Heroic Flyers of Ananda

By Nilakshan Perera

Ananda College is known as the pinnacle of Buddhist education in Sri Lanka. The founders of Ananda during the colonial era envisaged providing a quality English education to students of Buddhist families, on par with the missionary Schools but with more emphasis on Buddhist values and patriotism. Sports and other extracurricular activities such as cadeting was an important and integral part in moulding well rounded citizens for the future.

 Principal Mr P de S Kularatne first proposed to start cadeting at Ananda in 1920 there were many objections from some parents and well-wishers as they felt it was contrary to Buddhist principles. By explaining how cadeting would instil discipline and leadership qualities. Principal Kularatne was able overcome these objections. He also argued that it was acceptable for Buddhists to use force to defend righteous causes. From then on cadeting became a very popular activity at Ananda and was staunchly supported by every Principal. Mr LH Mettananda who took over as Principal after Mr Kularatne continued to foster cadeting with zeal and it was during this period that an Anandian was selected for the first time for training as an officer cadet at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst UK. However, it would not be wrong to say that during the years from

1964 to 1987 cadeting at Ananda had a “turbo boost” as at the helm were three Principals of exceptional military background as Principals Lt Col EA Perusinghe (1964 to 1969), Col GW Rajapaksa (1969 to 1981 and Col VS Kudaligama (1982 to 1987). The leadership styles, charisma and unwavering support and encouragement provided to cadeting and various other sports

enabled the students to develop their own personalities with patriotism and responsibility. With all these qualities most of the talented students opted to join the Armed Forces as their career path. A few students had selected the Sri Lanka Air Force– the Guardians of the sky – as their passion and. This is their story…

Since Independence Anandians have served with distinction both in the then Royal Ceylon Airforce (RCAF) and today’s Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF). In fact, the first Anandian Air Force officer to make the Supreme Sacrifice was Flying Officer Ananda (Andy) Kularatne who was in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War 2. He was the eldest son of our revered former Principal P de S Kularatne and Madam Hilda Kularatne. Due to restraints on space, I have confined this article mainly to those Heroic Flyers who made us so proud during and since the dark period of the Elam Wars.

We are proud and ever grateful to all these officers who served our Air Force with valour courage and bravery. While remembering all these officers with gratitude we also rejoice on the appointment of the first ever Anandian Air Force Commander when Udeni Rajapaksa was promoted to the rank of Air Marshal and appointed as the 19^th Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force on 1st July 2023.

Ruwan Prasanna Punchihetti

Ruwan Prasanna Punchihetti was a very humble, disciplined and exceptionally sincere student, who travelled daily all the way from Pokunuwita, Horana to Ananda. While in school he was a junior cadet, Senior Prefect Supervisor and was also the Tent Secretary of the 55th Ananda Nalanda Big Match in 1984. I had a very close friendship with this very methodical and well-presented Anandian as both of us were in the Board of prefects. His ambition was to join the Air Force as a Flyer. This ambition was fulfilled when he enlisted to the SLAF on 13th Feb 1985, as cadets of Intake 13, when he was just 20 years old. Another Anandian – who was a classmate of mine – Priyankara Rajpal Perera (who later became the Chief Instructor of the Combat Training Wing and retired as a Group Captain) also joined the SLAF together with Ruwan Punchihetti. After completing his basic training at Diyatalawa, Punchihetti was attached to the Trincomalee air Base as well as the Ratmalana Air Base for his flying training. As a Student Officer he was stationed at the Kotelawala Defence Academy (now known as the Kotelawala Defence University KDU) with two other Flyers, fellow Anandian Jayanthalal Thibbotumunuwe and Trinity Lion TTK Seneviratne. We had a great time together with them returning from the University and over the weekends. On 3rd August 1985 they left to China Bay for further flying training, but before departing he wrote on my Autograph (pictured below) by way of exchanging sentiments. On 25th March 1986 we were shocked to hear the sad news of his Italian made Shiya Ma Shetty crashed into Beruwela sea while performing aerobatics with Pilot Officer TTK Seneviratne, as they were flying at a low altitude. Sri Lanka Air Force lost two great flyers as they were embarking on their careers. Both Puchihetti and TTK were the only sons in their falilies with three sisters each. Punchihetti’s younger sister Sujeewani Kuruppu joined AF and retired as Sqd Ldr in 2014.

Kasun Cumaratunga

One Sunday morning in March 1984, KDA Guard House informed me that there, were two visitors for me. I met them at the visitors lounge of Sir John’s bungalow. I was very pleased to see my classmate Harendra Perusinghe and Kasun Cumaratunge who was one year junior to me at college. Kasun (who was the grandson of famous author and linguist Munidasa Cumaratunga and the son of SSP Bindu Kumaratunga) was a versatile cricketer during his college days. Kasun and I were also good friends as we used to travel in the same school bus as he used to reside at his grandparents’ ancestral home at Gorakana Panadura. Both Kasun and Harendra has applied to join the SLAF and as they had been selected for the interviews, they were keen to know about the interview process. While Kasun was keen to be a flyer, Harendra wanted to be a Regiment Officer in the Air Force. Later, they jubilantly informed me that both had been selected to join Intake 12 of the SLAF, in May 1984. (Group Captain Harendra Perusinghe passed away of a heart attack on 1 st July 2011 after a distinguished career in the SLAF). Kasun was extremely popular among the SLAF pilots as he was ever ready and willing to assist anyone who sought his assistance even under the most tense and dangerous situations of war. He was also a very versatile and skilful pilot who could land his helicopter even on a razors edge. Most of all he would put others before self.

On 2nd of June 1988, Gen Cyril Ranatunge the Joint Operations Commander wanted a SLAF Helicopter to carry out a night aerial reconnaissance of Colombo elements had burnt some electrical transformers, prior to the Provincial Council elections.

From the Katunayake Air Force Base a Bell 212 Helicopter which was fitted with a powerful “Night Sun” searchlight was assigned for this mission. The visible white light of this 1600-Watt Xeon Arc lamp searchlight remains intense, providing the Pilot with the best possible visibility of the ground in the night.

The chopper was Piloted by Flying Officer Kasun Cumaratunga with another fellow Anandian (from the 1984 group) Pilot Officer Priyantha Weeraman as the Co-Pilot. Two SLAF airman gunners completed the SLAF crew for the mission. They were joined by two other officers from the Joint Operations Command (JOC). They were Capt. Lal Jayathilake of the Military Police as Observation Reconnaissance Officer and Lt Prasanna Chandrasiri from the Signals Corps as Communications Reconnaissance Officer.

After completing their ariel recognisance at Colombo and Greater Colombo areas and while returning to Katunayake Air Base they were confronted with bad weather and poor visibility. As they were passing Kimbulapitiya area the chopper was encountered with severe turbulence.  uncontrollably spinning chopper had got entangled with the High-Tension wires and had crushed. From the SLAF Base in Katunayake a rescue team had been dispatched immediately. When they had arrived at the crash scene, Lt Ariyathilake had already passed away while Flying Officer Kasun Cumaratunga had sustained serious injuries and his condition had been critical. Miraculously Pilot Officer Priyantha Weeraman, Lt Chandrasiri and the two Airmen Gunners had escaped with minor injuries.

At Katunayake Air Force Base a Bell 414 Helicopter had been ready to airlift Kasun to the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital, after a recce at the crash site. This helicopter was piloted by two highly experienced flyers Sqd Ldr Lasantha Waidyaratne and Sqd Ldr Rohan Gunathilake (present Marshal of the Air Force). Within 12 minutes they landed at SJP Hospital and Squadron Leader Kasun was taken in immediately, but sadly he passed away in a few minutes. On that fateful day Mother Lanka lost two of her brave sons.

Lt Prasanna Chandrasiri who survived the crash with relatively minor injuries was an all-around student of Dharamaraja College and University of Moratuwa who a versatile Hockey player was as well as an excellent Chess player who won his colours for both games. He had been the Army Inter regiment Chess champion on three occasions. He graduated from the University of Moratuwa with a BSc in Electronic Engineering and retired as a Lt Col.

In a comparatively short space of time Fly Off Kasun Cumaratunga had proved himself to be an exceptionally brave and capable flyer. He had risked his own life on many occasions to save others injured in the battlefield. As a cadet pilot Kasun had bravely taken control of the Bell-212 helicopter when his superior officer Wg  Cdr Sunil Cabral who was an expert in heliborne operations had been hit by an enemy bullet while flying over Thelipalai on 21t January 1986 and safely landed the helicopter to save the life of his superior.

At the time of his death at just 26 years Flying Officer Kasun had clocked the greatest number of flying-hours in the Air Force. This is clear testimony to his dedication and commitment to duty.

Jayanthalal Thibbotumunuwe

Jayanthalal Thibbotumunuwe, who was popularly known to his friends and fellow officers as “Thibba” were yet another Heroic Flyer of Ananda, who made the supreme sacrifice in the service to the Nation. Even though a previous article by me “The Flyer with a Big Heart”, appeared in Nov 2020, as this article is a tribute to all Flyers of Ananda I seek your indulgence to briefly touch on Thibba’s last heroic mission. Jayanthalal Thibbotumunuwe was a vibrant student of the batch of 1980, who represented Ananda College in cricket, swimming and was a senior cadet. On 18th November 1996 at around 0640 hrs the Y-8 Transport Aircraft was airborne from the Ratmalana Air Force Base. The captain of the flight was Wg Cdr Thibba with Sqd Ldr Bandu Kubalathara as co-pilot. They were on their way to Palaly with some urgently required cargo for ongoing military operations. For most of the flight they were maintaining an altitude of 13000 feet over the sea, but as they were approaching Palaly they dropped down to 300 feet. As they were coming down two enemy boats in the guise of fishing vessels had appeared from the left (or Port side) of the aircraft and fired missiles at the aircraft. As they were taken completely by surprise the Y-8 took a direct hit and crashed into sea just about 3 km from the coastline. It was ironic that Thibba our champion long distance swimmer was found dead just a couple of kilometres from the coast. Probably he may have sacrificed his own life in his efforts to save the lives of others.

Nishantha Gamage

Nishantha Gamage and Pradeep Kannangara were the two Anandians in intake 17. Nishantha was the Sgt of the senior cadet platoon at Ananda in 1985. Pradeep Kannangara who was the former head of Special Airborne Force of the SLAF retired as a Wing Commander. On 22 nd November 1995, around 1740 hrs (5.40pm) an Antonov AN-32 with 63 armed personnel were on board was airborne from the Ratmalana Airforce Base, piloted by Sqd Ldr Nishantha Gamage with Flg Off Ranjith Fernando as copilot. As they were reaching the island of Karinagar Sqd Ldr Nishantha Gamage called to ask the runway lights to be switched on as it was around 1845 hrs (6.45 pm) and darkness was setting in. That was the last call from Sqd Ldr Nishantha and the aircraft disappeared from the radar screens. Soon the ground staff learnt that the aircraft had been hit by a missile and had crashed into the sea off

Karainagar killing all on board. This was one of the worst and tragic disasters faced by the SLAF. The LTTE had been successful in destroying two large aircraft of the SLAF within a space of 5 days. Needless to say, that these two disasters had reduced the moral of the SLAF to a very low ebb.

Priyantha Weeraman

There were five Anandians in intake 14. One of them was Priyantha Weeraman (1984 Group) who joined SLAF as an Officer Cadet on 2 nd July 1985. Priyantha together with Kapila Ratnasekera are Officer well respected by all fighting forces for their dare and capabilities. Kapila was the first pilot to complete 5000 helicopter flying hours. Kapila who was a great athlete and a junior cadet during his college days retired from the Airforce as a Flight Lieutenant. Priyantha Weeraman was a very soft spoken but highly task oriented and brave officer who had escaped death on many occasions due to enemy fire and plane crashes. On 22nd of January 1996 Wing Commander Priyantha Weeraman was airborne from Palaly Air Force base in a Mi17 helicopter with Flying Officer Pakeer as co-pilot. They were transporting 37 Army and Navy personnel who were going on leave. Having left Palaly around 12 noon they were maintaining a low flight path over the sea due to possible missile attacks from the LTTE. Suddenly the Mi 12 chopper disappeared from all radar screens with no trace of the crash up to date. All were categorised as missing in action (MIA). It was a very sad day for all but would have been unbearably so for Wing Cdr Priyantha’s wife who was expecting a baby at that time. Wing Cdr Priyantha Weeraman was respected as a brave pilot who had served the nation with utmost commitment and passion.

They Sacrificed Their Lives in The Line of Duty.

OPERATION EAGLE

Flt Lt Lasantha Waidayaratne	Wg Cdr Avindra Mirando

Special Operations are a core duty of our Protectors of the Sky. "Operation Eagle" was one of the most meticulously planned and precisely executed operations in the history of the SLAF.  A detailed article by me on this Operation appeared in July 2020 titled "Remembering Heroes of ‘Operation Eagle’ ". I would like to touch on this Operation in this article too as a tribute to all involved in such operations and to highlight the important role played by some of our Heroic Flyers of Ananda.

By early 1990 the LTTE had the upper hand in the Jaffna Peninsula, and they had managed to isolate the Jaffna Fort and it was completely under seized. Operation Eagle was launched to evacuate a team of critically wounded soldiers of 6 Singhe Regiment who were trapped inside the Fort for well over 21 days. Food medicines and ammunition had virtually run out. In the early hours of the morning of 3rd July 1990 Operation Eagle went into action with 17 different types of helicopters and planes. This was one of the fiercest and daring operations launched by the SLAF. 

The main mission helicopter was Captained by Sqd Ldr Lasantha Waidyaratne (only Anandian of Intake 5) and Flying Officer Avindra Mirando (only Anandian in Intake 15) as copilot. Incidentally both were hostellers too. Both were very diligent and highly respected and capable Flyers.  Their Bell 412 helicopter took off from Palaly Air Force Base at 0500 hrs with two Air Force Gunners and six Army personnel who had volunteered to relieve some of the critically wounded soldiers. While a few other helicopters engaged the enemy in a diversion, Lasantha and Avindra reached the landing zone flying at a very low altitude over the lagoon. While the Army personnel disembarked to the Fort casualties were taken on board. Even though the estimated time for this was 60 seconds they were able to accomplish this deadly mission in just 45 seconds. The Bell 412 took off immediately and avoiding enemy fire and landed safely at the Palaly Base within 7 minutes. Superb timing and precise execution with assure dedication with which this mission was carried out had even amazed the enemy.

Two other Anandians Kapila Rathnasekera and Priyantha Weeraman were also involved in this operation as they engaged with the enemy to give cover for Lasantha and Avindra to execute their mission.

As there was no communication between Jaffna Operational Headquarters and the Fort, the plans of Operation Eagle together with a map and hand written instructions were packed in a 50 kg bomb casing and pinpoint dropped into the Jaffna Fort by a SIA Machetti piloted by Flt Lt Priyantha Adikaram . Priyantha is a Capt at Srilankan flying as a Commercial Pilot today.

The success of Operation Eagle was a great moral booster for the besieged soldiers within the Fort as well as everyone in the Defence Establishment.

So far, I have touched on those brave Anandians who had made the supreme sacrifice as flyers. We just cannot forget our brave officers who served with utmost commitment as officers in Regiment, Logistics and Technical and Engneering branches. They were, Fl Lt Kapila Perera (Captain of 1984 Ananda Rugby team, Fl Lt Jeewaka Premaratne, Sqd Ldr Nayana Perera, Fl Lt Chandana Jayasekera.

Resilience, Courage and Determination in Adversity

When you are in a hostile environment in a war like situation your life and limbs are in constant danger. If you lose your life the trauma is for your family, colleagues and friends who are left behind, however if you lose a limb, sight, hearing or any other faculty the trauma is mainly for yourself, and one must have the resilience, courage and determination to overcome these adversities. Two heroic Anandians who lost their limbs in the line of duty but who showed extra ordinary courage and determination is Flight Lt Prasanna Kuruppu and Wing Cdr Keerthi Kanaheraarachchi.

Prasanna Kuruppu (1983 group) was another Anandian of Intake 14 of the SLAF together with Kapila Rathnasekera, Ravi Jayasinghe, Janaka Wijethilake and Priyantha Weeraman. In June 1992 Jaffna Military Bases were under constant pressure due to LTTE attacks after the failed peace talks. Already the Jaffna Fort was under siege. Practically all personnel and supplies had to be transported by air. As a safety precaution to ensure safe passage for personnel and continued supply of provisions and ammunition Armed Forces had no option but to expand the perimeters of the Army and Air Force bases. Military Top Brass had decided to expand the perimeters of the Palaly runway. Air Force launched an operation to gain more access around the Palaly runway and extend the Forward Defence Lines (FDL) right up to the Thondamanaru beach.

After securing the left flank by the elite Special Air Borne Force (SAB) with 30 men and four officers, the LTTE was retaliating fiercely with firing Mortars, Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) and occasionally with high calibre short range locally made flying bomb “Pasilan 2000” or “Baba” mortars from all directions. During these attacks Flt Lt Prasanna Kuruppu who as a Regiment Officer was leading his troops from the front was seriously injured and an Air Force Corporal who was just beside him was killed instantly in the blast. Flt Lt Kuruppu had just been appointed as Second-in-Command as his superior officer Flt Lt Priyankara Rajpal Perera had been hit by enemy fire on the Palay Airfield. The barrage of enemy fire was coming from a nearby Kovil which the terrorist had been using as a hideout. Air Force troops led by Pilot Officer Pradeep Kannangara were able to neutralize the enemy, move into the Kovil and secure the land.

25-year-old Flt LT Prasanna Kuruppu’s both legs were amputated, one above the knee and the other below the knee. This was the sad end to the promising military career of this brave and courageous officer. Presently he is using prosthetic legs and is fully involved with differently able peoples organizations and victims of landmine organizations both locally as well as internationally. He was the past president of the Disability Organizations Joint Front from 2011 to 2021. He was also the recipient of the Niarchos Survivorship Prize 2015 for his courage in adopting to life and serving his fellowmen with passion and determination.

        Wg Cdr Keerthi Kanaheraarachchi was a decorated and experienced Sky Diver of the first sky diving team of the SLAF. He is from Intake 18 and there were 2 other Anandians Rohan Hemasinghe retired as Air Commodore and Nishshanka Devendra retied as Wing Commander.  On 6th August 2002 the Air Force Sky Diving team were doing the final rehearsals for the opening ceremony of the Asian Athletics Championship meet to be held at the Sugathadasa Stadium. From a height of 14000 feet, they jumped off their M-17 helicopter and at 3000 ft he opened his parachute, but the wind was against him and he was being drifted towards the Keleni Tissa Power Station. The wind was taking him directly towards the High Voltage Power lines.

Mustering all his skills he managed to manoeuvre the parachute away from the power lines as he knew if he even momentarily touched the wires would have meant death. However, he was now heading directly towards a high wall, and he had absolutely no way of avoiding it and if his full body took the impact there was no way that he would survive. However yet again his skill training and clear thinking came to the forefront, and he had the presence of mind to lift his legs as high as he could and took the full impact on his legs. Both his legs were completely shattered from the ankles to the knees and hips. Surprisingly in spite of the excruciating pain he had been fully conscious as he hit the ground and was able to tell the bystanders who rushed to help him, how best to carry him and rush him to hospital in a Three-wheeler. Even after 9 surgical operations by some of the best orthopaedic surgeons in the country he had been told that he would be wheelchair bound for the rest of his life. Most would have been quite content to accept this as a fact of life considering how much worse it could have been. But this courageous son of Ananda was determined that he would walk again on with his own two legs. After 36 months, with the guidance of his doctors and his physiotherapist he did just that and leads a normal life today.

While at school Keerthi Kananeraachchi was exceptional athlete and have established records at Public Schools, National Schools and National levels. His record for the Under 17, 800 meters record still stands after 41 years. Keerthi may be a classic example of someone who has overcome adversity with courage and determination. Today he is leading a very successful and fruitful life as a General Manager in a private company also a Trainer and a Motivational Speaker.

Air Marshal Udeni Rajapakse

Udeni Rajapaksa had his primary education at Bandaranayake Maha Vidyalaya Gampaha and then joined Ananda. At Ananda he excelled in his studies and was a senior Prefect. He was also a member of the College Cadet Band. As a keen and bright student at Ananda he had a keen interest, and one could even say a passion for Electronics and Flying. The pathway to pursue both these passions   were opened to him when he was selected to enter the Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) as an Officer Cadet with Intake 6 in 1988. On Graduating with a BSc in Electronics he joined the SLAF as a pilot.

On 15th March 1997 around 10 32 pm Flt Lt Udeni Rajapaksa was airborne from the Anuradhapura Air Force Base on a mission to attack a huge gathering of LTTE carders on the east coast between Batticaloa and Trinco. His Argentine built Pucara bomber was armed with heavy loads of 4 x 250 bombs, 7 barrels of 2.76-inch rockets and two 20mm cannons with 2 Browning machine guns. After flying for about 10 minutes, he was asked to maintain a cruising attitude of 10,000 ft due to possible missile attacks. Just as Udeni was reaching his target he heard a thundering explosion on left wing. Within a few seconds the wing got separated and sent the Pucara into an uncontrollable spin. He had to think fast, and he activated eject button. Just as he was injected, he could see the Pucara disintegrate in a ball of fire. The charred wreckage fell on to the dry tank bed of Kaudulwewa near Hathras Kotuwa the gateway to Trincomalee. Thanks to his parachute he landed safely a few meters from the wreckage. Flt Lt Udeni Rajapaksa will go down in history as the first SLAF Pilot to safe eject during a mission.

There is no doubt that Useni was a highly dedicated versatile and capable officer. He is qualified to fly 10 types of aircraft and has accumulated well over 7000 flying hours. He has also commanded all Air Force bases in Sri Lanka.

Udeni brought great honour and utmost pride and joy to all Anandians when he was appointed as the 19rh Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force.

With utmost gratitude we remember, late Wg Cdr Eksith Peiris (1^st Commander of AF Commando Unit), Late AVM Channa Gunaratne (former Chief of Staff- AF Rugby and Cricket Captain), AVM Harsha Karannagoda (former Director Administration), Gp Capt Wajira Perera, Sqn Ldr Maithree Perera, Sqn Ldr Channa De Silva, Flt Lt Yohan De Silva,Flt Lt Suranjan De Silva, Sqd Ldr Savath Manamperi,  Sqn Ldr Sarath Pallewela, Sqn Ldr Sanath Mendis, Sqn Ldr Raheem Mantara, Gp Capt Ajith Wijesundara, Air Cdre Channa Premaratne, Wg Cdr Nalin Wickramasinghe AVM Kishan Yahampath (former Director Ground Operations) Sqn Ldr Upul Samarakoon, Sqn Ldr Shakya Hewagama, Wg Cdr Devapriya Boralessa,  Wg Cdr Razali Noordeen,  Gp Capt Ushan Wickramasinghe, Wg Cdr Ranil Ranasinghe( former Ananda and University of Colombo Basketball Captain, a first Anandian to joined AF from KDA Intake1), AVM Ravi Jayasinghe (former Chief of Staff) Gp Capt Sujith Gunathilake ,AVM Priyantha Weerasinghe ( former Director Logistics), AVM Nihal Jayasinghe (former Director General Engineering), Gp Cpt Chanakkya Senaratne, Air Cdre Roshan Hemasinghe and Wg Cdr Nishshanka Devendra, and Flt Lt Ajith Dolage who have rendered selfless services to protecting our motherland as guardians of the skies. We salute for your unwavering services to Mother Lanka.

A civil war of near on 30 years officially ended in May 2009.  The bravery dedication and the sacrifices made by the men and women of our Air Force is immeasurable. Some are no more with us. Our thoughts are with the families of those who made the supreme sacrifice. We will never forget them. Today in the relative peace and quiet and in the safety of homes surrounded by our loved ones my thoughts go back to those dark days filled with anxiety and turmoil. In the 80s as the war escalated and Mother Lanka needed the best of the best to protect her, and Ananda College was a fountain of hope. Anandians joined the Tri Forces in droves. This they did being aware what the risks would be.

In nostalgic memories I recall some of the daring operations of my brother Anandians and salute you with profound and heartfelt gratitude for your selfless and courageous deeds. Your dedicated service to Mother Lanka in her hour of need makes us all so proud to be Anandians.

In the storms of our lives,

You were our hope and our light

Each passing day

We remember you all, with utmost pride.