No.103 Flight Date Raised : 1954-02-20 Disbanded : 1972-06-02 Location : Guwahati 103 Comm Flt was formed at Jorhat in 1954 with three aircraft with its primary role of communication duties for Governors of the Eastern States. Over time the role was enhanced to cover AOC-in-C of EAC and his PSOs and senior officers of Army Eastern Command. The aircraft flown by the unit OC Flt Lt AS Singha was shot down by Nagas in 1960, and the crew was kept in captivity for an extended period. The unit carried out casevacs and comm duties during the 1962, 1965, and 1971 wars and IPKF in 1988. On 16 Dec 1971, the unit aircraft carried the IAF and Army commanders for the surrender at Dacca. The Govt of India presented a Dakota of the unit to Bangladesh after the war, which became the first aircraft that Bangladesh AF had. On 3 June 1972, the unit was renamed EAC Comm Flt. On 17 Aug 1979, the IAF Ensign was presented to the Unit by the President.
EAC Comm Flt was numberplated in 1997. The Avro was given to 59 Sqn and the Chetak to 116 HU. Together with An-32s from 43 Sqn and Mi-8 from 109 HU, these units continued to render communication duties in the region. Aircraft Types operated over the years: |
Commanding Officers | |||||
Dates | Rank & Name | Number | Remarks | Location | Photo |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
15 Mar 54 to 24 Jul 57 | Flight Lieutenant Eruch Shiavax Lala | 3842 GD(P) | OIC | Jorhat | |
27 Jul 57 to 11 Nov 58 | Flight Lieutenant Ajit Kumar Bhattacharjee | 4427 GD(P) | OIC | Jorhat | |
12 Nov 58 to 19 Dec 59 | Flight Lieutenant Jagjit Singh | OIC | Jorhat | ||
07 Apr 60 to 13 Sep 61 | Flight Lieutenant Anand Saroop Singha | 4679 GD(P) | OIC | Jorhat | |
19 Dec 61 to 04 Sep 62 | Flight Lieutenant Mohan Inder Singh | 4219 GD(P) | OIC | Jorhat | |
05 Sep 62 to 10 Jun 63 | Flight Lieutenant Ram Mohan Khanna | 5193 GD(P) | OIC | Jorhat | |
10 Jun 63 to 07 Jan 65 | Flight Lieutenant Kuldip Singh Kapur | 5388 GD(P) | OIC | Guwahati | |
21 Jun 65 to 10 Feb 66 | Flight Lieutenant Ved Prakash Kala | 6340 GD(P) | OIC | Guwahati | |
04 Jul 67 to 11 Aug 68 | Flight Lieutenant Neville Dias | 6535 GD(P) | OIC | Guwahati | |
12 Aug 68 to 30 Jul 71 | Flight Lieutenant Shyam Sunder Singh Chauhan | 8780 GD(P) | OIC | Guwahati | |
06 Jan 72 to 02 Jun 72 | Squadron Leader Ram Kumar Sinha | 4974 GD(P) | CO | Guwahati |