in may. during that period dan - air became gatwick' s largest resident, short - haul scheduled operator controlling 18% of all slots (21% of all morning peak time slots between 8am and 9am. )
although a progressive step, it also meant that it would take longer for young ceylonese pilots to be promoted on the dc - 4 aircraft. in fact, no local flyers were cleared to operate the dc - 4s, so the australian pilots had the international skies to themselves, flying our air ceylon aircraft while our own pilots were confined to internal and regional services .
in 1949 an agreement was signed with australian national (ana) by which a pair of dc - 4 were leased to operate the colombo to london via karachi, tel aviv and rome route. later the service was extended to sydney via singapore and jakarta however in 1953 air ceylon dropped the partnership after twa connies and boac comets led to a serious drop in passengers .
sunethra devi was chosen for the australian flight, its aircrew some of air ceylon' s most experienced flyers of that time. othe crew compsised captain peter fernando; first officer (co - pilot) p. b. mawalagedera; radio officer john vethavanam; flight engineer w. a. e
bunny
molamure and relief radio officer / purser d. l srimanne
law, bernard a. , lt. col. , usaaf ,
report of aircraft accident
, accident 45 - 7 - 20 - 39, u. s. army air forces, waycross army air field, waycross, georgia, 26 july 1944, page 2 .
2015. 02. 11 - air china airlines commence four weekly direct flights from chengdu to bandaranaike international airport, colombo using airbus a330 aircraft .
commencement of air service between australia and united kingdom with a stop in sri lanka department of civil aviation took over the control of ratmalana airport .
in addition to scheduled services on its own account, dan - air was also contracted by other airlines to operate scheduled passenger and cargo services .
killing pilot james h. toal. the army air force decides at the end of march that the airframe is beyond repair and scraps it .
plane facts
, air international, bromley, kent, uk, june 1975, volume 8, number 6, p. 309 .
soon, 1947 gave way to 1948. on february 4 of the new year, just two months after giving birth to a new national airline, ceylon was itself reborn as an independent nation. prosperity and progress were uppermost in the nation' s consciousness. in early 1948, the fisheries department purchased a 75 - foot, 55 - ton fishing trawler, the m. v. halpha, from a company in australia. but how would they get the boat from australia to ceylon ?
chewning was awarded the navy and marine corps medal for his actions. the commander of vf - 2' s air group, famed fighter pilot
in an area enclosed by high walls mountbatten meets british officers of a fleet air arm squadron; camera pans. speaking to an officer. seen through a barbed wire barrier the anti - aircraft gunners of a battery of 40mm bofors guns run to hear mountbatten. mountbatten meeting fleet air arm officers. …
after air ceylon' s inaugural flight by sita devi on december 10, 1947, its three dc - 3s commenced duty on the new domestic and regional network. on december 26, making a change from scheduled services, sunethra devi left ratmalana on a charter flight to the indian subcontinent commanded by capt. peter fernando and with olga de silva as stewardess. on board were ceylon' s prime minster - elect, d. s. senanayake and the minister for transport and works, john kotelawala. spanning several days, the flight called in at madras (now chennai), bombay (now mumbai), bhopal, delhi and karachi (in the newly - created pakistan), for talks between mr. senanayake and mr. kotelawala and their indian and pakistani counterparts concerning air traffic rights between the respective countries .
second xp - 77 prototype, 43 - 34916, which was lost during air proving ground tests on 22 october 1944, at eglin field, florida .
bignozzi, giorgio .
the italian' fortress' (part 1) .
air international vol. 31 no. 6, december 1986. pp. 298–305, (part 2). air international, vol. 32 no. 1, january 1987. pp. 29–31, pp. 47–49 .
mireles, anthony j. , fatal army air forces aviation accidents in the united states, 1941–1945, vol. 2: july 1943 – july 1944 .
these services were flown in partnership with australian national airways (ana), a company with a sizeable dc - 4 fleet of its own. in an agreement struck between the government of ceylon and ana, the australian company promised technical and managerial assistance, and importantly, training of ceylonese flight crew on its international services. history shows, however, that the australians did not fulfill their agreement in its entirety. even after air ceylon' s international flights extended eastwards to singapore, jakarta and australia in january 1950, only one ceylonese pilot, capt. peter fernando, was licenced on the dc - 4; and that too in a supernumerary capacity as second officer .
hardly three months into his command, commander mendis was summoned by telephone to temple trees where the prime minister, the hon sirimavo bandaranaike announced the outbreak of a southern - led insurgency in the island. this was the first serious internal threat faced by ceylon .
air ceylon achieved the distinction of one of the world 's safest airlines, never recording a single passenger fatality throughout its 32 - year history, apart from an accident on 21 december 1949 in which douglas c - 47 dakota (registered vp - cat) was damaged beyond repair in a crash landing at tiruchirapalli airport following a scheduled passenger flight from jaffna. the 21 passengers and three crew members survived the accident .
, virginia, modified to test hot air de - icing equipment, is written off in a landing accident at langley field. pilot was dwight divine ii .
editors ,
grumman' s willing wildcat
, air enthusiast quarterly, bromley, kent. , uk, number 3, 1976, p. 51 .
editors ,
tupolev' s tractable twin
, air enthusiast quarterly, bromley, kent. , uk, volume 4, 1976, pp. 175 .
copp, dewitt s. ,
forged in fire
, the air force historical foundation, doubleday & company, garden city, new york, 1982 ,
last of the wartime lavochkins
, air international, bromley, kent, uk, november 1976, volume 11, number 5, p. 247 .
last of the wartime lavochkins
, air international, bromley, kent, uk, november 1976, volume 11, number 5, pp. 245–246 .
the flight was a special one – during the wesak festival in ceylon. the dc3 flew over the city of colombo enabling the passengers to see the sights of the capital. vernon’s children were excited, this was their first ever flight. they thoroughly enjoyed the occasion .
. keller' s colleague succeeded in bringing his damaged machine back to base and alerted the air - sea rescue service, and he was rescued 90 minutes later .
editors ,
the corpulent long islanders
, air international, bromley, kent, uk, march 1976, volume 10, number 3, pp. 131–133 .
a reduced domestic and regional operation soldiered on valiantly with the trident and two avros. on 7th september 1978, air ceylon suffered a cruel blow. one of the avros, just back from a trip to jaffna, which parked at ratmalana was exploded by a bomb planted inside aircraft, reducing it to a charred, twisted hulk. miraculously no lives were lost. the surviving avro and trident struggled to maintain a semblance of an operation .
angell, joseph w. ,
history of the army air forces proving ground command – part one: historical outline 1933–1944
, the historical branch, army air forces proving ground command, eglin afb, florida, reprint by office of history, munitions systems division, eglin afb, florida, circa 1990, p. 111 .
as well as the comets and 727s, dan - air mainly operated bac one - elevens and hawker siddeley 748s during its most successful period in the 1970s and 1980s .
dan - air' s last chairman, david james, said weak marketing and its charter mentality, even after the decision to make high - profile scheduled services the focus of commercial activities, was a reason it failed to achieve results. that meant that instead of making dan - air the airline of choice for high - yield business travellers on prime scheduled routes where it had become a major force in the wake of british caledonian' s and air europe' s demise - such as gatwick to paris charles de gaulle - through marketing and publicity, dan - air continued selling to consolidators and discount travel agencies, in the way it had sold its charter inventory to package tour operators. the airline saw this as risk minimisation to fill seats on scheduled services. however, dan - air surrendered control over its scheduled seats to third parties whose sales were volume - driven. this deprived dan - air of the opportunity to boost the profitability of its scheduled operation by concentrating on maximising revenues from high - yield travellers .
chicago, illinois ,
gas tank quiz promised in air disaster – bomber crash kills 12 on board
, chicago daily tribune, 21 may 1943, page 1 .
one of the more noteworthy visits to ceylon by british military seaplanes occurred on december 31, 1927 when four supermarine southampton twin - engine biplanes of the royal air force (raf) alighted at colombo harbour. they were on a record - breaking long - distance flight, for flying boats, from england to australia, stopping at numerous ports along the way; after circumnavigating australia the ‘flying flotilla’ reached its ultimate destination, singapore, 14 months since leaving england .
dan - air ran its first transatlantic charter flight in october 1969 from gatwick to trinidad with a comet. dan - air was one of the first uk airlines to employ female pilots, with up to four among 450 during the second half of the 1970s. it was also the first uk airline to have a female pilot in command of jet aircraft, yvonne sintes, who became a dan - air' s one - eleven captain in 1975. she flew one - elevens and comets until her retirement in 1980 .
piloting the first aeroplane to take off from ceylonese soil on christmas day 1911 was an itinerant german named franz oster. but the story of lankan aviation did not start with herr oster, because his airplane wasn’t the first to arrive on ceylon’s shores. that distinction went to a bl�riot monoplane similar to the one flown by french aviator louis bl�riot when he made the first aerial crossing of the english channel on july 25, 1909. ceylon’s first aeroplane arrived in colombo on september 12, 1911, aboard the ss rabenfels, imported by an englishman named colin browne (not ‘brown’) .
browse discovery, our catalogue, for fleet air arm squadron diaries in adm 207. you will need to know the squadron number. the diaries sometimes mention people by name .
final report on accident of saudi air flight sv781, boeing b747 - 368, registration hz - aip on 08th sept. 2005 at bandaranayake international airport, katunayake, sri lanka
during dive tests to determine why wrinkles are appearing on the surface plates of the wings, lt. manbei shimokawa, squadron leader at yokosuka naval air corps, is killed in
van alstine, d. bruce ,
talkback
, air international, bromley, kent, uk, may 1979, volume 16, number 5, p. 245 .
18 killed in air accident .
times [ london, england ] 19 oct. 1942: 4. the times digital archive. web. 30 dec. 2013 .
peacock, lindsay .
boeing b - 29... first of the superbombers
. air international, august 1989, vol 37 no 2. p. 70 .
veronico, nicholas a. ,
' failure at the factory
, air enthusiast, stamford, lincs, uk, number 124, july–august 2006, pp. 31–33 .
abolition of the airports authority and appointment of airport and aviation services (sri lanka) ltd. , for development, operation and maintenance of civil airports including provision of air navigation services
when complete, the list below will include both the parent ship name in capitals, and the air station name with only an initial capital letter. for example heron and yeovilton .
throughout dan - air' s 39 years the airline suffered six accidents involving the loss of aircraft and lives, three of which killed fare - paying passengers. these accidents were :
, of 209 sqn, piloted by plt. off. fyfe, goes missing. extensive air and sea searches turn up no trace, nor any of 14 on board, including
, on the 19th. final action taken on 26 january when the air member for supply and equipment approves
conversion to components
for what remains of the ca - 4 .
isaacs, grp. capt. keith ,
wackett' s wonder
, air enthusiast quarterly, number one, bromley, kent, uk, 1976, p. 58 .
jones, lloyd s. ,
u. s. fighters, army: air force 1925 to 1980s
, aero publishers, inc. , fallbrook, california, 1975 ,
base at trincomalee in ceylon, commissioned 01. 01. 1944 to comprise rnas china bay (later called trincomolee), rn aircraft maintenance yard clappenburg bay, and naval accommodation camp nachchikunda. took over transit and holding camp task from hms mayina (in colombo) on 18. 03. 1946 .
the prospect seemed daunting at first. for its part, air ceylon was just a small domestic and regional carrier. the airline was still at least nine months away from commencing long - haul international services using larger dc - 4 skymasters in collaboration with australian national airways (ana). the naval personnel too had little experience of navigating vessels over vast expanses of ocean. but typical ceylonese guts and determination won the day, and a decision to proceed was taken by the parties concerned .
march 1983 saw dan - air take over british airways' loss - making heathrow - inverness route and made it profitable. this was the first time the airline had operated a scheduled service out of heathrow. in may 1983 the company flew the world' s inaugural bae 146 scheduled service between gatwick and berne, the first commercial jet service into the small airport serving the swiss capital. the same year the company started scheduled gatwick - zürich flights, the second time it had launched daily scheduled services on a european trunk route. in november 1983 dan - air joined travicom, the crs used by travel agents in the uk. in january 1984 dan - air took over touraine air transport' s scheduled internal german operation between berlin and saarbrücken, the first time the airline had operated a scheduled route entirely within another country. that year also saw dan - air assuming british midland' s scheduled route between gatwick and belfast international airport as well as launch a scheduled manchester - zürich service. in may 1984 dan - air began stationing an aircraft in jersey, increasing the frequency of its scheduled service to gatwick and convert it into a year - round operation. in addition, 1984 was the year metropolitan took over dan - air' s remaining link city schedules between bristol, cardiff, leeds and glasgow .
sri lankan mega star mariazelle goonetilleke, paid a tribute to vernon corea at the thanksgiving service and sang' wind beneath my wings.' vernon was one of the first to write about mariazelle in his emcee column in the ceylon daily news in the 1960s. click on the picture to see the you tube film .
willis, david ,
first time around – hawker' s frustrated tornado
, air enthusiast, stamford, lincs. , uk, number 125, september–october 2006, p. 69 .
green, william, and swanborough, gordon ,
brewster' s benighted buffalo
, air enthusiast quarterly, number one, bromley, kent, uk, 1976, p. 71 .
taylor, h. a. ,
fiasco or foretaste ?
, air international, bromley, kent, uk, december 1974, volume 7, number 6, p. 280 .
taylor, h. a. ,
fiasco or foretaste ?
, air international, bromley, kent, uk, december 1974, volume 7, number 6, pp. 280–281 .
white, ian ,
nocturnal and nautical: fairey firefly night - fighters
, air enthusiast, stamford, lincs. , uk, number 107, september–october 2003, p. 61 .
brown, j. ,
rct armament in the boeing b - 29
, air enthusiast quarterly, bromley, kent. , uk, number 3, 1976, p. 80 .
from out of the past
, naval aviation news, chief of naval operations and the naval air systems command, arlington, virginia, march 1971, volume 52, page 3 .
cooper, peter j. ,
picking up the pieces
, air international, stamford, lincs. , uk, november 1998, volume 55, number 5, p. 280 .
bussy, geoffrey ,
' forgotten' flying boat: saro' s unfortunate lerwick
, air enthusiast, stamford, lincs, uk, number 124, july–august 2006, p. 25 .
bussy, geoffrey ,
' forgotten' flying boat: saro' s unfortunate lerwick
, air enthusiast, stamford, lincs, uk, number 124, july–august 2006, pp. 25–26 .
bussy, geoffrey ,
' forgotten' flying boat: saro' s unfortunate lerwick
, air enthusiast, stamford, lincs, uk, number 124, july–august 2006, p. 27 .
thomas, andrew ,
light blue fishes – fairey albacores in raf and rcaf service
, air enthusiast, stamford, lincs, uk, number 125, september–october 2006, p. 59 .
in 1981 dan - air launch a scheduled route linking gatwick with cork, its first scheduled service from gatwick to ireland, as well as a new, seasonal scheduled service linking newcastle with jersey and a new, year - round combined gatwick - newcastle - aberdeen weekend schedule. during that year the airline inaugurated scheduled services between berlin and amsterdam schiphol, the company' s first scheduled route from berlin as well as its first scheduled route not to touch the uk. furthermore, in november, dan - air withdrew its application to the caa to take over british airways' highland and islands scheduled operation. during 1981 and 1982 dan - air leased three hs 748s to british airways to supplement its 748 fleet on scottish internal routes. the partial liberalisation of the anglo - irish bilateral agreement during the early 1980s enabled dan - air to commence scheduled operations on gatwick - dublin in 1982. as the recession began to bite and passengers for link city dwindled, the company contracted them to regional airlines operating smaller aircraft. 1982 saw metropolitan airways, a subsidiary of alderney air ferries (holdings), take over dan - air' s bournemouth - cardiff / birmingham - manchester - newcastle schedule .
from november 1, 1961, all air ceylon international fights ceased. boac was the only international airline operating scheduled flights into colombo, and that too to katunayake only. the aircraft used was the de havilland comet 4, an uneconomical, over - powered aircraft which was designed by the british to serve their former colonies in such places as nairobi (kenya), johannesburg (south africa), colombo, singapore, and hong kong. these aircraft were designed to operate from short runways, unlike the boeing 707 and dc - 8 which needed much longer ones. in contrast, india had extended the runways at its major airports, and air india commenced operating boeing 707 jetliners, thus becoming the world’s first all - jet airline .
the addition of the y8 to the fleet also introduced the capabilities of air lifting more than 150 personnel in a single flight, whilst the y12 could land and take off, even on grass fields .
green, william, and swanborough, gordon ,
fighter a to z
, air international, bromley, kent, uk, october 1995, volume 49, number 4, p. 253 .
green, william, and swanborough, gordon ,
fighter a to z
, air international, bromley, kent, uk, december 1976, volume 11, number 6, p. 292 .
bussy, geoffrey ,
' forgotten' flying boat: saro' s unfortunate lerwick
, air enthusiast, stamford, lincs, uk, number 124, july–august 2006, pp. 25, 27 .
bussy, geoffrey ,
' forgotten' flying boat: saro' s unfortunate lerwick
, air enthusiast, stamford, lincs, uk, number 124, july–august 2006, pp. 23, 25 .
martin, bernard. the viking, valetta and varsity. tonbridge, kent, uk: air - britain (historians) ltd. , 1975. isbn 978 - 0 - 85130 - 038 - 2 .
at inception, the rcyaf owned no aircraft. early recruits had to make do with pt and drill routines, until the first four chipmunks arrived, and later the oxfords and balliols as well. the rcyaf' s first trainer, the chipmunk was ordered in 1950 and the first batch of four aircraft arrived in ceylon in october the same year .
for much of the information below, we would like to acknowledge shore establishments of the royal navy compiled by lt cdr ben warlow rn and the squadrons of the fleet air arm by ray sturtivant and theo ballance .
.
n. b. poe, who lives two miles from the crash scene, pulled the three bodies from the burning wreckage and called air corps officials at maxwell field [ sic ], ala .
another sbd dauntless recovered from lake michigan
, centennial of naval aviation – naval air forces official publication, san diego, california, fall 2009, volume 1, number 2, p. 5, via
weber, eberhard - dietrich, ing (grad) ,
dora - 9 and the tank fighters
, air enthusiast quarterly, number one, bromley, kent, uk, 1976, pp. 106–107 .
weber, eberhard - dietrich, ing (grad) ,
dora - 9 and the tank fighters
, air enthusiast quarterly, number one, bromley, kent, uk, 1976, pp. 106–108.
air ceylon was founded in 1947 as the flag carrier airline of sri lanka ( known as ceylon until 1972 ) . the airline discontinued flights to europe in early 1978 and finally ceased all local services on 31 august 1979 , when it was replaced by air lanka . 
air ceylon was founded in 1947 as the flag carrier airline of sri lanka (known as ceylon until 1972). the airline discontinued flights to europe in early 1978 and finally ceased all local services on 31 august 1979, when it was replaced by air lanka.
air ceylon was founded in 1947 as the flag carrier airline of sri lanka (known as ceylon until 1972). the airline discontinued flights to europe in early 1978 and finally ceased all local services on 31 august 1979, when it was replaced by air lanka.