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 ...

W.D. Harry Goonetileke USP, ndc, psc, SLAF (November 27, 1929 – April 11, 2008) was the fifth

Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force The Commander of the Air Force is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Air Force. The current Commander of the Air Force is Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana. It is a position comparable to that of Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Air Fo ...

from November 1, 1976 to April 30, 1981.

Early life

Born 27 November 1929, as the only son of a family of five girls, his father was a booking clerk in the Railways Department and became an Assistant Transportation Superintendent at the time of retirement. Educated at the

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

and played of the college rugby team, he would continue to play and coach the air force team as well.

Career in the Air Force

Harry Goonetileke joined the Royal Ceylon Air Force as a

Flight Cadet A flight cadet is a military or civilian occupational title that is held by someone who is in training to perform aircrew duties in an airplane. The trainee does not need to become a pilot, as flight cadets may also learn to serve as a bombardie ...

in 1951 in the first batch of locally trained pilots. He received his flight training in the

Chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks may be classified either as ...

and

Boulton Paul Balliol The Boulton Paul Balliol and Sea Balliol are monoplane advanced trainer aircraft designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Boulton Paul Aircraft. On 17 May 1948, it became the world's first single-engined turboprop aircraft to ...

aircraft and earning his

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

in 1954. Four years later in 1958, he was promoted to

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 ...

. He was a member of the team that flew to UK and back ferrying the RCyAF's new

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 ...

aircraft to Ceylon. His commands included Commanding Officer No. 2 (Transport) Squadron, RCyAF and Commanding Officer of RCyAF China Bay, with responsibility for the Cadet training there. In 1962 he became Station Commander and after further training at Staff College, Wellington he was appointed Director of Operations with responsibility for all flying and ground operations in the RCyAF. In this capacity he played a major role during the 1971 Insurrection. He also began the archival process that led in later years to the formation of the

SLAF Museum The Sri Lanka Air Force Museum (SLAF Museum) is the museum of the Sri Lanka Air Force, and its predecessor, the Royal Ceylon Air Force. Open to the public, the museum is at the SLAF Ratmalana and is maintained by the Sri Lanka Air Force. Histor ...

and contributed greatly to SLAF sports particularly Rugby Football. He was the Chief of Air Staff before being promoted as

on November 1, 1976, a post he held till his retirement on April 30, 1981. In 2007 he was promoted to the rank of

along with 9 other former service commanders.

Family life

In 1955 he married Marian Perera and had two sons and two daughters. Both his sons joined the

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 ...

, his eldest son

Marshal of the Sri Lanka Air Force Marshal of the Sri Lanka Air Force is the highest rank in the Sri Lanka Air Force. Marshal of the Air Force is ranked immediately above Air Chief Marshal, and has been awarded only once, to Roshan Goonetileke as an honorary rank. It is equiva ...

Roshan Goonatilake Marshal of the Sri Lanka Air Force W. D. M. J. Roshan Goonetileke, RWP and bar, VSV, USP, PhD (Hon), FIM (SL), ndc, psc is a senior officer of the Sri Lanka Air Force. The current Governor of the Western Province, Goonetileke had served ...

served as

and Chief of the Defence Staff, his younger son Air Commodore

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 ...

was killed in 1995 when the plane he was piloting was shot down by a SAM, to date is the most senior air force officer killed in action.

Death

He died on 11 April 2008. His funeral was held at the General Cemetery Borella, Colombo on 12 April with military honors.

References

External links

Official Website of Sri Lanka Air Force
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goonetileke, W.D. Harry 1929 births 2008 deaths Commanders of the Sri Lanka Air Force Sri Lankan Air Chief Marshals Sinhalese military personnel Sri Lankan aviators Alumni of Royal College, Colombo