Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admir ...
Andibuduge Walter Fernando,
VSV,
ndc,
psc was a senior
Sri Lanka Air Force
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...
officer, who served as the 7th
Commander of the Sri Lankan Air Force and thereafter
Permanent Secretary
A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...
to the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
.
Air force career
Educated at
Maris Stella College
, motto_translation = ''Show us the way''
, type = Private Catholic Boys School
, established =
, religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic
, principal = Sunanda Alwis
, alumni ...
,
Negombo
Negombo (, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in Western Province, from Colombo via Colombo - Katunayake Expressway.
Negombo is one of the major commercial hubs in the country and ...
; he joined the
Royal Ceylon Air Force
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...
as a
cadet officer
St John Ambulance Ireland (SJAI), previously known as the St John Ambulance Brigade of Ireland, is a charitable voluntary organisation in Ireland. For constitutional reasons it is not a full member association of the Venerable Order of Saint Jo ...
in the second batch of pilots in January 1953. Receiving pilot training in Ceylon, he was commissioned as a
pilot officer
Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...
and soon after under took a course on navigation and ground instruction with the
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
. On his return to Ceylon, he became one of the first helicopter pilots in the RCyAF and in 1958 became the Navigation Officer,
RCyAF Katunayake. That year, Fernando accompanied several other pilots to UK to ferry by air two
de Havilland Heron
The de Havilland DH.114 Heron is a small propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines. It was designed as a rugged, ...
to Ceylon acquired for the RCyAF. In 1959, he was appointed Chief Ground Instructor, Flying Wing at RCyAF Katunayake. Thereafter he became the commanding officer, No 4 Flight and oversaw its expansion to a full
Squadron
Squadron may refer to:
* Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies
* Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...
as the
No. 4 Squadron SLAF
No. 4 (VVIP/VIP) Helicopter Squadron is a squadron of the Sri Lanka Air Force. It currently operates Bell 412/412EP/212/206JR from SLAF Ratmalana for VVIP/VIP Air transport.
History
Established on January 15, 1971 as No. 4 Helicopter Squadron wi ...
. Fernando had attended and graduated from the
RAF Staff College, Bracknell
The RAF Staff College at Bracknell was a Royal Air Force staff college active for most of the second half of the 20th century. Its role was the training of staff officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of air force matters. I ...
and the
National Defence College, India
The National Defence College, located in New Delhi, is the defence service training institute and highest seat of strategic learning for officers of the Defence Service and the Civil Services. This is a very prestigious course attended only b ...
.
He went on the serve as Commandant
Air Force Academy
An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air forc ...
, Base Commander at
SLAF China Bay SLAF may refer to
*The Sri Lanka Armed Forces, the combined military of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
**The Sri Lanka Air Force
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව ...
and SLAF China Bay; and Director Flying Operations. Fernando was appointed as
Chief of Staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
of the Air Force in 1981, serving until April 1986. On 1 May 1986 he was appointed Commander of the Air Force with the rank of
Air Marshal, the first air force officer to be promoted to that rank on appointment as Commander of the Air Force. his tenure saw the expansion of the Air Force with the on set of the
Sri Lankan Civil War. In 1983, he was awarded the
Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya
The Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya (VSV, Distinguished Service Decoration) ( Sinhala: විශිෂ්ට සේවා විභූෂණය ''viṣiṣta sēvā vibhūṣaṇaya'') is awarded to senior officers of the Military of Sri Lanka in reco ...
. He retired from the Air Force on 31 July 1990 having been promoted to the rank of
Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admir ...
, the first air force officer to be promoted to that rank. He was succeeded by Air Marsha
Makalandage Gunawardena
Air Chief Marshal Makalandage Johnny Terrence "Terry" De Silva Gunawardena, VSV (-2014) was the 8th Commander of the Sri Lankan Air Force.
Educated at Wesley College, Colombo, Gunawardena joined the Royal Ceylon Air Force on 31 December 1959 ...
.
Ministry of Defense
Fernando was the Deputy Secretary to the Ministry of Defence from 1991 and served as Acting Secretary to the Ministry of Defence in the absence of
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
Cyril Ranatunga
General S. Cyril Ranatunga, VSV (19 February 1930 – 16 June 2021) was a Sri Lanka Army officer. He served as Secretary of Defence, General Officer Commanding, Joint Operations Command and Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army during the 1980s ...
. He succeeded General Ranatunga when he was appointed as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence in May 1993 serving till September 1993, when he was succeeded by General
Hamilton Wanasinghe
General Hamilton Wanasinghe, VSV (born 1935) was a Full General in the Sri Lanka Army. He served as the 11th Commander of the Sri Lankan Army (1988–1991), third General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH) (at ...
. He was the first and to date only air force officer to hold that position.
Family
His only son,
Sqn Ldr
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 ...
A. P. W. Fernando was
killed in action when the SLAF
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 tra ...
he was a passenger of was shot down by the
LTTE
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
on July 5, 1992 killing all 19 personnel on board.
In the absence of intimidating air power… War on terror revisited
/ref>
References
{{Commanders of the Sri Lankan Air Force
Commanders of the Sri Lanka Air Force
Sri Lankan Air Chief Marshals
Sinhalese military personnel
Alumni of Maris Stella College
National Defence College, India alumni