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{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [[Air Chief Marshal]]
| name = Walter Fernando
| honorific_suffix = [[Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya|VSV]], [[National Defence College, India|ndc]], [[psc (military)|psc]]
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| allegiance = [[Sri Lanka]]
| branch = [[Sri Lanka Air Force]]
| serviceyears = 1953–1991
| rank = [[Air Chief Marshal]]
| servicenumber = 
| unit = [[No. 4 Squadron SLAF]]
| commands = [[Commander of the Air Force (Sri Lanka)|Commander of the Sri Lankan Air Force]]
| battles = [[1971 JVP insurrection]]<br>, [[Sri Lankan Civil War]]
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| awards =[[Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya]]
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| laterwork = [[Permanent Secretary]] to the [[Ministry of Defence (Sri Lanka)|Ministry of Defence]]
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[[Air Chief Marshal]] '''Andibuduge Walter Fernando''', [[Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya|VSV]], [[National Defence College, India|ndc]], [[psc (military)|psc]] was a senior [[Sri Lanka Air Force]] officer, who served as the 7th [[Commander of the Air Force (Sri Lanka)|Commander of the Sri Lankan Air Force]] and thereafter [[Permanent Secretary]] to the [[Ministry of Defence (Sri Lanka)|Ministry of Defence]].

==Air force career==
Educated at [[Maris Stella College]], [[Negombo]]; he joined the [[Royal Ceylon Air Force]] as a [[cadet officer]] in the second batch of pilots in January 1953. Receiving pilot training in Ceylon, he was commissioned as a [[pilot officer]] and soon after under took a course on navigation and ground instruction with the [[RAF]]. On his return to Ceylon, he became one of the first helicopter pilots in the RCyAF and in 1958 became the Navigation Officer, [[SLAF Katunayake|RCyAF Katunayake]]. That year, Fernando accompanied several other pilots to UK to ferry by air two [[de Havilland Heron]] to Ceylon acquired for the RCyAF. In 1959, he was appointed Chief Ground Instructor, Flying Wing at RCyAF Katunayake. Thereafter he became the commanding officer, No 4 Flight and oversaw its expansion to a full [[Squadron (aviation)|Squadron]] as the [[No. 4 Squadron SLAF]]. Fernando had attended and graduated from the [[RAF Staff College, Bracknell]] and the [[National Defence College, India]].<ref name="Former Commanders">{{cite web|title=Former Commanders|url=http://airforce.lk/pages.php?pages=former_commanders|publisher=airforce.lk}}</ref>

He went on the serve as Commandant [[Air Force Academy, China Bay|Air Force Academy]], Base Commander at [[China Bay Airport|SLAF China Bay]] and SLAF China Bay; and Director Flying Operations. Fernando was appointed as [[Chief of Staff]] of the Air Force in 1981, serving until April 1986. On 1 May 1986 he was appointed Commander of the Air Force with the rank of [[Air Marshal]], the first air force officer to be promoted to that rank on appointment as Commander of the Air Force.<ref>[http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2015/03/01/protecting-the-skies-of-lanka/ Protecting The Skies Of Lanka]</ref> his tenure saw the expansion of the Air Force with the on set of the [[Sri Lankan Civil War]]. In 1983, he was awarded the [[Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya]]. He retired from the Air Force on 31 July 1990 having been promoted to the rank of [[Air Chief Marshal]], the first air force officer to be promoted to that rank.<ref>[http://www.island.lk/2006/06/10/news28.html AF chief is new Defence head]</ref> He was succeeded by Air Marsha [[Makalandage Gunawardena]].

==Ministry of Defense==
Fernando was the Deputy Secretary to the Ministry of Defence from 1991 and served as Acting Secretary to the Ministry of Defence in the absence of [[General]] [[Cyril Ranatunga]]. He succeeded General Ranatunga when he was appointed as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence in May 1993 serving till September 1993, when he was succeeded by General [[Hamilton Wanasinghe]]. He was the first and to date only air force officer to hold that position.<ref name="Former Commanders"/>

==Family==
His only son, [[Sqn Ldr]] A. P. W. Fernando was [[killed in action]] when the SLAF [[Shaanxi Y-8]] he was a passenger of was shot down by the [[LTTE]] on July 5, 1992 killing all 19 personnel on board.<ref>[http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=76463 In the absence of intimidating air power… War on terror revisited]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Dick Perera]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Commander of the Air Force (Sri Lanka)|Commander of the Sri Lankan Air Force]]|years=1986-1991}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Makalandage Gunawardena]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Commanders of the Sri Lankan Air Force}}

[[Category:Commanders of the Sri Lanka Air Force]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan Air Chief Marshals]]
[[Category:Sinhalese military personnel]]
[[Category:Alumni of Maris Stella College]]
[[Category:National Defence College, India alumni]]

Walter Fernando - Revision history

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