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 ...

Deshamanya Deshamanya ( si, දේශමාන්‍ය, translit=Dēshamāṉya; ta, தேசமான்ய, translit=Tēcamāṉya; Pride of the Nation) is the second-highest national honour of Sri Lanka awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka as a ...

Pathman Hariprasadha Mendis, FBIM (24 January 1933 – 18 January 2022) was a Sri Lankan aviator. He was the fourth Commander of the Royal Ceylon Air Force from 1971 to 1976.

Early life and education

The son of a doctor, Mendis was educated at

S. Thomas' College , motto_translation = Be Thou Forever , song = Thomian Song , athletics = Yes , sports = Yes , nickname = Thora , denomination = Anglican , patron ...

Air force career

He joined the newly formed Royal Ceylon Air Force as its fifth recruit (1005 AC2) 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 ...

on 8 August 1951. Mendis and Cadet Officer D. De S. Seneviratne were sent to Britain for their training at

RAF College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and ...

. After graduating on 6 April 1954, Mendis specialized in

De Havilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and ...

s until he returned home in December 1954. The government decided to deploy more transports instead of the Vampires, Mendis trained for

Airspeed Oxford The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford is a twin-engine monoplane aircraft developed and manufactured by Airspeed. It saw widespread use for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery roles throughout the Seco ...

s in the flying wing. In 1959, Fight Lieutenant Mendis and Fight Lieutenant Situnayake were sent to the

RAF Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at RA ...

for training as

flying instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...

s and on his return he became a flying instructor at the Royal Ceylon Air Force Flying School Katunayake. In 1961, when the single flying wing was split forming two flying squadrons, Squadron Leader Mendis took command of the newly formed No. 2 (Transport) Squadron, RCyAF. He then attended the staff course at Defence Services Staff College, Wellington between 1961 and 1962. On completion of staff college he was promoted to the rank of

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

and appointed the Senior Air Staff Officer at Air Force Headquarters in 1963. Promoted to the rank of

Group Captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

, he attended the

Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

in London in 1968 and was appointed Chief of Staff in December 1969. On 1 January 1971, he was appointed Commander of the Air Force with the rank of

Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

, at the age of thirty eight. Three months later, the RCyAF was mobilized for combat for the first time when the 1971 JVP Insurrection began. Though unprepared for a full-scale insurrection, with limited aircraft, under Mendis' command, the Air Force responded effectively. At first, it carried out troop and supply transport to stations under attack, then it turned to ground attacks. The insurrection was brought under control in two months. Following the insurrection, military spending was drastically cut as a result of major economic problems faced by the country. As a result, Mendis was forced to create

Helitours Helitours is a domestic airline in Sri Lanka operated by the Sri Lanka Air Force with aircraft not required for military use. It is currently the second-largest airline in Sri Lanka with a fleet of 16 aircraft behind Sri Lankan Airlines' 23. The ...

with Air Force planes and pilots to finance the operation of the Air Force. One of his major contributions to the Air Force was the creation of the current management structure, including the board of management. He established the

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 ...

at SLAF China Bay for officer training and the Electronic Maintenance and Training school at SLAF Ekala, Trade training School at SLAF Katunayake for ground crew training. He retired from service in 1976 as an Air Marshal. After retiring he went on to work as chairman,

Air Ceylon Air Ceylon was the former flag carrier airline of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The airline discontinued flights to Europe in early 1978 and finally ceased all local services on 31 August 1979, when it was replaced by Air Lanka and then rebranded to Sr ...

; Commissioner General, Civil Defence and Aviation; member, Reserve Affairs Council and chairman, Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka.

Personal life and death

Mendis married Charmaine in 1957, and they had 3 children. One of his grandsons is a midshipman at the

US Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is ...

, who graduated with the Class of 2010. He died on 18 January 2022, at the age of 88.

Honors

For his service to the country he was awarded the title of

from the Government of Sri Lanka and in 2007 he was promoted to the rank of

along with 9 other former service chiefs.Former service chiefs promoted
/ref> For service in the air force he received the service medals

Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services Medal The Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services Medal was awarded to members of the regular and volunteer forces of the Military of Sri Lanka who were in service on 22 May 1972, subject to recommendation by the commanders of the respective service com ...

, the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du couronnement de la Reine Élizabeth II) is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded a ...

Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal The Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal ( Sinhala: සන්නද්ධ සේවා දීර්ඝ සේවා පදක්කම ''ārakśaka sēvā dhīrgha sēvā padakkama'') was a service medal of Ceylon from 1968 to 1972. It was g ...

and the

Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal The Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal was awarded to members of the Ceylon armed services who served within their specific service branch during periods in 1949-1951 when their service branch was established: *Ceylon Army (10 October 1949 ...

Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services ribbon bar

Sri Lanka Air Force 25th Anniversary Medal

Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal ribbon bar

Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal ribbon bar

References

;Notes ;Sources
Paddy Mendis: Administrator par excellence
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendis, Paddy 1933 births 2022 deaths Commanders of the Sri Lanka Air Force Sri Lankan Air Chief Marshals Sinhalese military personnel Sri Lankan aviators Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia Deshamanya People from Galle District