Historic warplane wreckage found by villager in Riau

PEKANBARU, Riau: The wreckage of a warplane found last month in a forest in Pelalawan regency, Riau province, is believed to be the one last piloted by Indonesian independence hero Halim Perdanakusuma.

Pekanbaru Air Force Base spokesman Capt. Soetrisno told The Jakarta Post on Monday that the AVRO Anson, discovered on Aug. 26 by a villager in a swamp in Kerumutan forest, was purchased by Indonesia before 1947.

It was being flown home from Thailand by then Air Commodore Halim Perdanakusuma and his aide Iswahyudi on Dec. 14, 1947, but was reported to have crashed near Tanjung Hantu, Malacca Strait, due to bad weather.

Halim's body was found in the nearby coastal area and buried in Jakarta's Kalibata Heroes Cemetery. Iswahyudi's body was never recovered.

Soetrisno said the investigative team led by the Pekanbaru Air Force Base operational chief Lt. Col. Gandhara Olivenca discovered traces of a Red and White flag on the vertical fin of the aircraft along with a 7.62 mm-caliber gun.

The findings indicated that the plane belonged to the Indonesian military, Soetrisno added.

The investigation was conducted from Sept. 2 to Sept. 6.

"We are awaiting for an order from Air Force Headquarters to salvage the historic aircraft," he added. --JP