1944 - 1946

Amerasekera joined the No 640 Squadron on Aug 16, 1944. No 640 Squadron which had formed in January 1944 at Leconfield from the C Flight of his old Squadron (No 158) and was now equipped with Halifax III's. Initially he flew eight missions with F/O Fred J. Papple (Pilot), F/Sgt S.I. McLean (B/A), Sgt. R.G.Gunstone (Wop), Sgt. T.W.Dakin (M/U/G), Sgt. J.W.Burns ((R/G) and Sgt. D.S. MacDonald (F/E), replacing their regular navigator 'Ade' Hyde DFC, who had been injured. The targets included Gelsenkirchen, Boulogne, Neuss and Calais. 

Amerasekera then 'crewed up' with New Zealander F/O Albert J."Bert" Jeeves (Pilot), F/O M.J.Cruthers (B/A), F/Sgt.A.V. Syddall (Wop), Sgt.R.E.Draper (M/U/G), Sgt.F.Smith (R/G) and P/O W.H.Harding (F/E), to fly another 22 Missions from Dec 5/6, 1944 to March 19, 1945.  This crew flew most of their operations in the aircraft PN182/'N for Nuts', and their targets included Essen, Hannover, Saarbrucken, Gelsenkirchen, Dusseldorf and Dortmund. 

RAF records show that F/O Amerasekera DFC ended his tour with No 640 Squadron on Oct 12, 1944, but actually he continued to fly until March 1945 with the permission of the C/O, in order to complete his second tour. His last Operation was on March 18/19 1945, to Witten. He had flown a total of 52 Operations in these two tours (This was the official number, but it might be 53 based on his Log book. Please see the 'Operations' tab for details. 

Amerasekera was back with the No 158 Squadron from May 6, 1945 to Aug 14, 1945. Here on July 29, 1945 he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant and was awarded the Bar to the DFC (L/G Nov 30, 1945), with the following citation- 

"This officer has completed his second tour of operational duty. In December 1944, whilst on route to Essen, his aircraft was engaged by searchlights and heavy anti-aircraft fire was encountered causing severe damage to the aircraft. Despite the fact that shell splinters penetrated his compartment, F/O. Amerasekera took evasive action and completed his allotted task. His other targets have included the Ruhr Valley, Chemnitz and Hanover. On all occasions, F/O. Amerasekera has set a fine example by his tenacity and devotion to duty."

The incident mentioned in the citation occurred on December 12/13. 1944 during the outward journey to attack Essen. Their aircraft was illuminated by a cone of searchlights and almost immediately received severe damage by anti-aircraft fire. While Jeeves took violent evasive action to escape the searchlights, Amerasekera calmly continued with his work.

Alex Syddall recalls another (or perhaps the same) incident and I quote "The only time I ever saw 'Amer' look disconcerted was when on our return from either Essen or Chemnitz, he picked up his parachute which he had stowed under his Navigator's seat, to find pieces of Flak embedded in it! But for that parachute he would have been somewhat uncomfortable or at worst the SLAF would not have had Amer as Chief of Staff!"

In a later interview, speaking of his RAF days, Amerasekera recalled "It was a wonderful experience; we simply lived in them forgetting everything else." Amerasekera returned to Ceylon in late 1945 and served at the RAF Station in Kandy as an Interpreter, with F/Lt. Peter Chadwick, who was in charge of the Civilian employees at RAF Kandy. Here he worked until August 1946.

In addition to the DFC and Bar, he received the 1939-45 Star, the Air Crew Europe Star with the France and Germany bar, the Defence Medal and the War Medal. 

He was released from RAF service on July 20, 1946 and his last day of service being November 3, 1946. He resigned his commission on November 4, 1946 with permission to retain the rank of Flight Lieutenant. 

Among the ground crew in 640 Squadron was a talented artist, Thomas G. Hill (1914-1984) and he painted Amerasekera's portrait, which is now with the family.