Jakarta, IO – The Indonesian Air Force recently celebrated its 77th anniversary, on 9 April. According to the provisions of Article 10 Chapter IV of the Republic of Indonesia Law Number 34 of 2004, its duties are to perform the defense of our aerial realm, to uphold the laws and protect the safety of the aerial territory in our national jurisdiction, according to the provisions of ratified national and international laws, to participate in the development and solidification of our aerial force projection, and to empower our national aerial defense.
One major figure that we must never forget in the establishment of our Air Force is Abdul Halim Perdanakusuma. He was born in Sampang, Madura, on 18 November 1922, descended from Haji Abdulgani Wongsotaruno and Raden Ayu Aisah, daughter of Raden Ngabeki Notosubroto, the then-Wedana of Gresik, East Java. He is the fifth of their five children. His father was the Patih of Sampang, Madura, and an author who penned the Batara Rama Sasrabahu in literary Maduranese.
After his graduation from the Dutch Indies Government High School for Indonesian natives, Halim entered the Opleidingschool voor Inlandsche Ambtenaren, the Dutch Indies Government school for native Indonesian candidate government workers in Magelang. However, in his second year of study, he decided to move to the Naval Academy in Surabaya and become a member of the Dutch Indies Native Armed Forces instead. On graduation from the Academy, he joined the Royal Netherlands Indies Army (Koninklijk Nederlands(ch)-Indisch Leger – “KNIL”) as an Information Division staff member.
Then World War II exploded. As a member of the Army, Halim served alongside the Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal Air Force with the rank of Wing Commander. As a Navigator, he served in the Lancaster and B-24 Liberator Aircraft Bomber Squad who participated in 44 bombing missions across Europe. After the War ended, he returned to Indonesia. He was part of the Netherlands Naval Flight Command, but chose to move to the People’s Defense Forces in the Flight Office.
After the bloody battle in Surabaya between the Indonesian Army and the British Alliance Army, Air Commodore R Soerjadi Soerjadarma, Junior Air Commodore Agustinus Adisutjipto, and Junior Air Commodore Prof. Dr. Abdulrachman Saleh worked hard to establish our Air Force. When R. Soerjadi Soerjadarma heard that Halim was released from imprisonment, he immediately sent out the order to contact Halim and requested him to join the Indonesian struggle and devote himself to our nation. Without much ado, the latter agreed.
Since then, Abdul Halim Perdanakusuma started his new duty of pioneering and training the new Indonesian Air Force as a Junior Air Commodore. In line with his skills and experiences, he was entrusted with the position of Air Operations Officer. Soon after, Junior Air Commodore Adisutjipto died, and he replaced the man’s position as the Vice Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Air Force.
Amid his busy schedule serving the Air Force, Halim married his beloved Koesdalina in Madiun on 24 August 1947. Just two months after getting married, he was assigned the duty of establishing Halim an Air Force Command in Sumatra and prepare bases there, in case our airports in Java fell into Dutch hands.