Operation Eagle (Sri Lanka)
Operation Eagle was a Sri Lanka Air Force operation to resupply and rescue critically wounded service personnel from the old Dutch Fort of Jaffna held by the Sri Lanka Army and besieged by the LTTE on July 3, 1990. The successful rescue operation gained headlines, leading to much rejoicing island-wide and helped increase morale. Overview With the LTTE withdrawing from peace talks and violating the ceasefire, many Army bases in the Jaffna Peninsula such as; Palaly, Jaffna Fort and other areas such as Killinochi, Mankulaum and Kokavil were besieged by the LTTE. Talaimannar army detachment was overrun. The bases at Elephant Pass and Mullaitivu were under attack, yet stable. At this point much attention was gained by the besieged Jaffna Fort with over 200 Army and Police personnel. Even though elements of the 6th Battalion of the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment held the fort effectively under the command of Lieutenant Jayantha Perera and was support by the policemen of the Jaffna Police ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment
The Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (SLSR) ( Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකා සිංහ රෙජිමේන්තුව ''Śrī Laṃkā Sinha Rejimēnthuva'') is an infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army; it is the second oldest infantry regiment in the army. It is made up of seven regular battalions, five volunteer battalions and a headquarters battalion at the Ambepussa Camp. History Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment was the first rifle regiment of the Sri Lanka Army and was formed on 1 October 1956 at the Imperial camp at Diyatalawa. The first battalion primarily consisted of 60 officers and other ranks from the Ceylon Light Infantry with Lt Col R. D. Jayathilaka MBE as the first commanding officer. The D company of the volunteer Ceylon Light Infantry was transformed into the Rajarata Rifles under the leadership of Lt Col (later Colonel) S.D. Ratwatte, and went on to become the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the Sinha Regiment on 1 October 1956. On 1 October 1969 the 3rd Volunte ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shaanxi Y-8
The Shaanxi Y-8 or Yunshuji-8 () aircraft is a medium size medium range transport aircraft produced by Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation in China, based on the Soviet Antonov An-12. It has become one of China's most popular military and civilian transport/cargo aircraft, with many variants produced and exported. Although the An-12 is no longer made in Ukraine, the Chinese Y-8 continues to be upgraded and produced. An estimated 169 Y-8 aircraft had been built by 2010. Design and development Imported An-12 In the 1960s, China purchased several An-12 aircraft from the Soviet Union, along with license to assemble the aircraft locally. However, due to the Sino-Soviet split, the Soviet Union withdrew its technical assistance. The Xi'an Aircraft Company and Xi'an Aircraft Design Institute worked to reverse engineer the An-12 for local production. Domestic Design of the aircraft was completed by February 1972. Major features of the Y-8 included a glazed nose and tail turret derived from th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Harbin Y-12
The Harbin Y-12 () is a high wing twin-engine turboprop utility aircraft built by Harbin Aircraft Industry Group (HAIG). Design and development The Y-12 started as a development of the Harbin Y-11 airframe called Y-11T in 1980. The design featured numerous improvements including a redesigned wing with a new low drag section, a larger fuselage and bonded rather than riveted construction. It also replaced the radial piston engines with turboprops. The prototype was followed by about 30 production Y-12 (I) aircraft before a revised version was produced. This was designated the Y-12 (II), which featured more powerful engines and removal of leading edge slats, first flying on 16 August 1984 and receiving Chinese certification in December of the following year.JWR Taylor 1988, p.38. The power plants are two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27 turboprops with Hartzell propellers. The Y-12 has a maximum takeoff weight of 5,700 kg (12,600 lb) with seating for 17 passengers and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shirantha Goonatilake
Air Commodore Shirantha Goonetileke RWP, RSP, SLAF (? - 29 April 1995 ) was a Sri Lankan aviator and the most senior Air Force officer to be killed in action. He was the youngest son of Air Chief Marshal Harry Goonatilake the 5th Commander of the Air Force and the brother of the 12th Commander of the Air Force, Marshal of the Air Force Roshan Goonetileke. Early life Shirantha Goonetileke completed his education at Royal College, Colombo and then he follow the footsteps of his father and elder brother to join the Sri Lanka Air Force. SLAF career and death In the 1980s Goonetileke took to flying SIAI Marchetti SF.260 as ground attack roles and gained the rank of Squadron Leader and led the ''Red formation'' during the famed Operation Eagle in 1990. On 27 April 1995, an Avro 748 crashed soon after taking off from SLAF Palaly killing all on-board which included Wing Commander Roger Weerasinghe, SLAF Northern Zonal Commander and several wounded soldiers. Initially suspecting mec ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Squadron Leader
Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. An air force squadron leader ranks above flight lieutenant and immediately below wing commander and it is the most junior of the senior officer ranks. The air force rank of squadron leader has a NATO ranking code of OF-3, equivalent to a lieutenant-commander in the Royal Navy or a major in the British Army or the Royal Marines. The equivalent rank in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, Women's Royal Air Force (until 1968) and Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (until 1980) was "squadron officer". Squadron leader has also been used as a cavalry command appointment (UK) and rank (France) since ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central Province, Sri Lanka and the capital of Anuradhapura District. The city lies north of the current capital of Colombo in the North Central Province, on the banks of the historic Malvathu River. The city is now a World Heritage Site famous for its well-preserved ruins of the ancient Sinhalese civilization. While Mahavamsa place the founding of the city in 437 BCE, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement on the island for almost three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Asia. It is the cradle of the Hydraulic Sinhalese civilization, Theravada Buddhism, and the longest-serving ancient capital of Sri Lanka that has survived for 1500 years. Moreover, It was the first capit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bell 212
The Bell 212 (also known as the ''Twin Two-Twelve'') is a two-blade, medium helicopter that first flew in 1968. Originally manufactured by Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, production was moved to Mirabel, Quebec, Canada in 1988, along with all Bell commercial helicopter production after that plant opened in 1986. The 212 was marketed to civilian operators and has up to a 15-seat capacity, with one pilot and fourteen passengers. In cargo-carrying configuration the 212 has an internal capacity of 220 ft3 (6.23 m3). An external load of up to 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) can be carried. Development Based on the stretched fuselage Bell 205, the Bell 212 was originally developed for the Canadian Forces as the ''CUH-1N'' and later redesignated as the ''CH-135''. The Canadian Forces took delivery of 50 starting in May 1971. At the same time the United States military services ordered 294 Bell 212s under the designation UH-1N. By 1971, the Bell 212 had be ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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SIAI Marchetti SF
SIAI may refer to: * The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence, an organization renamed in 2013 to the Machine Intelligence Research Institute * Società Idrovolanti Alta Italia, an Italian aircraft manufacturer {{disambig ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Denzil Kobbekaduwa
Lieutenant General Denzil Lakshman Kobbekaduwa, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP ( si, ඩෙන්සිල් ලක්ෂ්මණ් කොබ්බෑකඩුව; 27 July 1940 – 8 August 1992) was a senior Sri Lankan Army officer who served in the 1971 Insurrection and the Sri Lankan Civil War. Having trained with the British Army, Kobbekaduwa started his military career as an armoured corps officer. He was suspended following an alleged Ceylonese coup d'état attempt in 1966 and was reinstated in 1970 attached to internal security prior to and during the 1971 Insurrection. Following a brief stint as an officer instructor, he served as a staff officer attached several commands before commanding the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment, Sri Lanka Armoured Corps. In the mid 1980s he served as district military coordinating officer before joining the general staff of the Joint Operations Command. At Joint Operations Command, he led the planned of the Vadamarachchi Operation, during which ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |