This is a previously unpublished hand-written account by Air Marshal Anand Ramdas Pandit , PVSM AVSM DFC 1707 F(P). Discovered by the family and painstakingly transcribed, this was released for publication on the 100th anniversary of Air Marshal Pandit's birthday.
The C-47 is a reliable work-horse that served for nearly four decades in the Indian Air Force's service. Over 200 examples served in the IAF across the length and breadth of the country. It saw its fair share of accidents and contributed to quite a few anxious moments - in this case, when an engine failed right after take off - as narrated by then Flt Lt (later Air Cmde) Arun Karandikar, serving with 43 Squadron at Jorhat.
A rookie Flying Officer with four years of service, flying transports gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fly war-time missions as part of a clandestine force. Air Commodore Arun Karandikar 10865 F(P), narrates his chance posting to the Kilo Flight on the eve of the 1971 War, to fly support missions in aid of the Mukti-Bahini rebels and their Indian Air Force instructors. This account was written on the request of 43 Squadron, during their effort to fill in gaps in their historical records
There are milestones in an officer's career that are etched in stone. The day you got commissioned, the day you commanded your first unit as "CO" , the day you fly into operations, the day you command a force. For one officer, his milestone of commanding a unit has been forgotten or not recorded by the IAF. Anchit Gupta writes about righting a wrong in the Commanding Officer leader board of the IAF's senior-most Squadron - No.1 Squadron IAF. The name of one of the commanding officers has been missing for nearly 73 years (At the time of writing) . Building the evidence to support this assessment took years of effort - with the conclusive evidence coming from the Govt of India's Archives
The HAL HPT-32 Deepak had a chequered career in the Indian Air Force - Introduced in the late 80s, it served for about two decades in the IAF, being used for the ab-initio flying training of IAF Cadets. Over the course of its career, more than 21 were lost in accidents. Only two known incidents involved pilots successfully baling out - thus earning themselves membership in the Caterpillar Club. The first such baleout was done by Flight Cadet M Sabharwal - later Gp Capt, 22122 F(P) . This is his account, first published in Flight Safety Magazine.
This contribution by Wg Cdr B C Karambaya, 10604 F(P) was originally written as an appendix to Gp Capt H K Bajaj's Battle of Chhamb 71 : Through the 6/5 Lenses of an FAC . Then Plt Offr Bajaj operating as an FAC Was controlling the formation, Mission 521 - for a strike against Pakistani Army targets in Chhamb Sector. Wg Cdr Karumbaya, then a Flying Officer, had flown two Counter Air Sorties earlier in the war and was credited with destroying a heavy transport aircraft at Chaklala. He was awarded the Vir Chakra for his contributions.
This is the first person account of a young Pilot Officer caught in the thick of a frontline battle at Chhamb. Plt Offr H K Bajaj 12762 F(P) was a newly commissioned officer sent to 10 Div area as a Forward Air Controller. This is his blow by blow account of the war on the ground.
No, not THOSE French-made jet fighters that you are thinking of right now, but the very first French type operated by the Indian Air Force. The Avions Marcel Dassault MD450 Ouragan, known as the Toofani in Indian Air Force Service.
The story of the Special Heli-Borne Operations of the 1971 war - as told by Sqn Ldr Pushp Kumar Vaid, VrC.
Captain Karimuddin Ahmed Shah AUX30032 served in the Auxilliary Air Force for ten years form 1956-1966. He narrates the details behind the force landing incidents he had to do during his career
An Indian Air Force senior officer, posted as an Air Attache to the Embassy of India in France, embarks on a journey of discovery on the Indian participation in the Air War over Europe during WW2.