SLAF China Bay (Trincomalee Airport)

SLAF China Bay, also known as China Bay Airport or Trincomalee Airport, is a Sri Lanka Air Force military airbase and domestic airport located in China Bay, approximately 7 km southwest of Trincomalee in eastern Sri Lanka.

The airfield was constructed by the British in the 1920s, with the Royal Air Force establishing RAF Station China Bay in March 1942. During World War II, the base accommodated RAF and Fleet Air Arm squadrons operating Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire fighters, Consolidated Liberator bombers, and Consolidated Catalina and Short Sunderland flying boats. Japanese forces bombed the airfield on 9 April 1942. Following upgrades in 1944 to accommodate United States Army Air Forces Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers, the airbase transferred to the Admiralty in November 1944 as Royal Naval Air Station Trincomalee (HMS Bambara). It returned to RAF control in May 1950, and commercial civilian flights began in 1952.

The Ceylonese government assumed control of the facility in November 1957, operating it as RCyAF China Bay. The base was renamed SLAF Base China Bay in May 1972. It became the Sri Lanka Air Force Academy in March 1976 and was re-designated an air force base in January 1987.

The Sri Lanka Air Force currently operates the base alongside domestic civilian passenger and cargo services. Stationed military lodger units include No. 01 Flying Training Wing, No. 06 Air Defence Radar Squadron, and No. 112 Surveillance Squadron. The base houses the Sri Lanka Air Force Academy, which conducts initial officer training and contains three resident training institutions: the Combat Training School, the Junior Command & Staff College, and the Non-Commissioned Officers Management School.