Avro Anson RI-003 is a twin-engined, multi-role aircraft made by the British manufacturer

Avro AVRO, short for Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep ("General Association of Radio Broadcasting"), was a Dutch public broadcasting association operating within the framework of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep system. It was the first public broad ...

, and the third aircraft owned by the government of the Republic of Indonesia. The aircraft was purchased in early December 1947, was given RI-003 register number, and was used as a military and civil air transport facility. The effort to purchase this aircraft started with the establishment of the ''Panitia Pusat Pengumpul Emas'' (Central Gold Collection Committee) by

Mohammad Hatta Mohammad Hatta (; 12 August 1902 – 14 March 1980) was an Indonesian statesman and nationalist who served as the country's first vice president. Known as "The Proclamator", he and a number of Indonesians, including the first president of Indone ...

, Indonesia's first vice president, in

Bukittinggi Bukittinggi ( min, Bukiktinggi, Jawi: , formerly nl, Fort de Kock) is the third largest city in West Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of 111,312 in 2010 and 121,028 in 2020, and an area of 25.24 km2. It is in the Minangkabau Highlands ...

West Sumatra West Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Barat) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. The province has an area of , with a population of 5, ...

, on 27 September 1947. The committee aimed at collecting public donations to buy aircraft, in the framework of resistance to

Operation Product Operation Product was a Dutch military offensive against areas of Java and Sumatra controlled by the Republic of Indonesia during the Indonesian National Revolution.Vickers (2005), p. 99 It took place between 21 July and 4 August 1947. Referr ...

(now known in Indonesia as the First Dutch Military Aggression), an offensive by Netherlands forces against Indonesian-held territory. The committee was led by A. Karim, a director of the ''Bank Negara'' (State Bank). The West Sumatra community collected 14 kg of gold donations, which were used to buy an

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a ...

aircraft in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. The aircraft was previously owned by Paul H. Keegan, an Australian citizen and a former

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 ...

airman. The aircraft was then flown by Keegan himself to the Gadut airfield in Bukittinggi. At the end of December 1947, Air Commodore

Iswahyudi Air Commodore Iswahyudi (born 15 July 1918; disappeared 14 December 1947) was an Indonesian airman and National Hero. On 14 December 1947, the plane he was flying with Halim Perdanakusuma crashed off the coast of Tanjung Hantu Hill, Perak, Malayan ...

and Air Commodore

Halim Perdanakusuma Air Vice-Marshal Abdul Halim Perdanakusuma (18 November 1922 – 14 December 1947), better known as Halim Perdanakusuma, was an Indonesian airman and National Hero of Indonesia. Biography Perdanakusuma was born in Sampang, Madura, Dutch Ea ...

flew the aircraft past the Dutch blockade to garner support from

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and Thailand. The two Indonesians then loaded war equipment and medicine in

Songkhla Songkhla ( th, สงขลา, ), also known as Singgora or Singora (Pattani Malay: ซิงกอรอ), is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') in Songkhla Province of southern Thailand, near the border with Malaysia. Songkhla lies south of Ba ...

, Thailand, but on their way home through Singapore, the aircraft crashed in Tanjung Hantu,

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

, killing both of its crew. The aircraft pieces were scattered in the sea of Labuhan Bilik, between Tanjung Hantu, Malaya and Teluk Senagih, North Sumatra. Perdanakusuma's body was found, but Iswahyudi's was missing. Iswahyudi's wallet containing three banknotes and cards with his name was found near the sea, among the debris. The two men were later appointed as Indonesian National Heroes. The monument is a replica of RI-003 (former RAF AX505).

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Bibliography

* * * * {{cite book , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dHid12fpbPIC&q=Avro+Anson+RI-003 , title = Sejarah TNI Angkatan Udara: 1945-1949 , volume = 1 dari Sejarah TNI Angkatan Udara, Indonesia , publisher = Subdisjarah Diswatpersau , year = 2004 , language=Indonesian , access-date=7 August 2018 Avro aircraft Indonesian Air Force Indonesian military aircraft

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