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Flying with the Legend - Air Commodore R S Benegal

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Category: The Bangladesh War 1971
Last Updated: Tuesday, 15 August 2017 04:24
Written by Air Marshal G C S Rajwar (Retd)
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Air Marshal G C S Rajwar , commissioned in 1963 as part of the 26th Navigator Course, is a veteran of two wars. He was the navigator to the CO of No.106 Squadron in the 1971 war, then Wg Cdr R S Benegal.  He wrote this piece about his missions in the war as an "Afterword" for the autobiographical book by late Air Commodore R S Benegal - Burma to Japan with the Azad Hind .  

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Hunting Harvards in the Countryside

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Category: Jets and Growth 1948-64
Last Updated: Monday, 06 March 2017 04:13
Written by Sqn Ldr B N Kesavachandran (Retd)
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In the 1950s it was not uncommon for IAF aircraft to undertake "force landings" in the country side. Squadron Leader Kesavachandran narrates the story of an 'expedition' to document the evidence for a Court of Inquiry - much before the advent of GPS,  handheld cameras, digitial media and the social media.

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The sinking of N.R.P.Vega - a first person narrative

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Category: Liberation of Goa 1961
Last Updated: Monday, 27 February 2017 13:11
Written by Air Marshal P.M.Ramachandran PVSM AVSM SC VM.
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The episode of blowing up at sea of a Portuguese Patrol Boat laden with explosives off Diu by IAF on 18 Dec 1961. First person account of the sinking of NRP Vega during the Diu Operations in 1961. Air Marshal P M Ramachandran, PVSM AVSM SC VM narrates his story of that eventful sortie from 18th December 1961.

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Flt Lt Lawrence Frederic Pereira, VrC

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Category: The Bangladesh War 1971
Last Updated: Saturday, 18 February 2017 15:17
Written by Webmaster
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 Lawrence Frederic Pereira 8678 F(P)  was a Forward Air Controller with an Armoured Brigade in the Shakargarh Sector during the 1971 War.  He lost his life in an enemy air attack and today lies at rest in Jalandhar.

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Hoshang Patel (1921-2017)

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Category: Tributes
Last Updated: Thursday, 26 January 2017 05:16
Written by Obituary
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With a heavy heart, we learnt about the passing away of Wing Commander Hoshang Patel of Bombay.  He passed away today 25th January 2017, at the age of 96.  A WW2 veteran airman and pilot who served in two tours in Burma, one of the few to do it as both an erk as well as a pilot.  Hoshang Sir was the one who gave the spark to the fire of WW2 research that this website has carried out over the years.

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Panther Red One : The Sequel

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Category: Book Projects & Announcements
Last Updated: Tuesday, 30 May 2017 00:51
Written by Webmaster
Hits: 4118

The much awaited sequel to the delightful "Panther Red One: Memoirs of a Fighter Pilot". The author Air Marshal S Raghavendran is the retired Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force. In this sequel, he chronicles his career where the first book left off. Covering the staff and operational command appointments, the Air Marshal holds no punches in describing the disconnect between the government bureaucracy and the Defence procurement and planning wings.

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Indians over Flanders

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Category: The Pioneers of Flight
Last Updated: Tuesday, 01 November 2016 00:56
Written by K S Nair
Hits: 9086

Only four Indians are definitively known to have been military aviators in World War One. They blazed a remarkable trail for the six hundred odd who took up that occupation in World War Two (including at least one Bollywood actor), and the three thousand-odd who serve in that role in India today.

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