Wg Cdr KK ‘Jumbo’ Majumdar DFC
The
Indian Air Force has the distinction of producing an officer whose name,
at end of the Second World War, was included among the best pilots of
all Allied Forces. Wg Cdr KK ‘Jumbo’ Majumdar DFC was born at Calcutta
on 06 Sep 1913. In Dec 1933, Majumdar graduated from the Royal Flying
College and the illustrious career in the Air Force beckoned him. In Nov
1934 Pilot Officer KK Majumdar was posted to No. 1 Sqn of the IAF at
Drigh Road, Karachi where he displayed sound leadership and daring
performance. Majumdar was awarded with Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
and thus become the first IAF Pilot to be awarded this honour. On 17
February 1945 Jumbo died in an accident at Walton near Lahore while
performing complicated turns during and air show.
Air Cmde Mehar Singh
Air Cmde
Mehar Singh was born in the district of Lyallpur on 20 Mar 1915. Mehar
Singh was attracted by the idea of flying at a very young age in which
lead him to join Royal Air Force College Cranwell, England in 1934, and
soon Mehar Singh earned the respect of his fellow airmen with his flying
skills. Formally known as Baba Mehar Singh, he earned an image of a
strict disciplinarian amongst his subordinates, but also looked often
them with lot of care and affection. As a 29 years old Squadron
Commander he was awarded Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for effective
leadership and personal bravery. Out of his many achievements the
mission led by Baba Mehar Singh carrying the first contingent of Indian
Army in a Dakota aircraft to Srinagar in 1948 is the most memorable.
Baba Mehar Singh retired in 1948 from the IAF. His life was cut short
when he died in an air crash on 11 Mar 1952.
Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee
Subroto
Mukerjee was the youngest child of a close-knit and well known Bengali
family. At the age of 18, he was one of the first six Indian boys
selected to undergo two years of flying training at the Royal Air Force
College Cranwell. On 08 October, 1932 he was one of the six Indian
Cadets who received their commission. He became the first Indian to
command a Flight, a Squadron, a Station, and finally, the Service
itself. He participated in NWFP Operation in 1942 and was
Mentioned-in-Dispatches. In Jun 1945 he was awarded with ‘Order of the
British Empire’ (Millitary Division). He took over as
Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Air Force in the year 1954. He passed
away in the year 1960.
Fg Offr Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon
Flying
Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon was born on 17 Jul 1943 in the village
of Rurka in Ludhiana District, 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. He was posthumously
awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest military decoration, in
recognition of his lone defence of Srinagar Air Base flying a Gnat
against Sabres during a Pakistani air raid in the Indo-Pakistan War of
1971.
AVM Harjinder Singh
Harjinder
Singh joined the Indian Air Froce (IAF) as a Hawai Sepoy (Air Soldier),
a rank lower than that of a soldier. He got commissioned in the Royal
Air Force on 03 Sep 1942. One of his many initiatives was the
construction of an aircraft at IAF Station Kanpur in early 1958. He was
an engineering genius who had a vision ahead of his time. He rose to
the rank of Air Vice Marshal and became the first Commander-in-Chief of
the prestigious Maintenance Command at Kanpur. He passed away untimely
on 06 Sep 1971.
Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma
Wg Cdr
Rakesh Sharma was born on 13 Jan 1949 at Patiala Punjab, and was
schooled at St. George’s Grammar School, Abid Road Hyderabad. He was
commissioned into the Indian Air Force as a Pilot Officer in 1970. Wg
Cdr Rakesh Sharma, then a Squadron Leader embarked on a historic mission
in 1984 as part of a joint space program between the Indian Space
Research Organisation and the Soviet Intercosmos space program. He spent
eight days in space aboard the Salyut 7 space station. Launched along
with two Soviet Cosmonauts aboard Soyuz T-11 on the 03 Apr 1984 was 35
year old Rakesh Sharma. He was conferred with the honour of ‘Hero of
Soviet Union’ upon his return from space. The Government of India
conferred on him its highest peace time gallantry award, the Ashoka
Chakra.
Air Chief Marshal Pratap Chandra Lal
Air Chief
Marshal Pratap Chandra Lal was born in December 1916 at Allahabad, in a
family of lawyers. He had an early interest in aviation, and became the
youngest Indian to earn Amateur Pilot’s Licence at the age of 17, in
January 1934.The outbreak of war in 1939 resulted in the expansion of
Royal Indian Air Force and all those with pilots’ licenses were invited
to join up. Thence began his glorious journey in the Indian Air Force.
He served the IAF from 1939 until his retirement in 1973. During his
illustrious career, he commanded No. 7 Sqn (in the Burma campaign), was
AOC-in-C of HQ Western Air Command, Managing Director and Chairman of
HAL, the VCAS and the Chief of Air Staff during the Indo-Pakistan War of
1971. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Padma Bhushan
and Padma Vibhushan. After his retirement from the IAF, he served as
the Joint Chairman of Indian Airlines and Air India till 1980. Air
Chief Marshal Pratap Chandra Lal passed away in 1982.
Air Chief Marshal Om Prakash Mehra
Air Chief
Marshal Om Prakash Mehra was born on 19 Jan 1919 at Lahore. He finished
schooling at the Central Model School in 1933 and joined Government
College University, Lahore. After a short spell of flying Tiger Moths at
the Northern India Flying Club, Walton, he joined the RIAF as Pilot
Officer on 30 Nov 1940. During his stint in the IAF, he commanded the
prestigious 1 Sqn and served as Commandant, Elementary Flying Training
School at Ambala. In 1963 he took over as AOC-in-C Maintenance Command,
in which capacity he served during the 1965 war. He served as Deputy
Chief of Air Staff before taking over as Chairman Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited. On 15 Jan 1973 he took over as the Chief of Air Staff,
succeeding Air Chief Marshal PC Lal. He was a recipient of Padma
Vibhushan and went on to serve as Governor of Maharashtra (1980) and
later, as Governor of Rajasthan (1982).
Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh
Air Chief Marshal Idris Hasan Latif
Air Chief
Marshal Idris Hassan Latif was born on 09 June 1923 at Hyderabad. He
was educated at the prestigious Nizam College, Hyderabad. He was
commissioned into the RIAF in 1942 and took part in the Burma Campaign
on the Arakan Front during World War-II. He served as the Air Attaché at
the Indian Embassy in Washington DC and held the dual responsibility of
Air Attaché to the Indian High Commisioner’s office in Canada. In his
stint with the IAF, he held key appointments of ACAS (Plans), AOA,
AOC-in-C Central Air Command and Maintenance Command, VCAS and was
appointed Chief of the Air Staff in 1978. After retirement from the IAF,
he served as Governor of Maharashtra and as Indian ambassador to
France. He passed away on 27 June 2008.
Air Chief Marshal Katre
Air Chief
Marshal Lakshman Madhav Katre was born on 26 Jan 1927 in Madras. He was
commissioned on 09 Apr 1945 and started his illustrious career in the
IAF as a Pilot Officer in 1 Sqn. Later on, he commanded 17 Sqn and 7
Sqn. He served as Commandant, Air Force Academy, Dundigal, where he
expanded the facilities to cater for the training of Ground Duty
branches and reoriented the flying activity for advanced training on jet
aircraft. He served as AOC-in-C Eastern Air Command and subsequently,
AOC-in-C Western Air Command. He took over as Chief of Air Staff on 04
Sep 1984. He passed away untimely on 01 Jul 85 while still in harness.