In the absence of an overland Main Supply Route (MSR) to the Jaffna peninsula and Jaffna islands, over 30,000 security forces and police personnel had to depend entirely on the SLN and SLAF for their requirements. Moving men and material to and from the peninsula had been an extremely difficult challenge the services met courageously.

The army lost a sizeable stretch of the A9 north of Omanthai in June 1990 until General Sarath Fonseka defeated the LTTE and paved the way for the restoration of the MSR.

The Ratmalana based No 2 Heavy Transport Squadron and No 08 Light Transport Squadron played a critical role during all phases of eelam war. Had they failed in their job in the face of LTTE threat in the form of heat seeking missiles and dedicated anti-aircraft guns, Jaffna would have been vulnerable.

Wing Commander Varuna Senaratne, Commanding Officer of the No 02 squadron said that officers and men worked around the clock to meet the requirement. In a brief interview with The Island, he said that since the eruption of war over Mavil-aru crisis, the squadron had carried over 4,700 missions. "We have also lifted 9,500 metric tons of cargo and ferried 285,000 armed forces and police personnel," he said. The No 02 squadron had clocked 7,600 flying hours during the Eelam war IV, he said.

The No 02 comprises C 130s-a medium lift transport aircraft capable of operating from short runways and Ukranian built AN 32s, acquired in 2000 and 1995, respectively. Sri Lanka took delivery of C 130s aka Hercules from the Royal Air Force. Senaratne said that C 130s remained the largest aircraft in the SLAF fleet. Responding to our queries, he said that though Hercules could operate to Vavuniya, Anuradhapura, China Bay and Hingurakgoda, they operate between Ratmalana and Palaly.

The SLAF lost both Y 8s acquired from China in 1988. Before the acquisition of C 130s, Y 8 capable of carrying 96 passengers had been the largest transport aircraft in service with the SLAF.

The No 02 squadron comprises two C 130s and five AN 32, three of them aren’t available due to maintenance (overhauling) carried out overseas.

Wing Commander Ranil Wickremasinghe, second-in-command of the No 02 squadron said that though the war had come to an end they continued to operate regular flights to Palaly. Speaking to The Island shortly after his return from Palaly, he said that once the MSR was fully operational, they would be able to gradually scale down operations. He said that flying to and from Palaly had been a challenging task over the years in the face of missile threat. He said that deployment of Jetliner capable of carrying over 3,000 personnel had eased the pressure on the SLAF. Once this writer had the opportunity to fly out of Palaly on a C 130 with Wickremasinghe at the controls at a time the SLAF was facing a severe missile threat. "We used to take off with all lights switched off," he said, adding that it was among the measures taken to neutralise threat on aircraft.

Wing Commander Senaratne said that AN 32s played a pivotal role in the 90s. Sri Lanka ordered AN 32s from Ukraine after shoulder-fired heat seeking missiles fired by the LTTE had brought down two Avros over Jaffna in April 1995 killing about 100 personnel.

He said that though the SLAF subsequently acquired an anti-missile capability, it had designed a special route to and from Palaly.

Both officers said that the situation in the 90s had been tough. The loss of aircraft both due to LTTE attacks and accidents had worsened the situation, they said.

Although No 02 squadron’s primary task had been to move troops and cargo, it had also been involved in casualty evacuation, aerial reconnaissance and aerial photography. The pioneer flying formation of the SLAF, the No 02 squadron had deployed Y 8s in the early stages of the war to drop 1000 kg bombs on identified LTTE targets. Thirty officers and men of this squadron had been killed in the line of duty.

Wing Commander P. B. Ekanayake, Commanding Officer of the No 08 squadron told The Island that his squadron comprises Y 12s capable of carrying 15 passengers. "We operate to all airfields including Palaly," he said. He estimated the number of security forces personnel carried during Eelam war IV at 16,000. First acquired in 1986, the twin-engine aircraft had been extensively used for transportation of both men and material.