No.118 Helicopter Unit Challengers Motto : Apatsu Mitram (A friend in time of need) Date Raised : 1971-11-22 Location : Guwahati The Units crest of 118 HU, AF "THE CHALLENGER" consists of three rotor blades superimposed over the mountain on top depicting snow clad mighty Himalayas and water on the bottom depicting the Brahamaputra river in all its glory. The scenario depicts the area of operations of 118 HU since inception (apart from the basic of VVIP/VIP, the Units also carries out Causality Evaluation as and when need arises). The Units has been operating into the far reaches of Himalayas doing Air Logistics in aid of the state government of Arunanchal Pradesh as well as the Indian Army deployed along the IB with neighboring China. Helicopters of the Units has been tasked with flood relief operation for the entire north east and has also undertaken extensive flood relief operations in the other parts of the country and the adjoining country of Bhutan. The Units was formed on 22 Nov 71 under the command of Wg Cdr RD Pant, VM, it was first Units to be equipped with the versatile MI-8 helicopters. The Units took an active part in IPKF operations in Srilanka in 1987. This Units has been providing assistance to civil authorities in entire North East, West Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. This being earmarked as a VIP Units, it has been involved in providing airlift to President, Vice President, Prime Minister of India and visiting foreign dignitaries on a number of occasions.
Aircraft Types operated over the years: |
Commanding Officers | |||||
Dates | Rank & Name | Number | Remarks | Location | Photo |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
03 Apr 72 to 02 Dec 73 | Wing Commander Rajendra Dev Pant | 4737 GD(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
03 Dec 73 to 22 Feb 76 | Wing Commander Parm Jit Singh | 4603 GD(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
23 Feb 76 to 21 Aug 78 | Wing Commander Kevin Martin | 5074 GD(P) | CO | ||
28 Aug 78 to 10 May 81 | Wing Commander Dinesh Chandra Kaushik | 6353 GD(P) | CO | ||
11 May 81 to 17 Nov 83 | Wing Commander Khushindhar Singh Bindra | 6863 GD(P) | CO | ||
18 Nov 83 to 30 Aug 86 | Wing Commander Harwant Singh Sekhon | 9736 GD(P) | CO | ||
08 Sep 86 to 17 Jul 88 | Wing Commander Chandra Dutt Upadhyay | 11336 GD(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
18 Jul 88 to 29 Dec 91 | Wing Commander Dhiraj Kumar Sawhney | 11874 GD(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
30 Dec 91 to 17 Oct 93 | Wing Commander Arun Kumar Dharamdas Sonpar | 13398 F(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
18 Oct 93 to 03 Jul 94 | Wing Commander Yashpal Singh | 15013 F(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
04 Jul 94 to 15 Jul 97 | Wing Commander Anulya Chandra Bharali | 15049 F(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
16 Jul 97 to 16 May 99 | Wing Commander Sandip Banerjee | 15892 F(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
17 May 99 to 17 Jan 01 | Wing Commander Santosh Suresh Kothari | 16788 F(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
18 Jan 01 to 10 Aug 03 | Wing Commander Vivek Suditakar Sawalkar | 17468 F(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
11 Aug 03 to 08 May 05 | Wing Commander Subramaniam Ravi Vridhachalem | 18101 F(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
09 May 05 to 03 Sep 06 | Wing Commander T K Verghese | 18829 F(P) | CO | Guwahati |