Flying Officer Dara Phiroze Chinoy was pilot in an operational squadron in the Punjab when the hostilities against Pakistan broke out. On 10th September, 1965, while on a low level strike mission against heavily defended targets in the Lahore sector, his aircraft was shot down and after ejecting from the aircraft, he landed in the area held by the enemy. Then started a long chase by the enemy for capturing him. Fg Offr Chinoy walked, crawled and, when required, ran for over five hours to evade capture until he safely crossed the front line and arrived amidst our own friendly forces. The very high sense of duty shown by the officer in successfully evading capture for such a prolonged period against very heavy odds, speaks of the sense of determination and devotion to duty of this officer.

Through this tortuous and dangerous course of action, Fg Offr Chinoy not only successfully foiled the attempts of hordes of Pakistani soldiers and civilians to capture him, but also rejoined his squadron to carry out further operational missions against the enemy.

The officer has completed 10 operational sorties on low level strike missions and armed patrols during the current hostilities and has contributed a large extent towards the achievements of his squadron.