AIRCRAFT SEULAWAH RI 001 HISTORY OF THE STRUGGLE OF THE PEOPLE OF ACEH FOR INDONESIA

Great nation is a nation that does not forget its history. The Indonesian nation was born from a long and tiring struggle, as well as aceh even longer and more at stake. The spirit of the Acehnese people to help the struggle for independence of the Republic of Indonesia is not only with the energy and mind but also material, one of which is the Dakota type aircraft with my number RI-001 named Seulawah purchased from the donation money of the people of Aceh.

      The plane, which has a body length of 19.66 meters and my span of 28.96 meters with a whitney machine weighing 8.030 kg with a maximum speed of 346 km / h is very meritorious in the initial struggle of the formation of the state of Indonesia. The arrival of President Soekarno to Aceh in the hope of getting aid funds to buy aircraft transport Air Force which was initiated at that time by KSAU chief Admiral Soerjadi Soerjadarma. On June 16, 1948 President Soekarno met with a number of important Acehnese figures at the Aceh hotel, a president who does have an aura of encouragement and patriotism that inspires the desire of the Acehnese people to participate in building Indonesia Raya by inflaming their wealth for the sake of real independence. From the results of the donation was collected 20kg of gold under the committee Djuned Yusuf and Said Muhammad Alhabsji.

      The funds are then used to purchase a Dakota plane and become the first transport plane owned by the Indonesian nation. Dakota plane donations from the people of Aceh was then given the name Dakota RI-001 Seulawah. Seulawah itself means "Golden Mountain". The presence of Dakota RI-001 Seulawah encourages the opening of the Java-Sumatra flight route, even abroad. In November 1948, Vice President Mohammad Hatta traveled around Sumatra on the Maguwo-Jambi-Payakumbuh-Kutaraja route. In Kutaraja, the plane was used joy flight for the Acehnese people and the distribution of pamphlets. On December 4, 1948 the plane was used to transport ALRI cadets from Payakumbuh to Kutaraja, as well as for aerial photography on Mount Merapi.

      In early December 1948 the Dakota RI-001 Seulawah aircraft departed from Lanud Maguwo-Kutaraja and on 6 December 1948 refused to Calcutta, India. The plane was manned by Captain Pilot J. Maupin, OU III Sutardjo Sigit Kopilot, Adisumarmo radio interpreter, and Caesselberry machine engineer. A trip to Calcutta is to conduct regular maintenance. When the Dutch Military Aggression Edisi II, Dakota RI-001 Seulawah can not return to the homeland. On the initiative of Wiweko Supono, with the capital of Dakota RI-001 Seulawah, it was established the first commercial airline, Indonesian Airways with offices in Burma or now Nyanmar. Because the condition is not feasible to fly and its operation expired then Dakota aircraft named Seulawah RI001 participated dimuseumkan. Given his services that are considered so great against this republi, the Air Force initiated the establishment of a monument of the struggle of the Dakota Replica of RI-001 Seulawah at Blang Padang Banda Aceh field which was inaugurated on 30 July 1984 by the Commander of ABRI Jend. L.B. Moerdani. While the original aircraft are still stored in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah. This monument became a symbol that the contribution of the people of Aceh was great for the struggle of the Republic of Indonesia in its early establishment.