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Edward Amerasakera
Air Vice-Marshal Ekanayake Edward Rohan Ameresekere, (21 May 1916 – 20 March 1974) was a senior officer in the Royal Ceylon Air Force. He served as the third Commander of the Royal Ceylon Air Force. He previously served he had served as a navigator in the Royal Air Force during World War II, before qualifying as a pilot in the newly formed Royal Ceylon Air Force. Early life and education Born in Kegalle, Ceylon on 21 May 1916, he was one of seven children born to Edward Henry Ekanayake Ameresekere and Joslina Ameresekere (née de Silva Samarasinghe Siriwardena). Orphaned at the age of four, he was brought up by his uncle and aunt, Victor and Eda de Silva Siriwardena and later lived with his eldest sister, Hyacinth and her husband, Ashley Peiris at 'Ash Court', Kegalle. He received his education at Wesley College, Colombo (1925–29), Kingswood College, Kandy (1929–32), St. Mary's College, Kegalle (1933–34) and at the Pembroke Academy (1935–39). Second World War ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kegalle
Kegalle ( si, කෑගල්ල; ta, கேகாலை) is a large town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It is located on the Colombo–Kandy road, approximately from Colombo and from Kandy. It is the main town in the Kegalle District, which is one of two districts which comprise Sabaragamuwa Province. The town is governed by an Urban Council. Kegalle has an agricultural based economy and mainly produces rubber. The surrounding area produces graphite, precious stones and agricultural products such as rice. It is the nearest town to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, a major tourist attraction in the area, which is to the north-east. History The history of the area dates back to the stone age of Sri Lanka. According to evidence there had been a prosperous civilisation in Kegalle prior to 28,000 years. The caves of Beli lena, Dorawaka lena, Alu lena, Asmadala, Padavigampola, Batalegala, Lenagala, Ambala Kanda, Halamada, Heenatipana, Uthuwankanda, Beligala, Salawa, Y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the ship's captain or aircraft commander of estimated timing to destinations while en route, and ensuring hazards are avoided. The navigator is in charge of maintaining the aircraft or ship's nautical charts, nautical publications, and navigational equipment, and they generally have responsibility for meteorological equipment and communications. With the advent of satellite navigation, the effort required to accurately determine one's position has decreased by orders of magnitude, so the entire field has experienced a revolutionary transition since the 1990s with traditional navigation tasks, like performing c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its origins in the twin-engine ''HP56'' proposal of the late 1930s, produced in response to the British Air Ministry's Specification P.13/36 for a capable medium bomber for "world-wide use." The HP56 was ordered as a backup to the Avro 679, both aircraft being designed to use the underperforming Rolls-Royce Vulture engine. The Handley Page design was altered at the Ministry to a four-engine arrangement powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine; the rival Avro 679 was produced as the twin-engine Avro Manchester which, while regarded as unsuccessful mainly due to the Vulture engine, was a direct predecessor of the famed Avro Lancaster. Both the Lancaster and the Halifax emerged as capable four-engined strategic bombers, thousands of which were bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was a British medium bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was one of three twin-engined, front line medium bomber types that were in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of the Second World War. Alongside the Vickers Wellington and the Handley Page Hampden, the Whitley was developed during the mid-1930s according to Air Ministry Specification B.3/34, which it was subsequently selected to meet. In 1937, the Whitley formally entered into RAF squadron service; it was the first of the three medium bombers to be introduced. Following the outbreak of war in September 1939, the Whitley participated in the first RAF bombing raid upon German territory and remained an integral part of the early British bomber offensive. In 1942 it was superseded as a bomber by the larger four-engined " heavies" such as the Avro Lancaster. Its front-line service included maritime reconnaissance with Coastal Command and the second line roles of glider- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sergeant
Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other units that draw their heritage from the British light infantry. Its origin is the Latin , 'one who serves', through the French term . The term ''sergeant'' refers to a non-commissioned officer placed above the rank of a corporal, and a police officer immediately below a lieutenant in the US, and below an inspector in the UK. In most armies, the rank of sergeant corresponds to command of a squad (or section). In Commonwealth armies, it is a more senior rank, corresponding roughly to a platoon second-in-command. In the United States Army, sergeant is a more junior rank corresponding to a squad- (12 person) or platoon- (36 person) leader. More senior non-commissioned ranks are often variations on sergeant, for example staff sergeant, gunn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empire Air Navigation School
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) exercises political control over the peripheries. Within an empire, there is non-equivalence between different populations who have different sets of rights and are governed differently. Narrowly defined, an empire is a sovereign state whose head of state is an emperor; but not all states with aggregate territory under the rule of supreme authorities are called empires or ruled by an emperor; nor have all self-described empires been accepted as such by contemporaries and historians (the Central African Empire, and some Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in early England being examples). There have been "ancient and modern, centralized and decentralized, ultra-brutal and relatively benign" Empires. An important distinction has been between land empires mad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leading Aircraftman
Leading aircraftman (LAC) or leading aircraftwoman (LACW) is a junior rank in some air forces. It sits between aircraftman and senior aircraftman, and has a NATO rank code of OR-2. The rank badge is a horizontal two-bladed propeller. The rank was renamed air specialist (class 2) (AS2) in the Royal Air Force in July 2022. History The rank originated in the Royal Air Force, when it was formed in 1918. It replaced the Royal Flying Corps rank of air mechanic 1st class (which wore the same badge). It was only a trade classification until 1 January 1951, when it became a rank, although it is non-supervisory. Countries Australia Leading aircraftman is also a rank in the Royal Australian Air Force (which uses a single chevron rather than a propeller device) where it is the senior aircraftman rank. Bangladesh Bangladesh Air Force Canada It was a rank until 1968 in the Royal Canadian Air Force being replaced by the army rank of private after unification, which then in 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aircraftman
Aircraftman (AC) or aircraftwoman (ACW) is the lowest rank in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the air forces of several other Commonwealth countries. In RAF slang, aircraftmen are sometimes called "erks". Aircraftman ranks below leading aircraftman and has a NATO rank code of OR-1. It is now a training rank only and no airmen in productive service hold this rank. Aircraftmen do not wear any rank insignia. The rank was renamed air recruit (AR) in the Royal Air Force in July 2022. History The rank was introduced to the RAF in January 1919, replacing the ranks of "air mechanic", "private" and "clerk" that had been introduced under Air Memorandum No. 1 in March 1918. There were three grades: leading aircraftman (LAC), aircraftman 1st class (AC1) and aircraftman 2nd class. A similar grading existed for junior ratings in the Royal Navy. The rank of senior aircraftman (SAC) was introduced on 1 January 1951. The lowest grade was an AC2; also colloquially known as an "AC plonk". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Aces (passenger Liners)
The 4 Aces were the quartet of passenger-cargo liners ''Excalibur'', ''Exochorda'', ''Exeter'', and ''Excambion'', originally built for American Export Lines by New York Shipbuilding of Camden, New Jersey between 1929 and 1931. AEL placed the "4 Aces" in service between the US and the Mediterranean, offering cruises of up to 40 days. During World War II, all four vessels were taken over by the U.S. Navy, renamed, and designated as AP- and APA-class troop transports. ''Excambion'' became USS ''John Penn'' (APA-23), ''Excalibur'' became USS ''Joseph Hewes'' (AP-50) and ''Exeter'' became USS ''Edward Rutledge'' (AP-52). These three of the original (pre-war) 4 Aces were ultimately lost to enemy action. The pre-war ''Exochorda'' was converted to military transport USS ''Harry Lee'', later sold to Turkish Maritime Lines and renamed ''Tarsus''. After World War II, American Export Lines purchased four C3-class ''Windsor'-class attack transports built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrick De Silva Kularatne
Patrick de Silva Kularatne (31 March 1893 – 16 November 1976) (known as ''P de S Kularatne'') was a Sri Lankan (Sinhala Buddhist) educationist and politician. He was a Member of the State Council of Ceylon (1942-1947) and Member of Parliament (1960-1965). He served as Principal of Ananda College and Dharmaraja College and established Nalanda College Colombo, Ananda Balika Vidyalaya, Moratuwa Vidyalaya and Dharmapala Vidyalaya. As a member of the executive committee on Education, he played an instrumental role in the realisation of free education from kindergarten to university. FORGOTTEN HEROES BEHIND THE TRUE STORY OF FREE EDUCATION AND MISSED OPPORTUNITIES IN SRI ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rex De Silva
Mervin Rex de Silva (1918-2005) was Ceylonese aviator. He served as a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force in World War II and later became the Chief Pilot of Air Ceylon. Early life Rex de Silva was born on 29 November 1918. His father was John Walter de Silva (a head guard in the Ceylon Government Railway) and his mother Freda (née Ebert). He was educated at St Peter's College, Colombo and later worked as a stenographer. He had flying lessons after winning a scholarship awarded by Lord Leverhulme of Lever Brothers. Flying career He volunteered to join the RAF with the onset of World War 2 and was trained at the Elementary Flying School at Fairoaks. He flew Spitfire VB aircraft with 504 Squadron from 1943 to 1944, from Ibsley, Church Stanton and Redhill as an interceptor as well as flying bomber escort missions, escorting Marauder bombers. In 1944 he was posted to 17 Squadron and flew Spitfires (notably MT719/YB J) from Minneriya Ceylon, Calcutta and Chittagong, Assam and Bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceylon Defence Force
The Ceylon Defence Force (CDF) was established in 1910 by the Ceylonese legislation ''Ceylon Defence Force Ordinance'', which reformed the Ceylon Volunteer Force (CVF) that existed previously as the military reserve in the British Crown colony of Ceylon. At the time of forming it was only a reserve force but soon developed into a regular force responsible for the defence of Ceylon. The CDF was under the command of the General Officer Commanding, Ceylon of the British Army in Ceylon if mobilised. However mobilisation could be carried out only under orders from the Governor. History The origins of the Ceylon Defence Force can be traced back to the formation of the Ceylon Volunteers in 1881, whereby the Citizens' Rifle Society rifle section was designated the 1st Battalion Ceylon Light Infantry with Lieutenant Colonel John Scott Armtage appointed as the first Commanding Officer. The Ceylon Volunteers subsequently were renamed the Ceylon Volunteer Force and finally was rename ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
