Tyron Silvapulle

Last updated
Tyron Silvapulle  †

PWV, RWP. RWP
Born(1966-07-22)July 22, 1966
Died(1999-12-17)17 December 1999
Thamilamadam, Sri Lanka
Buried
Borella General Cemetery, Colombo, Sri Lanka
AllegianceFlag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka
Service/branchAir Force Ensign of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka Air Force
Years of service1986 –1999
Rank UK-Air-OF4.svg Wing Commander
Unit No. 9 Squadron SLAF
Awards

Wing Commander Tyron D. S. Silvapulle, PWV, RWP. RWP (also referred to as Tyrone Silvapulle, born 22 July 1966 and died 17 December 1999) was a Sri Lankan pilot. He distinguished himself as a capable helicopter pilot in the Sri Lanka Air Force during the Sri Lankan Civil War. Silvapulle was killed in action in northern Sri Lanka, and posthumously awarded the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, the country's highest military award for gallantry. To date, he is the only recipient of the award from the Sri Lanka Air Force.

Contents

Early life and military career

Silvapulle was a Sri Lankan Chetty and was educated at St. Joseph's College, Colombo. He was married at the time of his death, with his wife expecting a child. [1]

Silvapulle joined in the air force on 18 May 1986, under the enlistment number 01502. [2] He was part of the 16th pilot intake to the air force, and served as a pilot in both the northern and eastern fronts during the war. Silvapulle flew Bell 212 and Mil Mi-17 transport helicopters as a general duties pilot before being assigned to the No. 9 Attack Helicopter Squadron to pilot the air force's Mil Mi-24 gunships. [1]

Action on 17 December 1999

On 17 December 1999, the army's forward defence lines at Thamilamadam near Elephant Pass came under attack from a group of Tamil Tiger boats. The Air Force dispatched two Mi-24 gunships to provide close air support for the troops at the defence lines. Silvapulle, a Squadron Leader at the time, led the formation piloting his Mi-24 with the identification numbers CH-618. Suspecting that the Tamil Tigers may be armed with surface-to-air missiles, he ordered his wingman to stay out of range and proceeded to attack the boats, repelling the attack and forcing them to retreat. Despite adverse weather conditions and the potential danger to his aircraft, Silvapulle continued to pursue the fleeing boats and attack them. However, his gunship was hit by a projectile, which the military later suspected was an anti-aircraft missile. [3] [4]

The damaged aircraft crashed into the Kilali lagoon, killing Silvapulle, his co-pilot and two gunners. Their bodies were later retrieved in a joint operation by the air force and army. Some vital components of the gunship were salvaged, and the rest of the wreckage was demolished. [1] This incident was the second time that a Mi-24 of the air force had been taken down by enemy fire. [5]

Awards and recognition

Silvapulle received the Rana Wickrama Padakkama and the Rana Sura Padakkama, the fourth and fifth highest awards respectively for gallantry during combat, in 1994. He was also awarded a number of service and campaign medals. Silvapulle was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander after his death, [1] and recommended for the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya. It was approved more than 12 years later, after the end of the war. [3] The decision to award the medal was announced in The Sri Lanka Gazette on 16 May 2012. [6] The citation for his medal commends his actions on 17 December 1999 as follows:

The brave decision of Wing Commander T. D. S. Silvapulle to attack the enemy knowing the threat posed by surface to air missiles and the risk to his own life is to be thus commended with the awarding of "Parama Weera Vibhushanaya" in his honour. [7]

His medal was awarded to his next-of-kin on 19 May 2012 by Mahinda Rajapaksa, the President of Sri Lanka, at the celebrations marking the third anniversary of the end of the war. [8] [9] Silvapulle is the first and only recipient of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya from the air force. [3]

Related Research Articles

Military awards and decorations of Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan Armed Forces award medals and their associated ribbon bars in recognition of various levels of service, personal accomplishments and commemorative events while a regular- or volunteer serviceperson is a member of the Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy and the Sri Lanka Air Force. Together with military badges, such awards are a means to outwardly display the highlights of a serviceperson's career.

Parama Weera Vibhushanaya

The Parama Weera Vibhushanaya is the highest decoration awarded by the Sri Lankan military, equivalent to the British Victoria Cross and the United States Medal of Honor. The medal is awarded to all ranks of the tri services, to both regular- and volunteer forces, in recognition of:

...individual acts of gallantry and conspicuous bravery of a non-military nature of the most exceptional order performed voluntarily with no regard to his own life and security with the objective of saving or safeguarding the life or lives of a person or personnel imperiled by death or for a meritorious act or a series of acts of a humane nature of an exceptional order displayed in saving life from drowning, fire and rescue operations in mines, floods and similar calamities under circumstances of grave bodily injury or great danger to the life of the rescuer...

Sri Lanka Signals Corps

The Sri Lanka Signals Corps (SLSC) is a combat support corps of the Sri Lanka Army, responsible for providing military communications, information technology and electronic warfare support. The corps is made up of a signals brigade, ten regular regiments and one volunteer regiment. It is responsible for installing, maintaining and operating all types of telecommunications equipment and information systems. It is headquartered at the Panagoda Cantonment.

Second Lieutenant K. W. T. Nissanka PWV, GR was a Sri Lankan army officer who was the platoon commander of his platoon. He fought with courage in the face of an enemy attack, sacrificing his life so as to enable his troops of his platoon to withdraw with their injured. He was awarded the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, the highest award for valour of the Sri Lanka Army.

Colonel Aslam Fazly Laphir, PWV, RWP, RSP, SF was a Sri Lankan Army officer and posthumous recipient of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya (PWV). He was awarded the PWV after being killed in action during the Battle of Mullaitivu for his actions as commanding officer of the 1st Special Forces Regiment during the Sri Lankan civil war. Colonel Laphir played a major role in the formation and development of the Sri Lanka Army Special Forces Regiment from the original Combat Tracker Team.

Lalith Jayasinghe Sri Lankan Army officer

Lieutenant Colonel J.A.L Jayasinghe PWV, WWV, RWP, RSP, SF was an officer of the Special Forces Regiment of the Sri Lanka Army who was twice decorated with the Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya (WWV) the second highest award for combat bravery in the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. He was killed in November 2008, while leading an eight-man Special Forces team on a covert operation 30 km behind enemy lines into territory held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Air Vice Marshal P.B. Premachandra RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, ndc, psc, qfi, SLAF is the former Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Air Force.

W. I. M. Seneviratne Sri Lankan soldier

Lance Corporal W.I.M Seneviratne PWV, SLLI was a Sri Lankan soldier. After joining the Sri Lanka Army in 1987, Seneviratne served during the Sri Lankan Civil War. On July 4, 1996, while providing security to visiting Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva in the northern city of Jaffna, Seneviratne sacrificed his life to thwart a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber from assassinating Minister de Silva. He was posthumously awarded the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, the highest military decoration awarded for gallantry in Sri Lanka.

Kolitha Gunathilake Sri Lankan air marshal

Air Chief Marshal Kolitha Gunathilake, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, ndc, psc, qfi is a Sri Lankan fighter pilot and a former Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Sri Lankan Air Force.

Air Vice Marshal Ravi Arunthavanathan, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, psc, SLAF was the former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Air Force and current Additional Secretary, Ministry of Defence.

General Rohan De Silva Daluwatte, WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP was a general of the Sri Lanka Army. He served as Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and Chief of the Defence Staff. Following his retirement from the army, he served as Sri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil among other appointments.

G. S. Jayanath PWV, CR, was a Major in the Sri Lanka Army and a member of the army's elite Commando Regiment. He posthumously received the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, the country's highest military award for gallantry, for his actions during Operation Jayasikurui in the Sri Lankan Civil War. Jayanath is the only Commando to receive this decoration.

Jude Lakmal Wijethunge, was a Lieutenant Commander in the Sri Lanka Navy. As a Lieutenant, he commanded the Dvora-class fast patrol boat P458 of the 4th Fast Attack Flotilla. He was posthumously awarded the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, Sri Lanka's highest military award for gallantry, for his actions on 30 March 1996 in defending a Navy transport from a Sea Tiger attack. As part of an escort to the transport vessel, Wijethunge fought off repeated attacks until his craft had suffered severe damage including to its engines, and all his crew were incapacitated. Noticing a Sea Tiger suicide boat, Wijethunge maneuvered the P458 to intercept it causing the suicide boat to ram into his vessel. The resulting explosion destroyed both vessels, thereby saving the transport vessel which was the target of the suicide boat. Two members of his crew were later rescued from the waters. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander in addition to receiving the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, and is the first naval officer to receive the award.

K. A. Gamage Sri Lankan army officer

K. A. Gamage, was a Major in the Sri Lanka Army who posthumously received the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, Sri Lanka's highest military award for gallantry. At the time of his death, he was serving in the army's elite Special Forces Regiment. Before joining the Special Forces, Gamage had also served in the Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment.

K. G. Shantha Sri Lankan naval officer

K. G. Shantha was a senior non-commissioned officer in the Sri Lanka Navy. He was killed in a sea battle against the Sea Tigers, the naval wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in the seas of northern Sri Lanka. He posthumously received the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, the country's highest award for gallantry, and is the second recipient of the medal from the navy.

Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Sugath Chandrasiri Bandara PWV, SF was a Sri Lanka Army soldier. He served with the army's elite Special Forces Regiment during Eelam War IV, the final stage of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Chandrasiri Bandara received the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, Sri Lanka's highest military award for gallantry, for thwarting a suicide attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam against the army at the cost of his own life.

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H. G. S. Bandara was a soldier in the Sri Lanka Army. He was killed in a battle against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, two days before the civil war ended. He received the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, the country's highest military award for gallantry, three years later for his actions during that battle.

A. M. B. H. G. Abeyrathnebanda was a soldier in the Sri Lanka Army. He was killed in action during a battle against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War. He was posthumously awarded the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, the country's highest military award for gallantry, and is the youngest recipient of the medal.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Prematunge, Sajitha (11 May 2008). "Salvage operation under enemy fire". Sunday Observer. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  2. ↑ "Heroes of the Sri Lanka Air Force – T. D. S. Silvapulle". Sri Lanka Air Force. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Blacker, David (10 June 2012). "The Exceptional Courage Of Mere Mortals – Parama Weera Vibhushanaya". The Sunday Leader . Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  4. ↑ "President Awards PWV Gallantry Medals – Third National Victory Day Parade Salutes Invaluable Sacrifices of War Heroes". Sri Lanka Army. 19 May 2012. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  5. ↑ "Elephant Pass troops stand firm". The Sunday Times. 19 December 1999. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  6. ↑ The Government of Sri Lanka (16 May 2012). "The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Extraordinary) – No. 758/21" (PDF). Sri Lanka Government Press. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  7. ↑ "PWV Citation – (01502) Wing Commander T. D. S. Silvapulle (Posthumous)" (PDF). Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  8. ↑ De Silva, Nishan (19 May 2012). "රණවිරුවන් 15කට පරම වීර විභූෂණ සම්මාන" [Parama Weera Vibhushanaya for 15 War Heroes]. Neth FM News (in Sinhala). Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  9. ↑ "රණබිමේ දී පෑ දස්කම් වෙනුවෙන් පරම වීර විභූෂණ පදක්කම්" [Parama Weera Vibhushanaya medals for heroism on the battlefield]. Dinamina (in Sinhala). 21 May 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
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