An exclusive item from our archives. A publicity booklet from the Second World War with photographs and illustrations about the IAF on the Burma front. Most of the photographs seem to be from Nos 1, 6 and 7 Squadron Operations
Precy D'Costa was ten months old when the tragedy struck her family. Her father, an Aviation Radio Officer, A M Da'Costa, happened to be on the ill-fated flight of the Beech 18 carrying the then Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Balwant Rai Mehta on 19th September 1965. The aircraft on a flight in remote Bhuj was intercepted by a PAF F-86 Sabre and was shot down with the loss of all lives. For many years she was not aware of the circumstances. She narrates her journey to find closure, and her visit to the crash site, 56 years later.
Gp Capt Ajit Keshav Agtey 12188 F(P) , a graduate of the Air Force Test Pilots School was one of the few pilots to have been associated with the Vintage Aircraft Flight of the 1980s. He writes about the flights he undertook in the Tiger Moth of the VAF, which is currently flying with the Heritage Flight.
A presentation on the Bomber Operations of the 1971 War - as presented for the seminar on the 50th anniversary of the India Pakistan Air War as held by the Centre for Air Power Studies
Major General Syed Ali Hamid writes about the legendary tales he heard about 'Baba' Mehar Singh, whose exploits were admired by airmen across all nations.
This is a previously unpublished hand-written account by Air Marshal Anand Ramdas Pandit , PVSM AVSM DFC 1707 F(P). Discovered by the family and painstakingly transcribed, this was released for publication on the 100th anniversary of Air Marshal Pandit's birthday.
The C-47 is a reliable work-horse that served for nearly four decades in the Indian Air Force's service. Over 200 examples served in the IAF across the length and breadth of the country. It saw its fair share of accidents and contributed to quite a few anxious moments - in this case, when an engine failed right after take off - as narrated by then Flt Lt (later Air Cmde) Arun Karandikar, serving with 43 Squadron at Jorhat.
A rookie Flying Officer with four years of service, flying transports gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fly war-time missions as part of a clandestine force. Air Commodore Arun Karandikar 10865 F(P), narrates his chance posting to the Kilo Flight on the eve of the 1971 War, to fly support missions in aid of the Mukti-Bahini rebels and their Indian Air Force instructors. This account was written on the request of 43 Squadron, during their effort to fill in gaps in their historical records
There are milestones in an officer's career that are etched in stone. The day you got commissioned, the day you commanded your first unit as "CO" , the day you fly into operations, the day you command a force. For one officer, his milestone of commanding a unit has been forgotten or not recorded by the IAF. Anchit Gupta writes about righting a wrong in the Commanding Officer leader board of the IAF's senior-most Squadron - No.1 Squadron IAF. The name of one of the commanding officers has been missing for nearly 73 years (At the time of writing) . Building the evidence to support this assessment took years of effort - with the conclusive evidence coming from the Govt of India's Archives
This contribution by Wg Cdr B C Karambaya, 10604 F(P) was originally written as an appendix to Gp Capt H K Bajaj's Battle of Chhamb 71 : Through the 6/5 Lenses of an FAC . Then Plt Offr Bajaj operating as an FAC Was controlling the formation, Mission 521 - for a strike against Pakistani Army targets in Chhamb Sector. Wg Cdr Karumbaya, then a Flying Officer, had flown two Counter Air Sorties earlier in the war and was credited with destroying a heavy transport aircraft at Chaklala. He was awarded the Vir Chakra for his contributions.
This is the first person account of a young Pilot Officer caught in the thick of a frontline battle at Chhamb. Plt Offr H K Bajaj 12762 F(P) was a newly commissioned officer sent to 10 Div area as a Forward Air Controller. This is his blow by blow account of the war on the ground.