# Walter Fernando

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{{Short description|Sri Lanka Air Force officer and 7th Commander thereof}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix   = [Air Chief Marshal](/source/Air_Chief_Marshal)
| name               = Walter Fernando
| honorific_suffix   = [VSV](/source/Vishista_Seva_Vibhushanaya), [ndc](/source/National_Defence_College%2C_India), [psc](/source/psc_(military))
| native_name        = 
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| allegiance         = [Sri Lanka](/source/Sri_Lanka)
| branch             = [Sri Lanka Air Force](/source/Sri_Lanka_Air_Force)
| service_years      = 1953–1991
| rank               = [Air Chief Marshal](/source/Air_Chief_Marshal)
| service_number     = <!--Do not use data from primary sources such as service records.-->
| unit               = [No. 4 Squadron SLAF](/source/No._4_Squadron_SLAF)
| commands           = [Commander of the Sri Lankan Air Force](/source/Commander_of_the_Air_Force_(Sri_Lanka))
| battles            = [1971 JVP insurrection](/source/1971_JVP_insurrection)<br>, [Sri Lankan Civil War](/source/Sri_Lankan_Civil_War)
| battles_label      = 
| awards             = [Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya](/source/Vishista_Seva_Vibhushanaya)
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| other_work         = [Permanent Secretary](/source/Permanent_Secretary) to the [Ministry of Defence](/source/Ministry_of_Defence_(Sri_Lanka))
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[Air Chief Marshal](/source/Air_Chief_Marshal) '''Andibuduge Walter Fernando''', [VSV](/source/Vishista_Seva_Vibhushanaya), [ndc](/source/National_Defence_College%2C_India), [psc](/source/psc_(military)) was a senior [Sri Lanka Air Force](/source/Sri_Lanka_Air_Force) officer, who served as the 7th [Commander of the Sri Lankan Air Force](/source/Commander_of_the_Air_Force_(Sri_Lanka)) and thereafter [Permanent Secretary](/source/Permanent_Secretary) to the [Ministry of Defence](/source/Ministry_of_Defence_(Sri_Lanka)).

==Air force career==
Educated at [Maris Stella College](/source/Maris_Stella_College), [Negombo](/source/Negombo); he joined the [Royal Ceylon Air Force](/source/Royal_Ceylon_Air_Force) as a [cadet officer](/source/cadet_officer) in the second batch of pilots in January 1953. Receiving pilot training in Ceylon, he was commissioned as a [pilot officer](/source/pilot_officer) and soon after under took a course on navigation and ground instruction with the [RAF](/source/RAF). On his return to Ceylon, he became one of the first helicopter pilots in the RCyAF and in 1958 became the Navigation Officer, [RCyAF Katunayake](/source/SLAF_Katunayake). That year, Fernando accompanied several other pilots to UK to ferry by air two [de Havilland Heron](/source/de_Havilland_Heron) to Ceylon acquired for the RCyAF. In 1959, he was appointed Chief Ground Instructor, Flying Wing at RCyAF Katunayake. Thereafter he became the commanding officer, No 4 Flight and oversaw its expansion to a full [Squadron](/source/Squadron_(aviation)) as the [No. 4 Squadron SLAF](/source/No._4_Squadron_SLAF). Fernando had attended and graduated from the [RAF Staff College, Bracknell](/source/RAF_Staff_College%2C_Bracknell) and the [National Defence College, India](/source/National_Defence_College%2C_India).<ref name="Former Commanders">{{cite web |title=Air Chief Marshal A W Fernando VSV, ndc, psc |url=https://airforce.lk/pages.php?pages=air_chief_marshal_a_w_fernando |publisher=airforce.lk}}</ref>

He went on the serve as Commandant [Air Force Academy](/source/Air_Force_Academy%2C_China_Bay), Base Commander at [SLAF China Bay](/source/China_Bay_Airport) and SLAF China Bay; and Director Flying Operations. Fernando was appointed as [Chief of Staff](/source/Chief_of_Staff) of the Air Force in 1981, serving until April 1986. On 1 May 1986 he was appointed Commander of the Air Force with the rank of [Air Marshal](/source/Air_Marshal), the first air force officer to be promoted to that rank on appointment as Commander of the Air Force.<ref>[http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2015/03/01/protecting-the-skies-of-lanka/ Protecting The Skies Of Lanka]</ref> his tenure saw the expansion of the Air Force with the onset of the [Sri Lankan Civil War](/source/Sri_Lankan_Civil_War). In 1983, he was awarded the [Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya](/source/Vishista_Seva_Vibhushanaya). He retired from the Air Force on 31 July 1990 having been promoted to the rank of [Air Chief Marshal](/source/Air_Chief_Marshal), the first air force officer to be promoted to that rank.<ref>[http://www.island.lk/2006/06/10/news28.html AF chief is new Defence head]</ref> He was succeeded by Air Marsha [Makalandage Gunawardena](/source/Makalandage_Gunawardena).

==Ministry of Defense==
Fernando was the Deputy Secretary to the Ministry of Defence from 1991 and served as Acting Secretary to the Ministry of Defence in the absence of [General](/source/General) [Cyril Ranatunga](/source/Cyril_Ranatunga). He succeeded General Ranatunga when he was appointed as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence in May 1993, serving till September 1993, when he was succeeded by General [Hamilton Wanasinghe](/source/Hamilton_Wanasinghe). He was the first and to date only air force officer to hold that position.<ref name="Former Commanders"/>

==Family==
His only son, [Sqn Ldr](/source/Sqn_Ldr) A. P. W. Fernando, was [killed in action](/source/killed_in_action) when the SLAF [Shaanxi Y-8](/source/Shaanxi_Y-8) he was a passenger of was shot down by the [LTTE](/source/LTTE) on July 5, 1992, killing all 19 personnel on board.<ref>[http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=76463 In the absence of intimidating air power… War on terror revisited]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[Dick Perera](/source/Dick_Perera)}}
{{s-ttl|title=[Commander of the Sri Lankan Air Force](/source/Commander_of_the_Air_Force_(Sri_Lanka))|years=1986-1991}}
{{s-aft|after=[Makalandage Gunawardena](/source/Makalandage_Gunawardena)}}
{{s-end}}

{{Commanders of the Sri Lankan Air Force}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernando, Walter}}
Category:Commanders of the Sri Lanka Air Force
Category:Sri Lankan Air Chief Marshals
Category:Sinhalese military personnel
Category:Alumni of Maris Stella College
Category:National Defence College, India alumni

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Walter Fernando](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Fernando) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Fernando?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.