IAF Day: Punjabis played a pivotal role in IAF’s history; many first achievements were recorded under their name
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ October 8,2024
Today, Indian Air Force is celebrating its 92nd foundation day. Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh underscored the need for IAF to remain prepared to meet any contingency that challenges the national interests.
In 92 years of IAF Golden history there are many ‘First’ that are recorded in Punjab’s name be it the first IAF landed in Srinagar after India’s Independence , first Indian in space, first marshal of IAF etc. The list has many names. But few of them are mentioned below.
First IAF, Punjabi to land in Srinagar, Poonch, Leh and Daulat Beg Oldi
One of them, which brought laurels for the country, Punjab is Air Commodore Mehar Singh, MVC, DSO. He was born on 20 March 1915 at Lyallpur (now Faisalabad in Pakistan). He was the first pilot to land in Srinagar, Poonch, Leh and Daulat Beg Oldi. In a relatively short career of 12 years, he rose to the rank of air commodore and was decorated with two war-time gallantry awards.
Singh resigned from the IAF on 27 September 1948, over differences with some senior officers on service matters, instead of getting involved in controversy. After his retirement, Singh served as the personal adviser to the Maharaja of Patiala Yadavindra Singh, the Rajpramukh of Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU)
He was a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force. He was affectionately known as ‘Mehar Baba’. Singh was commissioned as a pilot officer in August 1936 and posted to No. 1 Squadron, then the only squadron in Royal Air force (RAF) India. It was raised on 1 April 1933 at Karachi with four Westland Wapiti aircraft. The Indian element consisted of six officers and nine technicians then known as Hawai Sepoys. Singh was amongst the first six pioneering officers who joined the squadron.
First and Only Param Vir Chakra awarded to any IAF officer, another Punjabi
Flying officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon was born on 17 July 1945 in the village of Issewal in Ludhiana of Punjab. He was the son of Hony Flight Lieutenant Tarlochan Singh Sekhon. He was commissioned into the flying branch of the Indian Air Force on 04 Jun 1967 as a fighter pilot. Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon was a pilot with a Gnat detachment posted in Srinagar for
the valley’s air defence against Pakistani air strikes. During the Indo-Pak War of 1971, Flying Officer Sekhon flew Gnat jets also known as “HAL Ajeet” and shot down the Pakistani Sabre which attacked the Srinagar Airfield. He was the first individual from the Indian Air Force to be awarded the highest gallantry award of India Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest military decoration, in recognition of his lone defence of Srinagar Air Base( posthumously).
First IAF and Indian to go in Space-another Punjabi
Rakesh Sharma is born on Jan. 13, 1949, Patiala, Punjab state, India. He is the first Indian citizen in space.
In 1970 Sharma joined the Indian Air Force as a pilot. He flew 21 combat missions in a MiG-21 in the Bangladesh war of 1971. In 1982 Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma was selected as a cosmonaut for a joint Soviet-Indian spaceflight. On April 3, 1984, he flew on board Soyuz T-11 with two Soviet cosmonauts, Commander Yury Malyshev and flight engineer Gennady Strekalov, to the space station Salyut 7. He became the first Indian citizen to enter space There Sharma performed experiments that included photography of India from space and exercises to study the effects of yoga on the body during weightlessness. The mission lasted nearly eight days.
First and only Marshal of the Indian Air Force, another Punjabi
Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, DFC was born on April 15,1919 in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad in Pakistan) and died on September 16,2027. Men from the family had joined the armed forces, in keeping with community traditions, and Singh was the fourth generation of his family to join the British Indian armed forces. Singh was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in December 1939, after topping the Empire Pilot training course among his batch of Indian Cadets. He was a senior air officer of the Indian Air Force. He served as the 3rd Chief of the Air Staff from 1964 to 1969, leading the Air Force through the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. He was the first and only officer of the Indian Air Force (IAF) to be promoted to five-star rank as Marshal of the Indian Air Force, equal to the army rank of Field Marshal.
Till date many Punjabi’s rose to the level of chief of air staff. Some of them are Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh Padma Vibhushan, DFC 01 Aug 1964 -15 Jul 1969, Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh PVSM AVSM VM 1 Sep 1981- 03 Sep 1984, Air Chief Marshal Nirmal Chandra Suri PVSM AVSM VM ADC 31 Jul 1991-31 Jul 1993, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, PVSM AVSM YSM VM ADC from 01 Jan 2017 – 30 Sep 2019 and present chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh PVSM AVSM.
