A SUCCESSFUL MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
The Formation of the Indonesian Air Force
When the Republic of Indonesia was born, proclaiming its independence on August 17, 1945, it has no air force, not even a single aircraft with Indonesian markings on it. Within no more than two decades the Indonesian Air Force had become the most powerful in Southeast Asia; its fleet the most advanced in the region. Here is the story of the first 17 years of the Indonesia Air Force, under the leadership of its Chief of Staff Air Chief Marshal Suryadi Suryadarma.
As soon as the independence was declared, its first president and proclamator Soekarno assigned Air Commodore Suryadarma, a navigator, to forms its air force, on September 1, 1945. A mission impossible it was, since the new born nation only had one pilot with BMP (groot militaire brevet, first class pilot), a qualification for multiengine rating, but who had no change to fly during 3,5 years of Japanese occupation. The air fleet comprised more than one hundred aircraft, the bulk of which consisted of Yokosuka K5Y1 Navy type 93 Willow training biplanes popularly known as Cureng. Not to mention the budget, which ws not even enough to purchase a linen cloth for Cureng.
Only One Pilot
When the Pacific War erupted, Indonesian only had two GMB qualified pilots : Sub Liutenants Adisutjipto and Sambudjo Hurip. The later died when his B-10 Glenn Martin was shot down by a Japanese Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusha (Oscar) Fighter of the Malakan coast. Adisutjipto too was assigned to a Glenn Martin bomber squadron but was later reassigned to the reconnassaince squadron, flying Curtiss CW-22B Falcon and Lockheed L-12. The reassignment probably saved is life, because almost all bombers fell prey to Zeros and Oscars, said Suryadarma.
Worse, there was no pilot training for Indonesian during the Japanese occupation. So, unlike the Indian Air Force, who already had 1.000 pilots when the country got its independence, August 15, 1947, the Indonesian Air Force had only one qualified pilot when it was founded, April 9, 1946. There were also several other pilots who had the Klein Militaire Brevet, but did not receive a multi-engine training yet. Among them were H. Soejono and Husein Sastranegara.
Lack of pilots but not not aircraft, AURI ( short for Angkatan Udara Republik Indonesia, or the Indonesia Air Force) acquired Japanese deserted aircraft such as the biplane trainer Cureng and Tachikawa Type 99 Ki-55 Cukiu which were still in flying condition at that time. Searching for new cadets, Suryadarma and AURI officers use to fly Cureng and Cukiu across the archipelago, even held an air show in Yogyakarta (1946), to promote air mindedness.
There was a story of an army officer and Cureng during the communist rebellion in Madiun, led by Muso (1948). Air Vice Marshall (Ret) RJ. Salatun told the story quoting Nurtanio, about an army officer-the name was unknown-who had to return to Kediri immediately despite the fact that all the lines of transportation were cut-off. So finally he was given a very short course on parachuting, boarded the Cureng, then bailed above Kediri. Watching him landing alone but safe and sound, the people of Kediri welcomed him and served him a half-boiled egg.
TALOA Generation
After the Round Table Conference things got better for AURI who just celebrated its third birthday. The conference held on August 23, 1949 in Den Haag, made important decisions : first, to establish APRIS (Angkatan Perang Republik Indonesia Serikat, or The Armed Forces of the United Republic of Indonesia) with the TNI (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, the Indonesia Armed Forces) as the core force. Second, the abolishment of KNIL (Koninklijke Nederlands Indisch Leger, The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army) while its multinational personnel-the Dutch, the Pribumi (Indonesian) and the Euroasian-got two choices : to join APRIS or stay with KNIL. Third, the AURI should take over all assets of the Militaire Luchtvaart (ML, KNIL’s Air Force)-the aircraft, hangars, logistics and maintenance facilities-including some of its pilots as soon as possible.
One of the assets was Andir air base (now named after Husein Sastranegara) in Bandung. It is considered the most valuable, famous as sophisticated maintenance center for piston engine aircraft in Southeast Asia. Among the celebreties
Landing there was Amelia Earhart in her famous flight circumnavigating the world along its equator (1937), and India’s Maharaj of Yodhpur whose Lockheed 10 personal plane underwent maintenance there. Andir, no doubt became the seed of Indonesia’s aircraft industry Nurtanio, now known as IPTN.
In building the air power, Deputy of Logistics Wiweko went to the United States to acquire 10 new B26 Invaders to replace the B25s. But as soon as he got there, Wiweko back home embarrassed and angry. “You know why? It turned out that the letter of credit were blank. It was later discovered that contrary to a previous plan, the budget was reallocated to buy a troop transport ship, the RI Tasikmalaya belonged to the army and which was not even seaworthy”, recalled Salatun.
As the bombers, fighters, transport planes entering its fleet, AURI became a balance air force. According to former air force Chief-of-Staff (1973-1978) Air Chief Marshall (Ret) Saleh Basarah, the AURI took over 36 Douglas C47 Dakotas, 22 B-25 Mitchells, 22 P-51 Mustangs, 18 Auster A.O.P.9, 40 North American AT-6 Harvards, 5 PBY-Catalinas, 26 Vultee BT-13 Valiants and 4 Lockheed L-12.
Watching Suryadarma built the softwares and hardwares of Indonesian air force, Army General Djatikusumo once make a comment, “the problem with Suryadarma is that he deals with a brand new field with advanced military technology. While we (the army) is still dealing with sharpened bamboos (traditional Javanese weapons) and ration food supplies, he talked about radar.”Once AURI got an offer to purchase a squadron of P-47 Tunderbolt II with all of Indonesia’s rubber supply, but the government refused to take the offer.
To catch up with man power expertise, in 1950 Suryadarma sent 60 officers to a flight training facilities at Trans Ocean Airlines Oakland Transport (TALOA), California, USA. Many of the young men made their way up to the high ranks : Saleh Basarah (AURI Chief-of-Staff 1973-1978), Oemardhani (AURI Chief-of-Staff 1962-1965), Sri Mulyono (AURI Chief-of-Staff 1965-1966). While in Indonesia, Kalijati in West Java and Kali Code now the Air Force Academy, Yogyakarta in Central Java, became the air crew training base.
“So Many Aircraft”
The former ML Officers who joined AURI were much at help during the Republic of South Maluku (RMS) uprising. When the rebellion took place, many of the Yogyakarta-graduate pilots were in retraining and transition. Former ML pilots like Otto Noordraven and RJ Ismail became famous as the ‘two man air force’. “Each of them flew many sorties between Java and Ambon in a C47 dropping logistics and weapons for Indonesian troops there,” recalled Erlangga, Suryadarma son.
When Slamet Riyadi’s regiment attacked RMS, the to ex-ML join the regiment. This time not in C-47 but in the Mitchell B-25 bombers for ground attack and reconnaissance duties. This episode however has escaped public attention.
Suryadarma’s concept was straight : the AURI had to be strictly technical military foce with no involvement in politics. His philosophy was ‘if I can do, you can do!’. Erlangga remembered his father made sudden inspections to the field to understand the real situation, recording all assets. “He would take along a collapsible bed and canteen, ready to take care him self when there no preparations to welcome the Air Force Chief-of Staff. He also never forget to bring his rifle to shot tekukur (a pigeon-like bird),” recalled Erlangga.
The AURI grown bigger and mightier. When the Asian-African Conference took place in Bandung (1955), Burma (now Myanmar) Prime Minister U Nu was amazed by the fleet of B-25s in Hussein Sastranegara airport. “I have never seen so many aircraft together,” he told Wiweko.
The international reputation as the most powerful air force in Southeast Asia region was confirmed in the early sixties by a Dutch magazine Vliegwereld (the world of aviation), while UK’s Air Pictorial quoted, “Material-wise, the Royal Australian Air Force is completely outclassed.”
Russian Planes
The PRRI/Permesta separatist Padang and Manado (1958) forced a set back for AURI. Its limited fleet flew back and forth long distance between Manado (where Permesta took place) and Padang (PRRI). Meanwhile the US embargoed Indonesia’s order of new military aircrafts. There was an effort to purchase 12 P-51 Mustang from Guatemala via an agent, assisted by India. Unfortunately the US found out about the deal right when the delivery was ready to take place and the AURI already had paid.
Desperately need additional fleet, Suryadarma persuaded the president to approve the order for Tupolev TU-16 bombers. Soekarno agreed. “I was assigned to watch the activities of the president and remind him whenever there was a chance,” said Salatun. To counter the American embargo, the people’s Republic of China as a gesture of Asian-African solidarity, made available 12 Tupolev Tu-2 bombers, 24 Lavockhin La-11s (the Russian Thunderbolt), and 12 China-built Mikoyan Gurevich MiG17s called Type56. The last mentioned saw fine service during the campaign to liberate West Irian and after.
More deliveries coming from the East (Soviet allied), including Tu-16s for AURI and cruiser RI Irian for ALRI (the Indonesian Navy). With T-16s and MiG 21s, the Indonesian Air Force became the only air force in Southern Hemisphere who operated Mach-2 fighters.
Alas, in the New Order Era, the Indonesian Air Force (now became TNI-AU, Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Udara) has to reduce its weaponaries and equipments due to the tight budgeting for defence. As long as aircraft and aerospace industries in Indonesia has not yet reach its maximum, it is impossible to talk about ideal defence concept. Because defence requires independence in the broadest perspective. (ben/ade)
[Taken from ‘ANGKASA’, Indonesia Space and Aircraft Magazine, no. 8, May 1999, Year X]. Some text here might be copyrighted.
When the Republic of Indonesia was born, proclaiming its independence on August 17, 1945, it has no air force, not even a single aircraft with Indonesian markings on it. Within no more than two decades the Indonesian Air Force had become the most powerful in Southeast Asia; its fleet the most advanced in the region. Here is the story of the first 17 years of the Indonesia Air Force, under the leadership of its Chief of Staff Air Chief Marshal Suryadi Suryadarma.
As soon as the independence was declared, its first president and proclamator Soekarno assigned Air Commodore Suryadarma, a navigator, to forms its air force, on September 1, 1945. A mission impossible it was, since the new born nation only had one pilot with BMP (groot militaire brevet, first class pilot), a qualification for multiengine rating, but who had no change to fly during 3,5 years of Japanese occupation. The air fleet comprised more than one hundred aircraft, the bulk of which consisted of Yokosuka K5Y1 Navy type 93 Willow training biplanes popularly known as Cureng. Not to mention the budget, which ws not even enough to purchase a linen cloth for Cureng.
Only One Pilot
When the Pacific War erupted, Indonesian only had two GMB qualified pilots : Sub Liutenants Adisutjipto and Sambudjo Hurip. The later died when his B-10 Glenn Martin was shot down by a Japanese Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusha (Oscar) Fighter of the Malakan coast. Adisutjipto too was assigned to a Glenn Martin bomber squadron but was later reassigned to the reconnassaince squadron, flying Curtiss CW-22B Falcon and Lockheed L-12. The reassignment probably saved is life, because almost all bombers fell prey to Zeros and Oscars, said Suryadarma.
Worse, there was no pilot training for Indonesian during the Japanese occupation. So, unlike the Indian Air Force, who already had 1.000 pilots when the country got its independence, August 15, 1947, the Indonesian Air Force had only one qualified pilot when it was founded, April 9, 1946. There were also several other pilots who had the Klein Militaire Brevet, but did not receive a multi-engine training yet. Among them were H. Soejono and Husein Sastranegara.
Lack of pilots but not not aircraft, AURI ( short for Angkatan Udara Republik Indonesia, or the Indonesia Air Force) acquired Japanese deserted aircraft such as the biplane trainer Cureng and Tachikawa Type 99 Ki-55 Cukiu which were still in flying condition at that time. Searching for new cadets, Suryadarma and AURI officers use to fly Cureng and Cukiu across the archipelago, even held an air show in Yogyakarta (1946), to promote air mindedness.
There was a story of an army officer and Cureng during the communist rebellion in Madiun, led by Muso (1948). Air Vice Marshall (Ret) RJ. Salatun told the story quoting Nurtanio, about an army officer-the name was unknown-who had to return to Kediri immediately despite the fact that all the lines of transportation were cut-off. So finally he was given a very short course on parachuting, boarded the Cureng, then bailed above Kediri. Watching him landing alone but safe and sound, the people of Kediri welcomed him and served him a half-boiled egg.
TALOA Generation
After the Round Table Conference things got better for AURI who just celebrated its third birthday. The conference held on August 23, 1949 in Den Haag, made important decisions : first, to establish APRIS (Angkatan Perang Republik Indonesia Serikat, or The Armed Forces of the United Republic of Indonesia) with the TNI (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, the Indonesia Armed Forces) as the core force. Second, the abolishment of KNIL (Koninklijke Nederlands Indisch Leger, The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army) while its multinational personnel-the Dutch, the Pribumi (Indonesian) and the Euroasian-got two choices : to join APRIS or stay with KNIL. Third, the AURI should take over all assets of the Militaire Luchtvaart (ML, KNIL’s Air Force)-the aircraft, hangars, logistics and maintenance facilities-including some of its pilots as soon as possible.
One of the assets was Andir air base (now named after Husein Sastranegara) in Bandung. It is considered the most valuable, famous as sophisticated maintenance center for piston engine aircraft in Southeast Asia. Among the celebreties
Landing there was Amelia Earhart in her famous flight circumnavigating the world along its equator (1937), and India’s Maharaj of Yodhpur whose Lockheed 10 personal plane underwent maintenance there. Andir, no doubt became the seed of Indonesia’s aircraft industry Nurtanio, now known as IPTN.
In building the air power, Deputy of Logistics Wiweko went to the United States to acquire 10 new B26 Invaders to replace the B25s. But as soon as he got there, Wiweko back home embarrassed and angry. “You know why? It turned out that the letter of credit were blank. It was later discovered that contrary to a previous plan, the budget was reallocated to buy a troop transport ship, the RI Tasikmalaya belonged to the army and which was not even seaworthy”, recalled Salatun.
As the bombers, fighters, transport planes entering its fleet, AURI became a balance air force. According to former air force Chief-of-Staff (1973-1978) Air Chief Marshall (Ret) Saleh Basarah, the AURI took over 36 Douglas C47 Dakotas, 22 B-25 Mitchells, 22 P-51 Mustangs, 18 Auster A.O.P.9, 40 North American AT-6 Harvards, 5 PBY-Catalinas, 26 Vultee BT-13 Valiants and 4 Lockheed L-12.
Watching Suryadarma built the softwares and hardwares of Indonesian air force, Army General Djatikusumo once make a comment, “the problem with Suryadarma is that he deals with a brand new field with advanced military technology. While we (the army) is still dealing with sharpened bamboos (traditional Javanese weapons) and ration food supplies, he talked about radar.”Once AURI got an offer to purchase a squadron of P-47 Tunderbolt II with all of Indonesia’s rubber supply, but the government refused to take the offer.
To catch up with man power expertise, in 1950 Suryadarma sent 60 officers to a flight training facilities at Trans Ocean Airlines Oakland Transport (TALOA), California, USA. Many of the young men made their way up to the high ranks : Saleh Basarah (AURI Chief-of-Staff 1973-1978), Oemardhani (AURI Chief-of-Staff 1962-1965), Sri Mulyono (AURI Chief-of-Staff 1965-1966). While in Indonesia, Kalijati in West Java and Kali Code now the Air Force Academy, Yogyakarta in Central Java, became the air crew training base.
“So Many Aircraft”
The former ML Officers who joined AURI were much at help during the Republic of South Maluku (RMS) uprising. When the rebellion took place, many of the Yogyakarta-graduate pilots were in retraining and transition. Former ML pilots like Otto Noordraven and RJ Ismail became famous as the ‘two man air force’. “Each of them flew many sorties between Java and Ambon in a C47 dropping logistics and weapons for Indonesian troops there,” recalled Erlangga, Suryadarma son.
When Slamet Riyadi’s regiment attacked RMS, the to ex-ML join the regiment. This time not in C-47 but in the Mitchell B-25 bombers for ground attack and reconnaissance duties. This episode however has escaped public attention.
Suryadarma’s concept was straight : the AURI had to be strictly technical military foce with no involvement in politics. His philosophy was ‘if I can do, you can do!’. Erlangga remembered his father made sudden inspections to the field to understand the real situation, recording all assets. “He would take along a collapsible bed and canteen, ready to take care him self when there no preparations to welcome the Air Force Chief-of Staff. He also never forget to bring his rifle to shot tekukur (a pigeon-like bird),” recalled Erlangga.
The AURI grown bigger and mightier. When the Asian-African Conference took place in Bandung (1955), Burma (now Myanmar) Prime Minister U Nu was amazed by the fleet of B-25s in Hussein Sastranegara airport. “I have never seen so many aircraft together,” he told Wiweko.
The international reputation as the most powerful air force in Southeast Asia region was confirmed in the early sixties by a Dutch magazine Vliegwereld (the world of aviation), while UK’s Air Pictorial quoted, “Material-wise, the Royal Australian Air Force is completely outclassed.”
Russian Planes
The PRRI/Permesta separatist Padang and Manado (1958) forced a set back for AURI. Its limited fleet flew back and forth long distance between Manado (where Permesta took place) and Padang (PRRI). Meanwhile the US embargoed Indonesia’s order of new military aircrafts. There was an effort to purchase 12 P-51 Mustang from Guatemala via an agent, assisted by India. Unfortunately the US found out about the deal right when the delivery was ready to take place and the AURI already had paid.
Desperately need additional fleet, Suryadarma persuaded the president to approve the order for Tupolev TU-16 bombers. Soekarno agreed. “I was assigned to watch the activities of the president and remind him whenever there was a chance,” said Salatun. To counter the American embargo, the people’s Republic of China as a gesture of Asian-African solidarity, made available 12 Tupolev Tu-2 bombers, 24 Lavockhin La-11s (the Russian Thunderbolt), and 12 China-built Mikoyan Gurevich MiG17s called Type56. The last mentioned saw fine service during the campaign to liberate West Irian and after.
More deliveries coming from the East (Soviet allied), including Tu-16s for AURI and cruiser RI Irian for ALRI (the Indonesian Navy). With T-16s and MiG 21s, the Indonesian Air Force became the only air force in Southern Hemisphere who operated Mach-2 fighters.
Alas, in the New Order Era, the Indonesian Air Force (now became TNI-AU, Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Udara) has to reduce its weaponaries and equipments due to the tight budgeting for defence. As long as aircraft and aerospace industries in Indonesia has not yet reach its maximum, it is impossible to talk about ideal defence concept. Because defence requires independence in the broadest perspective. (ben/ade)
[Taken from ‘ANGKASA’, Indonesia Space and Aircraft Magazine, no. 8, May 1999, Year X]. Some text here might be copyrighted.
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