China Bay Airport சீனக்குடா விமான நிலையம் චීන වරාය ගුවන්තොටුපළ |
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SLAF China Bay crest
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Military/Public | ||||||||||
Owner | Government of Sri Lanka | ||||||||||
Operator | Sri Lanka Air Force | ||||||||||
Serves | Trincomalee | ||||||||||
Location | China Bay, Sri Lanka | ||||||||||
Commander | H. M. S. K. Kotakadeniya | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 2 m / 7 ft | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 08°32′22.40″N 81°10′54.70″E / 8.5395556°N 81.1818611°ECoordinates: 08°32′22.40″N 81°10′54.70″E / 8.5395556°N 81.1818611°E | ||||||||||
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China Bay Airport (Tamil: சீனக்குடா விமான நிலையம், Sinhalese: චීන වරාය ගුවන්තොටුපළ) (IATA: TRR, ICAO: VCCT) is an air force base and domestic airport in China Bay in eastern Sri Lanka. Located approximately 7 km (4.3 mi) south west of the city of Trincomalee, the airport is also known as Trincomalee Airport and SLAF China Bay.
Originally built by the British during the Empire's colonial days, it was transferred to the Royal Ceylonese Air Force which later became the Sri Lanka Air Force.
During the 1920s the British built an airfield in China Bay in eastern Ceylon. The Royal Air Force established an airfield called RAF Station China Bay in March 1942 with Hurricane, Spitfire and Catalina aircraft.
A number of RAF squadrons (17, 159, 205, 240, 258, 261, 273, 321, 357, 648) and other units were stationed at the airfield during and immediately after the war. The airfield was bombed by the Japanese on 9 April 1942 during World War II. The airfield played a role in the Allied attempt to retake Malaya with B29 bombers using the airfield.