JAKARTA - Today, 74 years ago or on December 14, 1947 to be exact, National hero Abdul Halim Perdanakusuma died in a plane crash in Tanjung Hantu, Malaya --now Malaysia. The death of the Madurese youth made the entire archipelago grieve.
Halim Perdanakusuma is not only known as the legend of the strongest air fighter, but also as a figure who plays a major role in the Indonesian Air Force (AURI). His work to defend the Red and White banner cannot be shown.
Halim made a positive contribution to the development of the Air Force. His experience as a bomber crew belonging to the British Air Force, the Royal Air Force (RAF) is needed.
Halim at that time served in the bomber squadron with Lancaster and Liberator aircraft. Its main mission is to fight the fascist Nazi army led by Adolf Hitler.
"As a bomber crew, he participated in the bombing of German (military occupied areas) many times, and experienced fierce air battles," wrote M. Sunjata in the book Bakti TNI Air Force, 1946-2003 (2003).
Halim's involvement as a bomber crew was welcomed by the British military. Halim is also recorded as having carried out 44 missions. During that time, every Halim involved in a mission in Germany and France, Halim became a marker of the good fortune of all operating aircraft.
Therefore, the British Air Force nicknamed him The Black Mascot or the black talisman. A nickname that is also a sign that the nation's sons have dared to fight in the skies of Europe.
Fall in the air
Halim chose to return to Indonesia when World War II ended. Instead of being lazy, Halim immediately joined other freedom fighters to face the Dutch Military Aggression I.
His blood boils seeing the cruelty of the Dutch. He then with his own initiative immediately organized the Air Force. In the Halim assignment in the Sumatra Region, for example. In the midst of his assignment on a mission to transport weapons and ammunition, Halim helped build the Air Force in Sumatra.
Launching the Indonesian Air Force website, Halim became a pilot who was able to break through the very tight Dutch air blockade. Even while building the Air Force in Sumatra, Halim hardly encountered many difficulties.
He works and struggles with joy. Halim was even able to raise funds by collecting gold from the people. The proceeds were used by Indonesia to purchase Avro Anson aircraft with VH-PBY registration.
The plane was purchased at a price of 12 kg of pure gold. Indonesia then gave the plane registration number RI-003. The presence of the Avro Anson RI-003 aircraft made it easier for Halim to move. He mostly served to find supplies of weapons and ammunition in neighboring countries. His actions helped many Indonesian fighters to lock up independence.
However, Halim's actions had to end. Avro Anson's plane crash was due to bad weather in Tanjung Hantu, Malaya. The plane crashed on a flight from Songkla (Thailand) to Bukittinggi. Halim died young at the age of 25 years. For his contribution to the nation and state, President Soeharto made him a National Hero in 1975.
“The number of heroes from the Army is at most from other forces, around 20 people. From the navy, four people, Jos Sudarso and RE Martadinata and two KKO, Usman and Harun, were sentenced to death in Singapore. From the air force, four people, all of them died in a plane crash, namely Halim Perdanakusuma, Iswahyudi, Abdurrachman Saleh and Adi Sutjipto," concluded Asvi Warman Adam in his book 85 Years of Taufik Abdullah (2020).
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