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

Avro Avro (an initialism of the founder's name) was a British aircraft manufacturer. Its designs include the Avro 504, used as a trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the d ...

, 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 Civil Air Transport (CAT) was a Nationalist Chinese airline, later owned by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), that supported the United States' covert operations throughout East and Southeast Asia. During the Cold War, missions consi ...

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, nationalist, and independence activist who served as the country's first Vice President of Indonesia, vice president as well as the third prime minister. Known as ...

, Indonesia's first vice president, in

Bukittinggi Bukittinggi (, Jawi script, Jawi: , formerly ) is the third largest city in West Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of 111,312 in 2010Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 121,028 in 2020.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. An official es ...

West Sumatra West Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. West Sumatra borders the Indian Ocean to the west, as well as the provinces of ...

, 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 de facto Republic of Indonesia during the Indonesian National Revolution.Vickers (2005), p. 99 It took place between 21 July and 4 August 1947. ...

(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-engine, 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), R ...

aircraft in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

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

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 List of National Heroes of Indonesia, National Hero of Indonesia. Life Halim Perdanakusu ...

flew the aircraft past the Dutch blockade to garner support from

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

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

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

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

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, 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, Kel ...

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 North Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan on the east coast of the island. It borders Aceh to the northwest, Riau to the sou ...

. 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

See also

References

Bibliography