No.27 Squadron Flaming Arrows

Motto : Durarakshya Saralakshya (Strike far, Strike Sure)
Date Raised : 1957-02-15 Location : Gorakhpur
27 Squadron ‘Flaming Arrows’ was raised on 15 Feb 1957 at Adampur Air Base equipped with De Havilland Vampire. In Sep 1958, the squadron was re-equipped with Hawker Hunter Mk 56 and relocated to Ambala. Within years of rising, the squadron was embroiled in combat during Operation Vijay in Dec 1961 for Goa State liberation. In Apr 1965, Hunter Mk 56 was replaced with Mk 56A, and the squadron moved to Halwara Air Base. In Sep 1965, the squadron got the first confirmed kills for the Hunter Fighter in the history of air combat when Flt Lt DN Rathore and Fg Offr VK Neb shot down two Pakistani F86 Sabres. In the 1971 war, Operating from Pathankot, squadron Hunters continuously strafed enemy positions to assist the forward movement of the Indian Army. In Apr 1984, the squadron took part in Operation Meghdoot to capture the disputed Siachen Glacier and thus became the first Fighter squadron to have operated from Leh airfield at an elevation of 10,680 feet. Jan 1985 marked the squadron's entry into the supersonic club as it got equipped with Jaguar Deep Penetration Strike Aircraft at Gorakhpur AirBase. In 1996, the squadron was presented with coveted Presidential Colours. In May 1999, the squadron actively participated during the Kargil conflict in getting the captured Indian territory back from intruders. In 2001, the 27 squadron was the first to be deployed during ‘Operation Parakram’. In Mar 2003, the squadron initiated a new era of strategic reach for the IAF by being the first aircraft to carry out AAR (air-to-air refuelling) with IL-78 Flight Refueling Aircraft. The unit won the esteemed Chief of Air Staff citation of the Best Fighter Squadron’ for 2009-10. In 2022, the squadron was upgraded to the latest variant of Jaguar ‘DARIN-III’ and equipped with AESA Radar and modern Avionics, further enhancing the squadron's operational capabilities.

Aircraft Types operated over the years:

Commanding Officers


15 Feb 57 - 23 Jan 58
Squadron Leader
George Douglas Clarke
3295 GD(P)
CO
Palam

24 Jan 58 - 16 Oct 60
Squadron Leader
Arthur William Berry
3054 GD(P)
CO


17 Oct 60 - 14 Nov 63
Squadron Leader
Charles Harold Ivan Carson
3647 GD(P)
CO


15 Nov 63 - 06 Nov 65
Wing Commander
George Douglas Clarke
3295 GD(P)
CO


07 Nov 65 - 13 Apr 67
Wing Commander
Robert Arnold Weir
3881 GD(P)
CO
Halwara

14 Apr 67 - 20 Jan 71
Wing Commander
Mian Naranjan Singh
4340 GD(P)
CO
Halwara

21 Jan 71 - 23 Sep 73
Wing Commander
Yash Paul Mehta
4595 GD(P)
CO


24 Sep 73 - 04 Mar 75
Wing Commander
Farokh Jehangir Mehta
4906 GD(P)
CO


05 Mar 75 - 20 Nov 76
Wing Commander
Ranjit Singh Bedi
5120 GD(P)
CO


21 Nov 76 - 03 Dec 78
Wing Commander
Sherwin Derek Leslie Tully
5270 GD(P)
CO


04 Dec 78 - 23 Mar 81
Wing Commander
Manbir Singh
6771 GD(P)
CO


24 Mar 81 - 19 Jun 83
Wing Commander
Sitaramaiah Pingali
7674 GD(P)
CO


20 Jun 83 - 24 Sep 84
Wing Commander
Suresh Shankarrao Dange
6762 GD(P)
CO


25 Sep 84 - 25 Jun 86
Wing Commander
Mohan Kumar Prabhakar Samant
9061 GD(P)
CO


26 Jun 86 - 07 Feb 88
Wing Commander
Nitin Madhukar Gupte
11847 GD(P)
CO
Gorakhpur

08 Feb 88 - 04 Mar 90
Wing Commander
Satish Kumar Sofat
12207 GD(P)
CO


05 Mar 90 - 20 Oct 91
Wing Commander
Murali Sundaram
12369 GD(P)
CO


21 Oct 91 - 22 Sep 93
Wing Commander
Karunakaran Gopa Kumar
13391 F(P)
CO


23 Sep 93 - 25 Jun 95
Wing Commander
Ravindra Hemchandra Karve
13369 F(P)
CO


26 Jun 95 - 15 Jun 97
Wing Commander
Ravinath Gururaj Burli
14667 F(P)
CO


16 Jun 97 - 27 Sep 99
Wing Commander
Harikamal Jeet Singh Sokhey
15858 F(P)
CO


27 Sep 99 - 22 Apr 02
Wing Commander
Sanjay Sharma
16227 F(P)
CO


22 Apr 02 - 28 Dec 03
Wing Commander
Tapas Guha
16998 F(P)
CO


29 Dec 03 - 17 Apr 05
Wing Commander
Atit Shanker Kolhe
17437 F(P)
CO


18 Apr 05 - 20 Aug 06
Wing Commander
Kshetrimayum Sgyamkesho Singh
17457 F(P)
CO


21 Aug 06 -
Wing Commander
Naveen Talwani
20121 F(P)
CO


Note: All the data available here is publicly available in the Gazette of India, published by the Indian Government, or from public domain sources, press releases about Awards and Right-To-Information (RTI) Requests. Additionally data shared by veterans is added to the page with permission. No data with respect to serving officers below the rank of AVM is displayed. Information in Gazette of India and Award citations and photographs as released by the Indian Air Force are the only details displayed.