RAF Katunayake formerly known as RAF Negombo was built by the British in the mid 1940's to replace their lost airfields in Pakistan and India. Kat was conveniently situated twixt Aden and Singapore to serve the continuing need of supplying its vast Empire particularly so in the Far East and was used as a staging post to rest crews and passengers of aircraft in transit.

Kat was built among a plantation of 40000 coconut trees and lies some 20 plus miles north of the capital city Colombo and less than a handful of miles east of Negombo. The village just outside the camp gates at that time was Kurana.

The airfield was used via 3 organisations, primarily it was a Royal Air Force Base, although the Royal Ceylon Air Force was formed in the late forties they expanded their air force by establishing their headquarters at Kat. The major civilian airlines used Kat as their northern mid Indian Ocean base as a refueling stopover where crews were 'slipped', passengers were able to take a break and the aircraft could be replenished for the next leg of their journey.

The following photographs of Katunayake and area are from the photo library of John 'Gary' Cooper, the copyright belongs to him, if you require to use any for personal use, feel free in using them, if you require any for another purpose please contact me in writing via e.mail to john@cooper286.fsnet.co.uk

I served on SASF Staging Aircraft Servicing Flight as an Aircraft Engine Mechanic from December 1958 to March 1960, previously I was stationed on the last flying boat squadron in the RAF 205/209 squadron Seletar, Singapore.

John 'Gary' Cooper en route Changi to Kat in May 1959 at 10500 feet on board Hastings TG579

Handley Page Hastings WJ336 of 48 Squadron Changi

Top: SASF Staging Aircraft Servicing Flight. Headquarters commanded by Flight Lieutenant Tom Hobbs, with office, crewroom and aircraft workshop and storage area.

Middle/Bottom: Vickers Valettas known as 'Pigs' due to its shape, these were semi permamently based at Kat running freight and passengers between Kat and Gan in the Maldives.

48 Squadron badge Changi

BOAC Comet 4 entering the 'pan' having passed a parked up Handley Page Hastings

Man Friday's footprints on Negombo Beach

Sergeants Mess

Avro Vulcan entering the pan, taken from Air Traffic Control Tower

Kurana village temple

A 'Christmas Airways' DC3 Dakota being parked up next to a DC4

Skyways Avro York

A full pan a mixture of civilian and military aircraft

Super Constellation of QANTAS, with three Hastings and a Canberra, the Canberra was a regular visitor flying through to Australia to find the amount of radiation that appeared 'in certain areas'!

A Hercules engine running 'as sweet as a nut' somewhere over the Indian Ocean.

UBENDUM WE'LLMENDUM philosophy.

3 'Hastybirds' being turned round.

Vickers Valiants on a Goodwill Tour of the Far East

Every now and again a perfectly serviceable aircraft would visit Kat, sometimes the planned servicing didn't turn out right!

A BOAC 'Whispering Giant' Bristol Britannia taxiing onto the dispersal area.

A BOAC De Havilland Comet 4c proably the most beautiful of all jetliners ever built.

Another busy day with a full pan

Looks like someone took a hammer to the spinner of #1 propeller on this Hastings!

A QANTAS Super Connie approaching the dispersal area.