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.
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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 Javardekar |
| 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 Javardekar |
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Sqn Ldr Arjan Singh with Indian pilots
of No.1 Squadron by a Hawker Hurricane IIc. L to R : Ibrahim,
Ratnagir, 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 Javardekar |
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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. |
| '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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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 Javardekar |
| 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). |
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