The ‘aircraft’ on which Bangabandhu returned home

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the undisputed leader of the nation and supreme commander of the country’s Liberation War, returned to the sacred soil of independent Bangladesh via London and New Delhi at 1:41 pm on January 10 in 1972, after 23 days of the country’s independence.

The return of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman completed the unique milestone of the great Liberation War of the nation.

The aircraft on which Bangabandhu returned to the country on that day had yet to be identified after so long. However, the aircraft has finally been identified.

That ‘Comet 4C’ model aircraft is currently guarded in a private aviation museum in Hermeskeil, Germany. It has been housed at Flugausstellung Peter Junior in Hermeskeil for decades.

As per the Bangladesh Aviation Hub, the aircraft was made for the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom in 1963. It has been operating commercial flights for five years since 1975 on behalf of the UK’s London-based airline named ‘Dan-Air’. On February 6, 1981, it was laid to rest in Dusseldorf, Germany. Shortly afterwards, it was sent to the Flugausstellung Peter Junior aviation museum.

The Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was released from prison in Pakistan on January 8, 1972. On this day Bangabandhu was handed over to an aircraft. He landed at London’s Heathrow Airport on a special flight at 6:30 am.

He had attended a meeting with the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Edward Heath after arriving in London. He also had a conversation with Tajuddin Ahmad and the then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi over the telephone. He left London for the country on a British Air Force plane on January 9. On January 10 morning, he landed in Delhi, from where he came to Dhaka.

ARR