Soesilo Soedarman Museum, Military museum in Cilacap, Indonesia
The Soesilo Soedarman Museum occupies the Pendopo Wisma Mbah Ageng, a Banyumas-style Javanese hall built in 1899 with a tall pyramidal roof supported by teak columns. Its rooms display firearms such as the FN-45 pistol and AK-47, a gamelan set and wayang kulit puppets from the 18th century, and a replica Boeing 747-400 marked Visit Indonesia Year 1991.
The museum occupies Pendopo Wisma Mbah Ageng, built in 1899 by Eyang Dipakarsa, the first village head of Gentasari and Soesilo Soedarman's great-grandfather. Soesilo studied religion there as a child under his grandfather's guidance. The building later became a museum holding his military and ministerial memorabilia.
The east pavilion displays a gamelan set belonging to Kiai Manis and dozens of wayang kulit puppets made around the 18th century. Photographs show Soesilo Soedarman with the courts of Yogyakarta, Surakarta and Mangkunegaran, reflecting his role in supporting Javanese culture.
The museum stands in Gentasari village, Kroya district, Cilacap regency, Central Java, on the grounds of the 1899 Wisma Mbah Ageng pendopo. The armored vehicles and the Nomad N-22 aircraft are displayed in the courtyard, so they can be seen without entering the building. The collection is arranged in glass cabinets and in the east pavilion.
The amphibious armoured vehicle on the grounds is a Russian-made model from 1958, displayed with a NOMAD N-22 maritime patrol aircraft numbered P-806, once the aircraft of the Kowilhan-I commander. Both recall Soesilo Soedarman's years as a major, from 1956 to 1960, when he pioneered the Indonesian Cavalry Corps and commanded its Battalion I.
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