| No.1 Squadron |
On its return from the first Burma campaign, No.1 Squadron re-equipped with the Hawker Hurricane. Moving between several locations within the country, the Squadron settled down at Kohat till December 1943 when it made preparations for a move to the Imphal sector on the India - Burma border.
The Squadron arrived in February 1944 under the command of Sqn Ldr Arjan Singh. It remained in operation for a record fourteen months and saw action in the fateful siege of Imphal, and the trans Chindwin and trans- Irrawady offensives.
By the time the Squadron withdrew to its peacetime base in Kohat, No.1 Squadron had flown around 4,813 Operational Sorties and 7,219 flying hours against the Japanese. The Squadron earned a total of Seven DFCs. The Commanding Officer Arjan Singh himself being a recipient of one of these.
No.1 Squadron IAF, in the Arakan Campaign |
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| Sqn Ldr (Later Marshal of the Air Force) Arjan Singh DFC, 1577 GD(P), the CO of No.1 Squadron standing in the cockpit of a Hawker Hurricane fighter. Pic courtesy: Mr. Pushpindar Singh via Tribune India | ) |
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Fg Offr Hafeez and Sircar join Sqn Ldr Arjan Singh in checking out the wet airfield conditions at Imphal in 1944 |
| Sqn Ldr Arjan Singh with his aircraft mechanics Daruwala and Khalsi. | ) |
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Fg Offr Bollineni Ramachandra Rao DFC, Fg Offr A R Pandit DFC, Fg Offr Kapur and Fg Offr Khemendra Nath Kak DFC with the Squadron pet 'Ceaser' at Miranshah. Pic courtesy: Air Marshal (Retd) A R Pandit DFC Via Amit Javadekar |
| Fg Offr A R Pandit and Fg Offr B R "Pop" Rao, both DFCs of No.1 Squadron on a Hawker Hurricane in Miransha . Pic courtesy: Air Marshal (Retd) A R Pandit DFC Via Amit Javadekar | ) |
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Arjan Singh as the Flight Lieutnant with Indian pilots of No.1 Squadron by a Hawker Hurricane IIc. L to R : Ibrahim, Homi Ratnagar, Arjan Singh, Henry and Murcot. Note the glare protector shield near the cockpit windshield. This is to block out the glare from the exhaust stubs of the RR Merlin engine in the nose. Pic courtesy:Imperial War Museum |
| At the frontline. Pilots of No.1 Squadron with the CO, Arjan Singh sitting at the drivers position in the Jeep. Last row L to R (Standing on Jeep): K N Kak DFC, A R Pandit DFC. Middle Row L to R (Standing on Jeep): A C Prabhakaran, Rishi, Koko Sen, Major Williams, Arjan Singh DFC, D P , Tutu, R Rajaram DFC, 'Bonzo' (Dog), Pop Rao, Gupta. Front Row L to R (Standing on Ground): Hafeez, Doc Herbert (sitting on step) and Tallu Talwar. | ) |
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At a forward airfield thats been turned to a quagmire due to the Monsoons, Fg Offr A C Prabhakaran, Flt Lt Ramaswamy Rajaram and Fg Offr S Hafeez pose by one of the Hurricane IIcs. Unfortunately both Prabhakaran and Hafeez were to die in operations later on in late 1944. Rajaram became an Air Marshal and AOC in C of SWAC. But he died of Leukemia in 1966. |
| Fg Offr S Hafeez on his Hurricane IIc. This aircraft appears to have one of its Cannons removed for better speed. Going under the call sign 'Yellow One' Hafeez is believed to have collided with another Hurricane flown by Fg Offr AC Prabhakaran during a patrol. Pic courtesy: Air Marshal (Retd) A R Pandit DFC via Amit Javadekar | ) |
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 Arjan Singh shows around H. H. Bodh Chandra Singh, the Maharajah of
Manipur, during a visit to No.1 Squadron. Air Commodore S. F. Vincent DFC
AFC, Air Officer Commanding the RAF Group which operated during the battle of Manipur,
Wing Commander P. H. Lee DFC also accompanied H. H. the Maharajah on the visit. Imphal,
Manipur, India. C. 1944. |
| 'Tullu' Talwar reads the Telegram from Air Marshal Baldwin confirming the award of DFC to Arjan Singh. L to R: BR Rao, 'Doc' Herbert, Arjan Singh, AC Prabhakaran, Kapur (Behind), Sanyal (Center), Unidentified Officer (Behind) Gupta, Unidentified Officer (Behind) , Talwar (Reading Telegram), AR Pandit and Hafeez. | ) |
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Lord Mountbatten pinned the DFC award on Squadron Leader Arjan Singh. Air Marshal Baldwin can also be seen in the photograph standing to the right. |
| The supreme commander of SEAC. Lord Mountbatten visited No.1 Squadron on 2nd July 1944 to present the DFC to the CO Arjan Singh. He is seen here addressing the Squadron on that day. | ) |
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The Tigers celebrate their CO's DFC. Air Cmde SF Vincent, AOC 221 Group is lying on the ground along with Sqn Ldr Arjan Singh. L to R Standing (Back Row) Amber (with Bowl), Hafeez (with bottle) , AC Prabhakaran (Standing extreme right). L to R Sitting on bench: Sanyal (holding Cigarrette), Sirkar, BR Rao, Unidentified British Officer, Rajaram, Talwar and Kapur L to R Sitting on ground second row : Doc Herbert (under Rao) , AR Pandit (under Rajaram), Rajendra Singh (behind Arjan Singh). |
| THE DFC SMILE, photograph of the CO Sqn Ldr Arjan Singh from Air Marshal Pandits Log book from the time his DFC was announced. Pic courtesy: Air Marshal (Retd) A R Pandit DFC Via Amit Javadekar | ) |