CONTENTS:
Introduction
The Beginning
1965 India Pakistan War
Between Wars 1965-1971
1971 Bangladesh War
Post 1971 - Pre Operation Meghdoot
Operation Meghdoot
Tables

Introduction

114HU is premier and high profile IAF flying unit by virtue of continuously playing pivotal role since 1982 in longest active war zone in Siachen Glacier. Of all Indian armed forces (IAF and IA) in Siachen 114HU has the unique distinction of being the longest serving battle unit [1]. The Cheetah helicopters of 114HU are the only ones that can land at Siachen’s posts. Where as Mi17 and AN32 can do para-drop at select low altitude Siachen drop zones, 114HU Cheetah is the saviour for supplies, med-vac & reconnaissance to high altitude frontline.

Operating at such high altitude requires piloting these flying machines at maximum operating specification with absolutely no safety margin that is further compounded by difficult high altitude flying conditions in the form of extreme cold, sudden gust, downdraft, enemy fire, restricted airspace and very small (tabletop) helipad on steep ridges. These operations are sustained by teamwork amongst 114HU professional each playing his role in ensure fault free operation of man and machine ranging from unit doctor, maintenance engineer & technicians, meteorological officer, logistics, security, pilots and commander. Together they have made 114HU one of the most decorated and respected flying unit.

The Beginning

114 Helicopter Unit was raised at Leh on 01 Apr 64 at a height of 10,600 ft, the only flying unit of IAF to be formed at such resplendent heights. The unit was formed with an establishment of 10 Chetak (Then Alloutte III) helicopters under the command of Sqn Ldr A Dalaya,VM.   Till that point of time, a few Chetaks were operated by 104HU, But 114HU had the distinction of being the first All-Chetak unit raised in the IAF.

An Alloutte III of 114 HU on a Case Evac mission in Kashmir. The Allouttes of 114 were boldly marked with the Red Cross emblem during those years.

Operations in 1965

The end of 1964 saw 114 HU moving to Jammu and operating two detachments, one each in Srinagar and Leh. Shortly thereafter the unit was baptised by fire in the 1965 Indo-Pak conflict. Prior to the commencement of hostilities, the unit was engaged in extensive reconnaissances for the Indian Army on the Sialkot and Uri-Poonch sectors. The unit's helicopters were a familiar sight, with its Chetaks festooned with large Red Cross markings, it was the only unit to solely engage in Case-Evac and mercy missions.

In acts of real heroism 114HU pilots evacuated 46 casualties from the battlefield in the midst of intense enemy fire and frequent, air raids between 11 Sep and 23 Sep 65. In all, the unit flew 105 hours towards evacuation of 79 battlefield casualties and intelligence gathering reconnaissances.

Having proved its mettle in war, its end saw the unit flying the Indian President in Lahore sector and the Prime Minister in the Sialkot sector in Oct 65. Three pilots of the Unit were awarded the Vayusena Medal for their role in the 65 Ops, including the CO, Sqn Ldr Dalaya. 

1965-1971 Period Ops

Extensive flood relief operations were carried out in the valley. Victims of a crashed Otter aircraft were quickly located and rescued. In Aug 1968 the alternate air route to Leh for helicopters, instead of the standard Jammu-Srinagar-Leh route, was flown by the unit when the first ever helicopter flight from Chandigarh to Leh via Kulu and Keylong was carried out in a Chetak.

During the 1971 Operations, 114HU was under the command of Sqn Ldr Mohan Chandra. The unit was once again tasked with battlefield evacuations, anti-infiltration and reconnaissance sorties all along the Kashmir theatre of conflict. 114HU in the 1971-war was involved in Case-Evac sorties in both the Kargil as well as the Uri Sectors. On many occasions, its pilots carried out mercy missions inspite of presence of PAF Sabres flying around the area.

Flying Officer Bartan Ramesh received the Vir Chakra for carrying out more than 45 Case Evac missions.

Two pilots of 114HU earned Vir Chakra [2]:

Flying Officer Bartan Ramesh, VrC, carried out 45 successful operational missions, some of which were in the heart of the battle area. During two of these missions, with complete disregard for his personal safety, he evacuated army battle casualties from forward helipads in the Uri sector in the face of constant shelling by the enemy.

Flying Officer Sukhdev Singh Dhillon, VrC, flew as a pilot in a helicopter and single-handedly evacuated 87 battle casualties from the most difficult and hazardous terrain of the Kargil sector in complete disregard of his personal safety. He carried out these evacuation missions in the face of heavy ground and air opposition.

Flt Lt KL Bajaj made the ultimate sacrifice during the 1971 War, when his Chetak crashed during a Case Evac mission, killing him.

The Unit suffered one casualty during the war on 11 December 1971. Flt Lt KL Bajaj was coming back from a Casualty Evacuation mission from Kargil to Srinagar when he heard a panicky R/T call from the FAC on the ground. The Forward Air Controller was warning a Vampire formation in the area about the presence of enemy aircraft. To avoid detection, Flt Lt Bajaj descended to the valley bottom, but the Chetak hit some HT cables and crashed at Pt MU7573. Bajaj died in the crash, but luckily, both his co-pilot Fg Offr RR Patel and the casualty onboard survived with some injuries [3].

The high point this time was the confidence reposed in the unit by the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi and the Defence Minister Babu Jagjivan Ram who flew in unit aircraft to forward posts just prior to and during the conflict.

In the mid 70s, The Chetaks of 114 HU traded their CaseEvac role with that of an Anti Tank Unit. Seen here is a Chetak armed with a pair of AS-11 missiles

The operational role of the unit got a shot in the arm when it was also tasked with carrying out Counter Surface Force Operations with the fitment of Anti Tank Guided Missiles. For a period of eight years, 114 HU Chetak fitted with AS-11 Bl missiles took part with the Army in numerous exercises. While the unit was based at Jammu during this period, a detachment was maintained at Leh throughout the period.

It was the Leh Detachment of 114HU that supported the High Altitude Warfare School's first “exploratory expedition”, led by Colonel N Kumar to the Siachen Glacier area in September 1978 [4]. This happened many years before the pre-emptive Meghdoot Operation. The first sortie to Siachen was launched on 20-Sept-78. And the “first Siachen landing” was for CASEVAC mission from Siachen Advance Base Camp on 6th October 1978 flown by 114HU’s Sqn Ldr Monga and Fg Offr M.Bahadur [5].

Op Meghdoot –Till Date

Siachen glacier or “Third Pole” of earth is on the most inhospitable and heavily glaciated area. Surrounded by the largest group of first magnitude peaks in the world. It lies between the Saltoro range towards POK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) and Karakoram range toward China, forming a roof of Eurasia. The 76.5 Km long Siachen is the second largest glacier outside the polar region and has high potential for scientific experiments, tourism & adventure, part from geo-strategic importance due to its location.

Pakistan design to launch an offensive into the Siachen was pre-empted by the Indian special operation named “Operation Meghdoot”. A sequel to the army operation entailed the task of maintenance of troops casualty evacuation and reconnaissance. Thus began massive air operations at highest helipads and dropping zones in the most hazardous terrain and in adverse weather conditions.

The first landing in Siachen (as part of Op-Meghdoot) was by a Cheetah helicopter of 114HU on 24 Apr 1982. The unit is aptly christened as “Siachen Pioneers”. Flying missions to Siachen with table-top helipads, white-out conditions, sub-zero temperatures coupled with enemy fire and imperceptible weather conditions, at the extremes of flight envelope of the aircraft is virtually the toughest challenge to any aviator.

[Left] The Stylised emblem of the Official Crest is painted on many of 114HU's Cheetah Choppers. [Right] A Cheetah sporting the 114HU markings makes a pinpoint landing at a Helipad on the Glacier 114 HU was awarded a crest with the motto “APATSU MITRAM”. The motto means “A friend to those in distress”. The unit insignia signifies the embodiment of service on land, at sea and in air, with the rotor trisecting the prominense of helicopter in all three areas. The mountains in the background signifies the area where helicopter are the only aircraft, which can be used in variety of roles.

The medium lift Mi-17 helicopters have been carrying out successful air-drop on to the lower level (i.e. <17,500 ft) helipads in the area and have been the backbone of air maintenance together with the transport fleet of AN-32 (in earlier years also by AN-12) at special dropping zones. The Cheetahs then takeover the challenging task of ferrying supplies and men to helipad situated up to about 20,000 feet. The Siachen operations are unique and unparalleled in the world.

114 HU was given the challenging task of air maintaining troop locations all over the glacier. On 13 Aug 1985, Flt Lt AK Matta carried out a landing at 19,200ft altitude on an unprepared landing ground to evacuate an injured soldier. In this unparalleled effort, the unit rose to the daunting challenge, and established the norms for landings at heights beyond 19000 ft. on an almost daily basis. Matta was awarded the VM, the first of the awards for 114HU in Siachen. Flt Lt Manavendra Singh of the unit was awarded the Vir Chakra in Jan 1990 for flying in forward areas under extreme battle conditions.  Since that time 114 HU has continued writing in golden ink a chapter in the history of IAF that undoubtedly will become a legend. 

On four occasions helicopters which had to forceland on the glacier because of technical defects were recovered. This speaks volumes for the skill and dedication of the unifs technical personnel. On 01 May 1984, an aircraft forcelanded due to the engine flaming out and was recovered after it was dismantled. In another incident, on 23 Apr 1988 a Cheetah forcelanded at Sonam helipad due to a defective engine governor damaging the skids and shock struts. All defective components were changed and the aircraft flown back.  A record of sorts was established on 9 June 92. That day Wg Cdr Y Mandpe and Air Cmde RPS Dhillon were flying north of Leh at 15500' altitude when their Cheetah suffered an engine failure. They carried out a safe engine-off, auto rotative forced landing at 13,500' from which both the pilots and passengers emerged unscathed.

Flt Lt Rajiv Juyal and Flt Lt VK Agarwal became the first combat casualties since the 1971 War, when their Cheetah was shot down on 2 July 97

Amongst many near misses and close misses only one Cheetah was lost to enemy fire. This was on 2 July 1997, the two pilots Flt Lt Rajiv Juyal and Flt Lt VK Agarwal were killed in action. The same year the unit personnel performed acts beyond the call of duty. Flt Lt Bhupinder earned a Vir Chakra for playing a vital role in rescuing two helicopters within a span of a week on the Glacier. He also flew back a Cheetah that was extensively damaged from enemy fire. On another occasion, the CO Wg Cdr VV Bandhopadhyay and Flt Lt JVS Kumar recovered a stranded Helicopter from a forward helipad within range of enemy guns. Both the pilots were awarded the Vayusena medal in Aug 98.

The continuing operations, on the World's highest and inhospitable Glacier, which has probably been the longest battle ever, is a story of incredible achievements and numerous firsts. This spirit which gets epitomized in 114 HU, has rightly earned it the name of 'SIACHEN PIONEERS'. Landing on the worlds highest helipads Sonam (20,000 feet) and Amar (20,114 feet) are a daily affair. Considering these operations in the light of regular enemy firing, unpredictable weather, temperatures between -40 degree Celsius to -60 degree Celsius, one will realise the guts behind the glory. On an average day a pilot carries out as many as thirty landings on the glacier while flying to any of the eighteen helipads that 114 HU Cheetahs operate to.

Conclusion

Today, the Cheetahs of 114HU have discarded the individual squadron markings and are painted Sky Grey - as is the practice throughout the air force. A Special gallery of photographs related to 114 HU, Leh  and its Museum can be seen at the following link. Where Eagles Dare

Dr. Shanker Dayal Sharma, President of India, has presented the Standards 114HU on 13 Nov 1996, at a special ceremony in which No.27 Squadron was also so honoured. A Special cover was issued by the APS to earmark the occasion

Further recognition to the unit came when, for its longest, highest and most daring Air Maintenance Operations any where in the world, the Guinness Book of Records has decided to publish a part of this Operation of 114 HU better known as 'Siachen Pioneers' in 1997 editions.

Over the years, personnel of 114HU were awarded five Yudh Seva Medals, four Vir Chakras, five Shaurya Chakras , twenty one Vayusena Medals and more than ninety eight Commendations from the Army Chief, the Chief of Air Staff and the AOC-in-C WAC. 

Having taken part in all conflicts since 1965, 114 HU now has the unique distinction of being the only flying formation to be operating continuously in an active war zone for the last twenty years. The rigours of operating in, what may be the harshest flying environment for man and machine, has moulded the Siachen Pioneers into a fighting force ready to take on any challenge in the future.

TABLES:

Commodore Commandants of  114 HU
List of Commanding Officers
Gallantry and Service Awardees of 114 HU
Achievements of 114HU
Aircraft Types Operated by 114 HU
Locations of the Squadron

Commodore Commandants of  114 HU

List of Commanding Officers

Gallantry and Service Awardees of 114 HU

Awards Tally 1964-2004: