With Ceylon gaining self rule from the British in 1948, the Parliament of Ceylon passed the Navy Act, No. 34 of 1950 which established the Royal Ceylon Navy (RCyN) on 9 December 1950. The CRNVR served as a source of officers and sailors for the newly established RCyN as one hundred were selected and transferred to the regular naval force. Under the Navy Act, the CRNVR became the volunteer naval force on 9 January 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Volunteer Naval Force (RCVNF). The first warship of the RCyN was commissioned in 1951 as HMCyS Vijaya, an Algerine-class minesweeper, ex-HMS Flying Fish along with other patrol boats and tugs. It was the policy of His Majesties Government of Ceylon to build a strong navy to be the first line of defence of the island country. As such the fleet was expanded with the addition of, HMCyS Parakrama, another Algerine-class minesweeper (ex-HMS Pickle), two Canadian-built "River" class frigates HMCyS Mahasena (ex-HMCS Orkney, Violetta and ex-Israeli ship Mivtach), HMCyS Gajabahu (ex-HMCS Hallowell, ex-Israeli Misnak) and an oceangoing tug (ex-HMS Adept). The RCyN took part in several joint naval exercises and a goodwill missions. Commodore Royce de Mel became the first Ceylonese to head the navy as he was appointed Captain of the RCyN in 1955. In 1959, the navy took over the strategic Royal Naval Dockyard, Trincomalee as the last of the British forces in Ceylon withdrew. In 1960, flexing its blue water capability a naval fleet undertook a deployment to the far east. Its return resulted in scandal as a search for contraband took place. A Commission of Inquiry into the incident resulted in the dismissal of several officers (with commissions withdrawn and others retired) and the compulsory retirement of Rear Admiral de Mel, who was thereafter implicated in an attempt military coup d'état in 1962.[6][7]
Karyalaya Krama Sinhala Pdf 34l
The professional head of the navy is the Commander of the Navy (C of N) who reports directly to the Minister of Defence. The Commander of the Navy exercises operational and administrative control of the Navy from Naval Headquarters in SLNS Parakrama, Colombo. He is assisted by the Chief of Staff (C of S); who along with Directors General and Directors comprise the Board of Management (BOM) and Board of Directors (BOD) of the Sri Lanka Navy. 2ff7e9595c
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