HQ Eastern Command Communication Flight Date Raised : 1972-06-03 Disbanded : 1997-09-30 Location : Shillong 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
03 Jun 72 to 20 Jan 74 | Squadron Leader Ram Kumar Sinha | 4974 GD(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
21 Jan 74 to 01 Dec 74 | Squadron Leader Velayudhan Girish Kumar | 6747 GD(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
02 Dec 74 to 26 Jan 75 | Squadron Leader Modugu Vasudev Reddy | 8176 GD(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
27 Jan 75 to 08 Feb 76 | Squadron Leader Vinayak Prakash Kapoor | 8425 GD(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
09 Feb 76 to 21 Nov 76 | Squadron Leader Velayudhan Girish Kumar | 6747 GD(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
22 Nov 76 to 17 Feb 80 | Squadron Leader Jatinder Singh Pannu | 9725 GD(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
18 Feb 80 to 04 Jan 81 | Squadron Leader Adarsh Kumar Sharma | 9727 GD(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
05 Jan 81 to 11 Oct 81 | Wing Commander Vinod Kumar Sud | 8406 GD(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
12 Oct 81 to 31 Jul 84 | Wing Commander Shyam Sunder Singh Chauhan | 8780 GD(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
01 Aug 84 to 20 Dec 87 | Wing Commander Madan Mohan Verma | 9766 GD(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
21 Dec 87 to | Wing Commander Prabir Kumar Dutta | 10463 GD(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
16 Dec 91 to 31 Dec 93 | Wing Commander Venkita Subramony Ashok | 13930 F(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
Unknown to | Wing Commander Rana Biswas | 15009 F(P) | CO | Guwahati | |
06 Jan 97 to 30 Mar 98 | Wing Commander Rajiv Gaur | 15196 F(P) | CO | Guwahati |