Jaisalmer is located nearly 250km from Jodhpur in a North Westerly direction. It rose to fame in the 1971 War, when it was the staging airbase for the Hunters that decimated a Pakistani Tank thrust at Longewala. At that time the airfield was less than an year old, and had a fleet of four Hunter F56s and two Hunter T66s operating. Today, its a major Air Base, home to 41 Wing, with a huge runway and a network of shelters.
The Memorial
In the middle of the airfield is a small area marked as 'Vijay Stambh' (Victory Pillar) Park. The small park is the Memorial area for the airfield and commemorates the Battle of Longewala.
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The Vijay Stambh memorial for 41 Wing. |
The battle of longewala is depicted on these two boards at the Park. |
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The centerpiece of the park is the Pillar with a falcon on top. Two display boards give details of the Longewala battle and the map of the general area. One of the display boards list all the officers who have been involved in the Longewala battle. Apart from the 'Battle Scores' and important messages recieved by the base at that time.
Vijay Smarak - The Golden Jubilee Stone.
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| The Vijay Smarak commemorates the gathering of Longewala and OTU veterans from the 1971 war for the 25th Anniversary of the battle in 1996. | |
On 7th Dec 1996, Thirteen war veterans who served with the Hunter OTU in the 1971 War made the trip to Jaisalmer to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Jaisalmer battle. The Vijay Smarak monument displays the names of the officers who were present on that ocassion.
The Hunter
No memorial for longewala is complete without the presence of the aircraft that won the battle - A Hawker Hunter (BA-237) is on display in the park area - well maintained by the base team.
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Hawker Hunter BA-257 at the Vijay Stambh park in Jaisalmer - and close up of the Plaque in front of the Hunter. |
There was also a Pakistani Sherman Tank that was captured in this sector on display near the Vijay Stambh. However sometime in the early 2001 or so, a visiting senior officer saw the memorial and reportedly objected to an enemy trophy sharing the space at teh War Memorial, following this the Sherman was moved away from the memorial area to another area facing the runway.