Nav view search
Navigation
Search
 No.104 Helicopter Unit Firebirds Motto : Apatsu Mitram (A friend in time of need) Date Raised : 1958-05-01 Disbanded : 1992-08-24 104 Helicopter Sqn, AF, known as the "Firebirds" was raised as a Helicopter Flight at Palam on 10 March 1954 and became the first Units of the IAF to be equipped with rotary wing aircraft. it was upgraded to a Units on 01 May 1958 and a Squadron on 25 August 1992. The Units changed bases to Hindan in March 1965 and Saharanpur in May 1976. At this point the role of the Units was changed to ATGM (Anti- Tank Guided Missile) Units and all aircraft were modified to carry four AS11B wire command guided missiles. in April 1990 Units shifted to Bhatinda and was re-quipped with the Mi-35. It moved to its current location in may 1994. Since its inception the squadron has operated the Sikorsky S-55, S-62, Bell 47-G, Mi-4, Alouette-III (Chetak) and the Mi-25/35 attack helicopters.
Aircraft Types operated over the years: |
Unit previously existed as 104 HF
Commanding Officers | |||||
| Dates | Rank & Name | Number | Remarks | Location | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 May 58 to 31 Aug 58 | Flight Lieutenant Sudhindra Kumar Majumdar | 3484 GD(P) | CO | Palam |  |
| 01 Sep 58 to 11 Oct 59 | Squadron Leader Sudhindra Kumar Majumdar | 3484 GD(P) | CO | Palam | |
| 12 Oct 59 to 19 Oct 62 | Squadron Leader Vinod Kumar Sahgal | 3853 GD(P) | CO | Palam |  |
| 01 Jan 63 to 31 Jul 63 | Squadron Leader Sudhindra Kumar Majumdar | 3484 GD(P) | CO | Palam | |
| 01 Aug 63 to 21 Jan 65 | Squadron Leader Krishan Kant Saini | 4436 GD(P) | CO | Palam |  |
| 22 Mar 65 to 05 Nov 67 | Squadron Leader Bobby Johnson Berry | 4826 GD(P) | CO | Hindon |  |
| 06 Nov 67 to 31 Jan 71 | Squadron Leader Rakesh Tandon | 5391 GD(P) | CO | Hindon | |
| 01 Feb 71 to 02 May 74 | Squadron Leader Subhash Madanmohan Hundiwala | 6351 GD(P) | CO | Hindon | |
| 03 May 74 to 04 May 76 | Squadron Leader Chetan Swaroop Kataria | 7605 GD(P) | CO | Hindon |  |
| 05 May 76 to 24 Sep 78 | Squadron Leader Ashok Anand Thosar | 8209 GD(P) | CO | Sarsawa |  |
| 25 Sep 78 to 01 May 79 | Squadron Leader Manohar Pandurang Rane | 9763 GD(P) | CO | Sarsawa | |
| 09 May 79 to 28 Oct 79 | Squadron Leader Gurdip Singh | 9395 GD(P) | CO | Sarsawa |  |
| 29 Oct 79 to 23 Dec 79 | Squadron Leader Avinash Chander Chopra | 7604 GD(P) | CO | Sarsawa |  |
| 24 Dec 79 to 15 Mar 81 | Wing Commander Avinash Chander Chopra | 7604 GD(P) | CO | Sarsawa | |
| 16 Mar 81 to 29 Dec 82 | Wing Commander Nimai Krishna Rudra | 6861 GD(P) | CO | Sarsawa | |
| 30 Dec 82 to 17 Jun 84 | Wing Commander Baldev Singh | 8694 GD(P) | CO | Sarsawa | |
| 08 Oct 84 to 13 Jan 87 | Wing Commander Mohinder Kumar Saini | 9779 GD(P) | CO | Sarsawa |  |
| 14 Jan 87 to 14 Feb 89 | Wing Commander Jai Kishen Kaushik | 10524 GD(P) | CO | Sarsawa |  |
| 15 Feb 89 to 09 May 91 | Wing Commander Unnikrishnan G Kartha | 12959 F(P) | CO | Sarsawa/ Bhatinda |  |
| 10 May 91 to 09 Feb 92 | Wing Commander Soumitra Shankar Bose | 12769 GD(P) | CO | Bhatinda |  |
| 10 Feb 92 to 24 Aug 92 | Wing Commander Pradeep Kumar Mulay | 12935 F(P) | CO | Bhatinda |  |
The URL for this page is http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/Units/104 HU
Unit continued existence as 104 HS
Note: All the data available here is publicly available in the Gazette of India, published by the Indian Government, or from public domain sources, press releases about Awards and Right-To-Information (RTI) Requests. Additionally data shared by veterans is added to the page with permission. No data with respect to serving officers below the rank of AVM is displayed. Information in Gazette of India and Award citations and photographs as released by the Indian Air Force are the only details displayed.