Few people realise that a number of Indian pilots took
part in operations from England. At the height of the Battle of Britain, 24 Indian pilots
were sent to the UK to under go conversion training and participate in Ops. Even though
they could take part only after the Battle of Britain, many of them distinguished
themselves flying operations with the various commands.
Of the 24, eight were destined never to
return. The remaining sixteen officers came back and bought with them the experiences
of flying in the European theatre. One of those who returned, 'Chacha' Manmohan Singh,
died in a Japanese air raid on Broome.
A number of Indians who were domiciled in England
directly joined the Royal Air Force or the RAFVR. As did many Anglo Indians. Indians flew
rhubarbs with Fighter command, night raids with bomber command, coastal patrols and a few
even made it to North Africa and Malta!
The aircraft that they operated varied from obsolete
types like the Magister, Whitley, Wellington to the more modern types like the Stirling,
Lancaster, Mitchell Bombers and Whirlwind, Tempest Mustang and even the latest
Meteor III jet fighters.
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In Defence of
the United Kingdom |
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| 19th January 1940: P/O
JMR Jayakar (85740 RAF) son of a former judge of the Federal Court of India was
the first Indian to receive a commission in the RAF. He is giving Link Trainer instruction
which trains pilots in a non-flying aeroplane. |
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Twenty four Indian pilots were sent to
England during the summer of 1940. They joined the various OTUs and subsequently spread
out among the Squadrons in Fighter, Coastal and bomber Command. Eight of them were killed
in operations. |
| Fg Offr PG Reddy
(189879 RAF) joined No.180 Squadron flying the B-25 Mitchell bomber in Bomber Command
after a stint with 13 OTU. He had earlier joined the RAF directly in April 1941. After
completing his active tour of operations over Germany he was transfered to the RIAF in the
NWFP. He got his release from the RIAF in 1946 and took up civil aviation. [Mrs Anu Reddy - Aviation in the Hyderabad Dominions] |
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Plt Offr Shailendra
Eknath Sukhtankar (144197 RAF (Later 2810 GD(O)), No.83 RAF Squadron.
Sukthanker was the first Indian Officer in the RAF to win a DFC. He was commissioned in
March 1943 and, having trained as a navigator, took part in many bombing sorties over
Berlin, Essen, Dortmund and other strongly defended urban and industrial centres in
Germany. During these sorties, he displayed a high level of commitment, skill and
efficiency. |
| Plt Offr Dattatreya
Samant (108957 RAF) who was direct recruit into the RAF goes thru his flight
plans before a Westland Whirlwind (P-7121) fighter. [Courtesy:
Paul Mc Millan] |
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 More pictures of Plt
Offr Dattatreya Samant (108957 RAF), courtesy of Rob Bowater. Samant –
served with No. 137 Squadron RAF between 21st January 1942 and 9th October 1942 before
being transferred to No. 263 Squadron RAF where he served between 9th October 1942 and
18th January 1943. |
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Sgt Sayanapuram Duraiswamy Thyagarajan (Center) with No
263 Squadron, RAF, Whirlwind P7094 HE-T . The CO Flt Lt Geofferey B Warnes is second
left and the Adjutant , F/L EC Owens is at first left . Other pilots in the Squadron are
Canadian, Austarlian and West Indian.The sqn converted to Typhoons in Feb 44. Later
promoted to Pilot Officer (177663 RAF), Thyagarajan was shot down and killed over France
on 26th August 1944. CWGC Certificate |
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A third Indian pilot to fly with No. 263 Squadron is Sgt Rama
Murthy. He joined 263 as a Sgt pilot from Operational Training Unit on 16th
March 1943 and was posted to 286 Squadron on 25th May 1943. He was not operational on
Whirlwinds. His nickname on the Squadron was the Maharajah of Strawberry Jampot.
(Not very politically correct these days) . Any further details on Sgt Rama Murthy are
most welcome. |
| 1555 GD(P) Wg Cdr K K
Majumdar DFC in the cockpit of an Hawker Typhoon fighter bomber during his tenure with
No.268 Squadron during the D-Day Operations in Europe. Note the 'INDIA' shoulder
flashes. (Read some details of Majumdar's
Typhoon) |
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Plt Offr I H Latif is introduced to the
Queen during the Victory Parade in 1946. Field Marshal Auchinlech is in the background.
The Present regent, Queen Elizabeth is standing on the left. |
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