No.29 Squadron Scorpions

Motto : Sadaiv Sachet (Ever Alert)
Date Raised : 1958-03-10 Disbanded : 2020-03-31
29 Squadron AF was raised at Halwara on 10 Mar 58 equipped with the Toofani. Over 60 years, the Squadron has operated from Kalaikunda, Tezpur, Hindon, and Jamnagar flying the Toofanis, MiG-21 FL, MIG-21 M and MiG-27 ML aircraft. In 1967 it was re-equipped with the Mig-21 FL . Sqn moved to Jodhpur on 23 April 73, redeployed to jamnagar in May 75, moved to Jodhpur in 1997. In May 2007, the Squadron was re-equipped with state-of-the-art MiG-27 UPG aircraft and is currently located at Jodhpur. During the 1971 Indo-Pak war, the Units achieved 04 air to air kills and carried out reconnaissance missions deep inside enemy territory providing valuable and vital intelligence. For its achievements, the Sqn was awarded the coveted Battle Honours for Air Defence by the President of India. The Units was awarded the Units citation for its glorious service to the nation on 08 Oct 12. The emblem of the Squadron depicts a black Scorpion. The Scorpion with its offensive posture and deadly sting coiled up symbolizes the qualities of lethality, aggression, strength and courage that are characteristics of every member of the Scorpio clan. The Sqn motto "Sadaiva Sachet" meaning "Ever Alert" aptly describes the vigilant role played by this fighting Units.

Aircraft Types operated over the years:

Commanding Officers


10 Mar 58 - 04 Jan 61
Squadron Leader
Sukhjinder Singh
3245 GD(P)
CO
Halwara/ KKD

05 Jan 61 - 08 Oct 62
Squadron Leader
Verghese Kuriyan
3118 GD(P)
CO
KKD/ Tezpur

09 Oct 62 - 09 Apr 65
Squadron Leader
Edward Eugene Desouza
3960 GD(P)
CO
Tezpur/ Bagdogra

10 May 65 - 21 Apr 66
Squadron Leader
Ravinder Lal Badhwar
4341 GD(P)
CO
Bagdogra

22 May 66 - 10 May 67
Squadron Leader
Edwin Godfrey Salins
4796 GD(P)
CO
Bagdogra

11 May 67 - 07 Jun 70
Wing Commander
Melville Andrew Woodfall
4021 GD(P)
CO
Adampur/ Hindon

08 Jun 70 - 04 Apr 72
Wing Commander
Vishwanath Balakrishna Sawardekar
4593 GD(P)
CO
Hindon

28 Apr 72 - 29 Jun 74
Wing Commander
Prabhat Kumar Varma
4822 GD(P)
CO
Hindon

30 Jun 74 - 28 Oct 76
Wing Commander
Pondicherry Jayarao Jayakumar
5037 GD(P)
CO
Jodhpur/ Jamnagar

29 Oct 76 - 06 Mar 79
Wing Commander
Sharadkumar Ramakrishna Deshpande
5694 GD(P)
CO
Jamnagar

07 May 79 - 14 Jun 81
Wing Commander
Prithvi Singh Brar
6007 GD(P)
CO
Jamnagar

15 Jun 81 - 21 Jun 83
Wing Commander
Sunil Kumar Gulati
6753 GD(P)
CO
Jamnagar

22 Jun 83 - 26 Jun 85
Wing Commander
Manek Bomanshaw Madon
7681 GD(P)
CO
Jamnagar

27 Jun 85 - 24 Jun 87
Wing Commander
Jaspal Singh Gujral
11300 GD(P)
CO
Jamnagar

25 Jun 87 - 11 Jun 89
Wing Commander
Pranab Kumar Barbora
12375 GD(P)
CO
Jamnagar

12 Jun 89 - 12 May 91
Wing Commander
Rajiv Kumar Lakhwara
12418 GD(P)
CO
Jamnagar

13 May 91 - 22 Aug 93
Wing Commander
Ashok Shivsangappa Umbarje
12760 GD(P)
CO
Jamnagar

23 Aug 93 - 25 Jun 95
Wing Commander
Madhusudhan Banerjee
13400 F(P)
CO
Jamnagar

26 Jun 95 - 05 Aug 97
Wing Commander
Satnam Singh
14676 F(P)
CO
Jamnagar

06 Aug 97 - 20 Jun 99
Wing Commander
Subhash Shankar Rao Patil
15032 F(P)
CO
Jodhpur

21 Jun 99 - 21 Oct 01
Wing Commander
Murugesa Pillai Ramesh
16057 F(P)
CO
Jodhpur

22 Oct 01 - 26 Jan 03
Wing Commander
Vinod Shankar
16386 F(P)
CO
Jodhpur

27 Jan 03 - 21 Mar 05
Wing Commander
Rajendra Nalsingrao Gaekwad
17845 F(P)
CO
Jodhpur

22 Mar 05 - 15 Apr 07
Wing Commander
Sunil Kashinath Vidhate
18825 F(P)
CO
Jodhpur

16 Apr 07 - 15 Feb 09
Wing Commander
Rajat Mohan
20476 F(P)
CO
Jodhpur

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.