The Indian Air Force was officially established on 8 October 1932. Its first ac flight came into being on 01 Apr 1933. It possessed a strength of six RAF-trained officers and 19 Havai Sepoys (literally, air soldiers). The aircraft inventory comprised of four Westland Wapiti IIA army co-operation biplanes at Drigh Road as the "A" Flight nucleus of the planned No.1 (Army Co- operation) Squadron.
Wapiti. But, it was not until June 1938 that a "C" Flight was raised to bring No. 1 Squadron ostensibly to full strength, and this remained the sole IAF formation when World War II began, although personnel strength had by now risen to 16 officers and 662 men. Problems concerning the defence of India were reassessed in 1939 by the Chatfield Committee. It proposed the re-equipment of RAF (Royal Air Force) squadrons based in lndia but did not make any suggestions for the accelerating the then painfully slow growth of IAF except for a scheme to raise five flights on a voluntary basis to assist in the defence of the principal ports. An IAF Volunteer Reserve was thus authorised, although equipping of the proposed Coastal Defence Flights (CDFs) was somewhat inhibited by aircraft availability. Nevertheless, five such flights were established with No. 1 at Madras, No. 2 at Bombay, No. 3 at Calcutta, No. 4 at Karachi and No. 5 at Cochin. No. 6 was later formed at At the end of March 1941, Nos. 1 and 3 CDFs gave up their Wapitis which were requisitioned to equip No. 2 Squadron raised at Peshawar in the following month, and were instead issued with Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta transports, used to patrol the Sunderbans delta area south of Calcutta. No. 2 CDF had meanwhile received requisitioned D.H. 89 Dragon Rapides for convoy and coastal patrol, while No. 5 CDF took on strength a single D.H. 86 which it used to patrol the west of Cape Camorin and the Malabar Coast. Meanwhile the creation of a training structure in India became imperative and RAF flying instructors were assigned to flying clubs to instruct IAF Volunteer Reserve cadets on Tiger Moths.364 pupils were to receive elementary flying training at seven clubs in British India and two in various princely States by the end of 1941. Some comparative modernity was infused in August 1941, when No. 1 Squadron began conversion to the Westland Lysander at Drigh Road, the Unit being presented with a full establishment of 12 Lysanders at Peshawar by the Bombay War Gifts Fund in the following November. No. 2 Squadron had converted from the Wapiti to the Audax in September 1941 and, on 1 October No. 3 Squadron, similarly Audax-equipped, was raised at Peshawar.
The IAF VR was now inducted into the regular IAF, the individual flights initially retaining their coastal defence status, but with Japan's entry into the war in December, No. 4 Flight, with four Wapitis and two Audaxes, was despatched to Burma to operate from Moulmein. Unfortunately, four of the flight's six aircraft were promptly lost to Japanese bombing and, late in January 1942, No. 4 Flight gave place in Moulmein to No. 3 Flight which had meanwhile re-equipped with four ex-RAF Blenheim ls. For a month, these Blenheims were to provide almost the sole air cover for ships arriving at Rangoon harbour.
hanging pairs of 250-lb. bombs on each of their Lysanders and with these, flew low-level unescorted missions against the principal Japanese air bases at Mae-Haungsaun, Cheingmai and Chiangrai in Thailand. However, the Japanese advance was relentless and with the final evacuation of Burma, No.1 Squadron personnel were flown to India, where at Risalpur in June 1942, the unit began conversion to the Hurricane IIB fighter. No.2 Squadron had also equipped with Lysanders by the end of 1941, being confined to anti-invasion exercises until, in September 1942, it emulated the IAF's premier unit by converting to Hurricanes. The third IAF unit to operate the Lysander was No.4 Squadron, formed with four aircraft on 16 February 1942. This squadron was to continue to operate the Westland aircraft until it, too was re-equipped with the Hurricane in June 1943. Six months earlier, No.6 Squadron was raised with personnel from Nos 1 and 2 flights, being Hurricane-equipped from the outset. Between March and December 1942, 10 aircrew schools were opened in India, and the first Harvard Is and IIs were delivered to No. 1 Flying Training School at Ambala, this school having been established to provide basic and advanced training for IAF pilots over a four-and-half month course. By the end of that year, however,or a decade after the IAF's creation and three years into World War II, the Service could muster just five squadrons. The coastal defence flights had now been disbanded and most personnel of Nos.3 and 6 Flights were combined with regular IAF personnel to form No. 7 Squadron which was equipped with the U:S. - built Vengeance 1 dive bomber in mid-February 1943. No. 8 Squadron was raised meanwhile, on 1 December 1942, absorbing the remaining coastal defence flight personnel, and also issued with the Vengeance, to achieve operational status on 25June 1943. The Vengeance suffered numerous defects and teething troubles, necessitating temporary withdrawal from the two IAF squadrons, but the problems were eventually mitigated if not eradicated, and No. 8 Sqn flew its first operational Vengeance sorties against Japanese targets from Double Moorings, Chittagong, on 15 December 1943, No. 7 Squadron, which had flown its Vengeances on some missions against dissident tribesmen in North Waziristan, started operations in the Arakan from an airstrip at Uderbund, near Kumbigram, where it arrived on 12 March 1944, the two squadrons converting to Vengeance IIIs during the course of operations and both flying with considerable distinction.No. 7 Squadron discarded its dive bombers in favour of Hurricane IIs for the tactical-reconnaissance role in November 1944, No. 8 Squadron becoming the first to convert onto the Spitfire VIII during the previous month and commencing operations on 3 January 1945 in the Kangaw area.
Hurricane-equipped squadrons played a major role in the Arakan offensive which began in December 1944, disrupting the enemy's lines of communication and constantly harrying the Japanese forces until victory was achieved with the re-occupation of Rangoon on 3 May 1945. In that month, No. 4 Squadron became the second IAF Spitfire unit when it re-equipped with the Mk VIII version of this fighter, and No. 9 followed suit to complete conversion byJuly, by which time No. 10 had begun conversion, and the Hurricane, backbone of the IAF combat element for much of the war, was rapidly phased out. During the war years, the steady expansion of the IAF had placed all emphasis on army co-operation and tactical reconnaissance; it had continued to fly ageing equipment such as the Hurricane when such aircraft as the Thunderbolt and Mosquito were being inducted in large numbers by other Allied forces in the theatre and it had, in consequence, suffered a sense of equipment inferiority. Nevertheless, assigned the least glamorous of tasks and flying obsolescent equipment, the Service established traditions of courage and efficiency second to none; its personnel had been awarded 22 Distinguished Flying Crosses and a host of other decorations, and in recognition of its achievements, the Service had been honoured by bestowal of the prefix "Royal" on its title in March 1945.
Commonwealth Occupation Forces in Japan, exchanging its Spitfire Vllls for Mk XlVs in October and arriving in Japan aboard HMS vengence on 23 April 1946. Meanwhile, from late 1945, the remaining Hurricane-equipped RIAF fighter squadrons converted to the Spitfire at Kohat, Samungli and Risalpur and by mid-1946 the entire RIAF fighter force was Spitfire-equipped. The year 1946 also saw the establishment of the first RIAF transport unit, No.12 Squadron which had first been raised on Spitfires at Kohat in December 1945 and received C-47 Dakotas in Panagarh in late 1946. A decision had also been taken to re-equip the fighter squadrons with the Tempest II, and implementation of this decision began during the autumn of 1946, No. 3 Squadron at Kolar becoming the first to re-equip, followed by No.10 Squadron later in 1946. Personnel strength had meanwhile been virtually halved to some 14,000 officers and men in the post-war rundown, but the British authorities had made their own assessment of India's post-war defence needs. As of October 1946, they envisaged expansion of the existing ten RIAF squadrons into a balanced force of twenty fighter, bomber and transport squadrons. Owing to the rapidly changing political situation, however, definitive decisions concerning Indian defence were, in the event, to be left to the emerging Government of Independent India. No. 4 Squadron converted to the Tempest 11 upon its return to India from Japan and Nos.7 and 8 Squadrons also relinquished their Spitfires for the more efficacious Tempest fighter during the summer of 1947. Nos. 1 and 9 Squadrons, too, received Tempest lls at this time, but on 15 August 1947, and with the division of both India and its armed forces, these units stood down and their equipment was transferred to the newly created Royal Pakistan Air Force. Thus, the principal components of the RIAF at partition were Nos. 3,4,7,8 and 10 Squadrons with Tempest us, No. 2 Squadron with Spitfires and No. 12 Squadron with C-47s, plus No. 1 Air Observation Flight, the establishment of which with AOP Auster 4s, 5s, and 6s, coincided with independence. No. 6 Squadron, which had been in process of converting from Spitfires to C-47s at Drigh Road, had been stood down and its transports transferred to Pakistan.
The RIAF had lost many permanent bases and other establishments as a result of the division of the country, but was to have virtually no breathing space in which to recover from the surgery that had accompanied partition before the Service was to find itself once more firing its guns in earnest. On 27 October 1947, No.12 Sqn was to initiate the remarkable feat of air-lifting the Ist Sikhs from Palam onto the rough and dusty Srinagar airstrip without planning or reconnaissance as the initial Indian response to the sizeable insurgent forces that were pouring across the border into Jammu and Kashmir. On 30 October, the first Spitfires from the Advanced Flying School at Ambala reached Srinagar and were soon engaged in strafing the raiders beyond Pattan. Within a week, the Tempests of No. 7 Squadron were playing a decisive role in the battle of Shelatang which halted the forward momentum of the insurgents. The fighting was to continue for 15 months, with heavy RIAF involvement throughout, a ceasefire eventually coming into force on 1 January 1949, but despite being continuously on an operational footing throughout this period, the reorganisation and modernisation of the Service continued unabated. The Combined Services Headquarters had meanwhile been separated for command purposes and Air Headquarters established in New Delhi(Click here for the Picture). This included the Operational and Training Commands, No. 1 Operational Group having been formed to supervise all RIAF units and their support elements engaged in the campaign in Jammu and Kashmir.
Heavy bombers and jet fighters
unit being destined to achieve full squadron status in April 1950. To make up attrition suffered in the Kashmir operations, a further batch of Tempest IIs was procured from the UK in December 1948. The same year witnessed various equipment changes, one of which was to have a profound effect on the composition of the RIAF. The Service, wishing to establish a heavy bombing element, contracted with HAL to "re-construct" a force of B-24 Liberators from the mouldering remains of nearly 100 ex USAF bombers of this type at the immense Care and Maintenance Unit Depot at Kanpur.
Despite the scepticism
on the part of the US and British advisers concerning the feasibility
of the scheme, the first half-dozen HAL-reconditioned B-24s were ready
by November 1948 and, on the 17th of that month, No. 5 Squadron
was formed with these heavy bombers. Later, in early 1950, No. 6 Squadron
was to re-form at Poona also with B-24s, while No.16 Squadron was to be
established to provide back-up training on the type. To supplement the
Tiger Moths, Prentice basic trainers were delivered to the RIAF during
the course of 1948, eventually to see service at Jodhpur, Tambaram and
Ambala, but truly epoch making in so far as the Service was concerned,
was the arrival in India on 4 November 1948 of three Vampire F.Mk.3 jet
fighters. These were the precursors of
more than 400 Vampires(Click
here for the Picture) of various types that
were procured by the Ser r>
In January 1950, India became a Republic
within the British Commonwealth and the Indian Air Force dropped its "Royal"
prefix. At this time, it possessed six fighter squadrons of Spitfires, Vampires and
Tempests, operating from Kanpur, Poona, Ambala and Palam, one B-24 bomber squadron, one
C-47 Dakota transport squadron, one AOP flight, a communications squadron at Palam and a
growing training organisation. Training adhered closely to the pattern established by the
RAF, most instructors having graduated from the CFS in the UK and in addition to No.1.
Flying Training School at Hyderabad with Tiger Moths and Harvards and No. 2 FTS atJodhpur
with Prentices and Harvards, there were IAF colleges at Begumpet, Coimbatore andJodhpur. Licence manufacture of the de Havilland
Vampire had been initiated by HAL which, after building a batch from imported major
assemblies, went on to manufacture a further 250. In addition, 60 Vampire T Mk. 55s were
to be built of which 10 were assembled from imported kits. Nos.2,3 and 8 Squadrons
followed No.7 Squadron on the Vampire, but, extraordinarily, 1951 also saw the formation
of the last piston-engined fighter combat unit when No. 14 Squadron was raised on the
Spitfire Mk. XVIII. Vampire NF Mk. 54 two-seat night fighters were obtained in May 1953 to
re-equip No. 10. Sqn at Palam, thus endowing night-intercept capability upon the IAF for
the first time. At this time, relations between India and Pakistan were again steadily
deteriorating and the IAF, its combat strength virtually unchanged since partition in
1947, was scarcely ready for any full-scale conflict. Plans were accordingly framed for
major expansion during the period 1953-57, and the Government began to seek
non-traditional and alternative sources of combat aircraft procurement. Selection of the Dassault Ouragan fighter
from France at this time reflected the decision to initiate diversification of supply
sources. The first four of over 100 Ouragans, or Toofanis as they were to become
known in the IAF, reached Palam from France on 24 October 1953, and this type re-equipped
Nos.8, 3 and 4 Squadrons in that order. The Toofanis were eventually to be passed
on to newly-raised units Nos. 29 and 47 Squadrons, with the re-equipment in 1957 of Nos. 3
and 8 Squadrons with the Mystere IVA from the same Gallic stable. Re-equipment of the combat units
necessarily assumed an overriding priority in view of the growth of what were seen as
threats to India's integrity, but expansion of airlift capability was also vital. A second
transport squadron, No. 11, had been formed on C-47 Dakotas in September 1951, and
considerable enhancement of the Service's logistic support capacity was heralded by
procurement of 26 Fairchild C-119G Packets from the United States which reached India by
the end of 1954. Rapidly to assume the status of an airlift backbone, the C- 119Gs were
issued to No. 12 Squadron, which, for some years, operated them in concert with the C-47s,
the older transports eventually passing to a newly-raised unit, No. 43 Squadron. A second
batch of 29 C- 119Gs was obtained in July 1960, and the transport fleet was further
augmented by another 24 C-119Gs in May 1963 under US emergency military aid. Both the establishment of a Maintenance
Command and resurrection of the Auxiliary Air Force took place in 1955, two units of the
latter being formed as Nos. 51 and 52 Squadrons at New Delhi and Bombay. A third AAF unit,
No. 53 Sqn, was raised at Madras in the following year, and four more added over the next
two years, Nos. 54 (Allahabad), 55 (Calcutta), 56 (Bhubaneshwar) and 57 (Chandigarh)
Squadrons. The AAF squadrons were equipped with the HAL-designed HT-2 trainer - officially
introduced into service on 10 January 1955 - and the Harvard, although Vampire FB Mk. 52s
were added in 1959. Expansion and modernisation Particularly
significant in IAF was the year 1957, which witnessed true beginnings of the major
re-equipment programme that was to raise the Service fully to world standards. Deliveries
began of 110 Dassault Mystere IVAs, carrying the service into the realms of transonic
flight for the first time, and both Hawker Hunters and English Electric Canberras began to
enter the IAF inventory. A new No. 1 Squadron was raised on the Mystere, the existing
Vampire-equipped No. 1 Squadron being redesignated as No. 27 Squadron; No. 5 Squadron
re-equipped with the Canberra B(l) Mk. 58, and, at the year's end, No. 7 Squadron began
conversion to the Hunter FMk.56. It was perhaps appropriate that the year which saw
commencement of an immense infusion of modern hardware should also witness the end of the
IAF's piston-engined fighter epoch: No. 14 Squadron, the last firstline piston-engined
fighter unit, flew in its Spitfire Mk. XVllls to Halwara in preparation for re-equipment
with the Vampire. The IAF's energies were now taxed heavily
with implementation of an expansion programme aimed at raising the Service from a
15-squadron force to no fewer than 33 squadrons over an extremely short span of years: a
Herculean task when performed simultaneously with sweeping equipment changes. Several new
squadrons, such as Nos. 15, 17, 20, 24, 27 and 45, were raised on Vampire FB Mk. 52s as
interim equipment; Canberra B(l) Mk. 58s had equipped two additional squadrons, Nos. 16
and 35 by 1959, No. 106 Squadron having equipped with Canberra PR Mk. 57s and by the end
of the 1961, six squadrons (Nos.7, 14, 17, 20, 27 and 37) were equipped with the Hunter.
Growth was not restricted to the combat elements for, in parallel, the IAF's transport
force was enlarged to six squadrons, three with C-47s (Nos. 11, 43 and 49), two with
C-119Gs (Nos. 12 and 19) and one with DHC-3 Otters (No.41). The early sixties were accompanied by the
IAF's induction of yet more new aircraft types, the most interesting of these arguably
being the Folland Gnat lightweight fighter. With its startling agility, the Gnat proffered
outstanding cost effectiveness and during the mid-fifties a licence agreement was
concluded for its manufacture by HAL following delivery of 23 complete aircraft and 20
sets of components by the parent company. The first IAF unit, No. 23 Squadron, converted
from the Vampire FB Mk. 52 to the Gnat in March 1960. No. 2 Squadron re-equipped with the
Gnat at Ambala early in 1962, and No.9 Squadron soon followed suit. An unusual commitment of the IAF was to
support United Nations operations on the Congo (now Zaire) in 1961-62. Following an appeal
by the U.N. for both troops and combat aircraft to restore law and order and keep peace,
six Canberra B(1) 58s of No.5 Squadron were flown from Agra to Central Africa. Operating
from Leopoldville and Kamina, the Canberras soon destroyed the rebel air force, raided
Katangan targets and generally provided the U.N. ground forces with its only long-range
air support force. Soviet
transports and helicopters Further procurement source
diversification had been signified late in 1960 when, as a result of the increasing
frequency of clashes with Chinese forces on the Sino-lndian Himalayan border and the need
that these revealed for yet further increase in airlift capability, together with a
requirement for medium helicopters suitable for high-altitude operation, orders were
placed in the Soviet Union for eight Antonov An- 12B and 24 IL-yushin 11- 14
transport aircraft plus 10 Mi-4 helicopters. The first An-12B (Click here for the Picture) arrived
in India on 1 March 1961, No. 44 Squadron being formed on this type, the 11-14s that
followed equipping another newly-raised squadron, No. 42. A follow-on order for a further
eight An-12Bs was placed early in 1962, the IAF finally beginning to build up a really
credible heavy airlift capability which was to be immensely enhanced with the arrival of a
further 25 An-12Bs under a loan agreement signed in July 1963, a second squadron, No.25,
meanwhile being formed on this type. The Mi-4 helicopter was to have as profound
an effect on IAF capability as did the An-12B. Prior to the phase-in on this Soviet type,
the Service had but a handful of ageing Sikorsky S-55s, plus a number of small Bell 47Gs,
and with the delivery of Mi-4s, major expansion of the IAF rotorcraft inventory began.
No.109 Helicopter Unit was formed with the first Mi-4s and following an order for further
16 Mi-4s in early 1962, other helicopter units were formed in North-East India, successive
orders in 1963-64 and 1966 eventually bringing the total number of Mi-4s procured to 120. The real test of IAF airlift capability
came in October 1962, when open warfare erupted on the Sino-lndian border. During the
period 20 October to 20 November, pressure on the Service's transport and helicopter units
were intense, troops and supplies having to be flown to the support of the border posts
virtually around the clock and at extreme altitudes. The helicopters had to constantly run
the gauntlet of Chinese small arms and anti-aircraft fire, while operating to.the tricky
helipads in the mountains. Many notable feats were performed by the IAF during this
conflict, including the operation of C-119Gs from airstrips 17,000 ft (5180m) above sea
level in the Karakoram Himalayas, and the air-lifting by An-12Bs of two troops of AMX-13
light tanks to Chushul, in Ladakh, where the small airstrip was 15,000 ft (4570m) above
sea level. The state of emergency declared as a result
of the Sino-lndian fighting resulted in disbandment of the Auxillary Air Force and
absorption of its personnel and equipment by the regular IAF. An emergency training scheme
was instituted in which the services of five flying clubs at Madras, Kanpur, New Delhi,
Nagpur and Patiala were enlisted, more than 1,000 cadets receiving primary flying
instruction with these clubs by the end of 1964. Furthermore, Vampire FBMk.52s
"mothballed" since 1961, were restored to service as the equipment of
newly-raised squadrons. The IAF was expanding rapidly, its
personnel strength of 28,000 officers and men at the time of the Sino-ludian conflict
increasing by some two-thirds by the end of 1964, but the manpower requirements of the
33-squadron force had still to be implemented fully when the scheme was overtaken by even
more ambitious expansion to a 45-squadron force(Click here for the Picture) which
was sanctioned by the Government in October 1962, this calling for the raising of IAF
personnel strength to some 100,000 by the early seventies. Together with the arrival of successive
batches of An- 12Bs from the Soviet Union and a third batch of C- 119Gs from the USA, the
IAF began to receive the Canadian DHC-4 Caribou, two being presented to the Service by the
Canadian Government as assistance in wake of the Sino-lndian conflict and 16 more being
ordered, with deliveries commencing in September 1963, resulting in the establishment of
No.33 Squadron. An epoch-making
decision was taken in August 1962 which was to profoundly alter the complexion and
strength of the Indian Air Force into the decades ahead. The Government of India signed
protocols with the Soviet Union for the very first supply of combat aircraft and missiles
for the Indian Air Force. The purchase of 12 MiG-21 fighters (Click here for picture)from the
Soviet Union - the IAF's first combat aircraft of non-western origin - and for Soviet
technical assistance in setting up production facilities for the fighter in India was
followed by the procurement of SA-2 (Dvina) surface-to-air missiles. Re-equipment
and expansion of the IAF was now being pursued in parallel with major changes in the
operational infrastructure. Prior to the Sino-lndian conflict, the IAF had been geared to
provide defence against attack from the West only, but appreciation of the vulnerability
of the entire Northern and Eastern border had called for profound rethinking of the
operational infrastructure. It was now patently apparent that, for a country of the
immensity of India, a system of purely functional Commands was impracticable and that, to
cater for all potential-threats, operational command would in future, have to be exercised
on a regional basis. Thus the Indian periphery was divided into three for purposes of
operational control, the Western, Central and Eastern Air Commands eventually emerging.
However, in order to maintain uniform standards in training and maintenance, the Training
and Maintenance Commands were to remain functional. Tension between India and Pakistan had
steadily escalated over the years, culminating on 1 September 1965 in a massive attack in
the Chhamb sector by Pakistani forces. Possessing the initiative in having chosen the time
and place to strike and enjoying overwhelming numerical superiority in the sector in both
armour and troops, Pakistan posed a grave threat to Indian forces on the ground and so, in
response to urgent requests for air strikes against Pakistani armour advancing in the
Chhamb-Jaurian sector, Vampire FBMk.52s of No. 45 Squadron, at the time undergoing
operational training at a forward base, mounted their first sorties at 1745 hours on the
first day of the conflict, and on their heels came the Mysteres of Nos.3 and 31 Squadrons
operating from Pathankot. The Pakistani armoured thrust was staggered. IAF Gnats proved
their mettle in shooting down PAF Sabres in this sector, the first of aerial victories
being notched by Nos. 23 and 9 Squadrons. Rapidly escalating, full scale warfare broke out
on 6 September all along the international border between West Pakistan and India. In the days that
followed, IAF Canberras raided the major PAF bases at Sargodha and Chaklala at night,
flying 200 counter air and interdiction missions against these and other Pakistani bases,
including those at Akwal, Peshawar, Kohat, ChakJhumra and Risalwala. The virtuosity of the
Hunters(Click here for Picture)
was fully demonstrated, Nos. 7, 20 and 27 Squadrons being employed
in counter-air as well as interdiction and close air support missions in the West while
Hunters of No. 14 Squadron battled with Sabres of the PAF No. 14 squadron raiding the IAF
base at Kalaikunda in the East. The Mysteres were employed primarily in the ground attack
role in which they proved extremely effective, with their swaths of 5 5 mm rockets most
effective against armoured vehicles. Perhaps the most outstanding operational success was
enjoyed by the Gnat, the three squadrons of which provided the air defence mainstay by
flying CAPs over most operational IAF bases as well as fulfilling escort missions. Indeed,
such was its success particularly against the F-86, that it was to earn the appellation of
"Sabre Slayer". The September conflict was the first full-scale war in which the
post-independence IAF was involved and the Service learned many lessons as a result. Post
mortem examination revealed some requirements, the pace of expansion being slowed while
lessons were digested. It was realised that too much emphasis had been placed on quantity
at some cost in quality in order to cater for the dictates of the very high tempo IAF
expansion embarked upon following the Sino-Indian War. This had necessitated cutting the
duration of training courses to maximise personnel output and there was evidence that this
could have some adverse effect on operational efficiency.. Emphasis was now reversed in
that quality once more took precedence over quanitity and training underwent major
reorganization in consequence. Consolidation
and modernisation There could, of course, be no abatement in
equipment modernisation. While the Indo-Pakistan conflict had underlined the vital
importance of the state or readiness of the men flying and servicing the aircraft, their
training and motivation, the efficacy of their equipment was of equal concern. When the
September 1965 hostilities began, the MiG-21 had still to achieve operational status. No.
28 Squadron had been formed on the MiG-21 clear-weather day intercept model but was still
very much a trials unit then flying localised CAPs. Early acquisition of MiG-21s of a
later and more potent version was considered essential to accelerate re-equipment of
squadrons still flying such patently obsolete types as the Vampire FBMk.52. Thus
sufficient numbers of the improved MiG-21FL (Type 77 in IAF parlance) were imported in
flyaway condition to initiate the programme, and these, together with others imported in
CKD form for HAL assembly, were to be sufficient for the re-equipment of nine squadrons
during the period 1966-69. Owing to the success enjoyed by the
Gnat during the conflict, plans for its early-1966 phase-out by HAL were halted and
production was fully reinstated, to result in a further four Gnat squadrons (Nos 15, 21,
22 and 24) being formed during 1966-68. Delay in availability of the HAL-designed HF-24
Marut for the ground attack fighter mission led, in 1966, to the IAF evaluating and the
Government purchasing the Sukhoi Su-7BM(Click
here for the Picture), deliveries of which from the Soviet Union
were to commence in March 1968, with No.26 Squadron being the first of a half-dozen
squadrons that were to operate the type. Within three years of the Indo-Pakistan conflict,
the IAF, which had achieved equal status with the Army on 15 January 1966, possessed in
excess of 70,000 personnel and was nearing its 45-squadron goal. Its composition in the
autumn of 1968 included 23 fighter category squadrons, three tactical bomber squadrons, a
maritime patrol squadron (with ex-Air India L. 1049G Super Constellations), 11 transport
squadrons, four AOP squadrons, a number of helicopter units and a few SAM squadrons. Numerically predominating in the fighter
inventory was the Gnat, equipping eight squadrons; six squadrons were equipped with the
Hunter, a further four on the MiG-21FL and two on the Mystere IVA. Two squadrons fulfilled
the photo-recce fighter role with adapted Vampire T Mk. 55s and one squadron was operating
the HF-24 Marut. The bombing element comprised three squadrons equipped with the Canberra;
the maritime reconnaissance unit, No. 6 Sqn, had finally relinquished its Liberators late
in 1967, and was operating adapted L- 1049G Super Constellations. The airlift component
consisted of two squadrons with An- 12Bs, three with C- 119Gs, three with C-47s, two with
Otters and one each with 11-14s and Caribous while one squadron was in process of
converting from the C-47 to the HS. 748. The AOP squadrons operated a mix of Auster AOP-9s
and HAL-designed HAOP-27 Krishaks, and the Helicopter Units, which were not formed into
separate squadrons, were equipped with the Mi-4 and the Alouette 111 (Chetak). As the
sixties translated to the seventies, the IAF consolidated its expansion plans, attaining
its 45-squadron goal. Obsolescent equipment was steadily withdrawn to be succeeded by
increasing numbers of HF-24s, MiG-21FLs and SU-7BMs and in March 1971, planning began on
the creation of an extensive Air Defence Ground Environment System (ADGES), the emphasis
initially being placed on strengthening surveillance of the Sino-lndian border. Flying
training was rationalised and expanded and, inJanuary 1971, the Air Force Academy at
Dundigal (near Hyderabad) was inaugurated. The professional standards, capability and
flexibility of the much expanded Service were soon to be put to the acid test. From early
1971, as the political situation on the sub-continent deteriorated, the IAF was alerted to
the possibility of another armed conflict. For some weeks in November, both Indian and
Pakistan governments protested violations of national airspace along the western border,
but aerial conflict between the respective air arms began in earnest on 22 November,
preceding full-scale warfare between India and Pakistan by 12 days. At 1449 hours, four
Pakistani Sabres strafed Indian and Mukti Bahini positions in the Chowgacha Mor area, and
10 minutes later, while engaged on a third strafing run, the Sabres were intercepted by
four Gnats from No. 22 Sqn, a detachment of which was operating from Dum Dum Airport,
Calcutta. During the ensuing melee, three of the Sabres were shot down, all Gnats
returning to base unscathed. The first blood of a new Indo-Pakistan air war had been
drawn. Other encounters were to follow over the next 10 days, within both Indian and
Pakistani airspace, before full-scale war began on 3 December. Pre-emptive strikes were
launched by the Pakistan Air Force against IAF bases at Srinagar, Amritsar and Pathankot,
followed by attacks on Ambala, Agra, Jodhpur, Uttarlai, Avantipur, Faridkot, Halwara and
Sirsa. Apart from IAF bases, the PAF attacked railway stations, Indian armour
concentrations and other targets. In response and during the ensuing two weeks, the IAF
carried out some 4,000 sorties in the West from major and forward bases in Jammu, Kashmir,
Punjab and Rajasthan, while, in the East, a further 1,978 sorties were flown. Throughout the conflict, in
which Indian strategy was to maintain basically defensive postures on the western and
northern fronts whilst placing emphasis on a lightning campaign in the east, the IAF
established a highly credible serviceability rate which exceeded 80 per cent. Mission
emphasis throughout was on interdiction. In the West the IAF's primary tasks were
disruption of enemy communications, the destruction of fuel and ammunition reserves, and
the prevention of any ground force concentrations so that no major offensive could be
mounted against India while Indian forces were primarily engaged in the East. On the
Eastern front, the Indian forces launched a sophisticated campaign which included
rapid-moving infantry and armour advancing from three directions, airborne and heliborne
assaults, missile bombardments from ships and an amphibious landing, the IAF's task being
primarily direct support of the ground forces. In a classic air action in the Western
desert, four Hunters of the OCU, detachment at Jaisalmer destroyed an entire armoured
regiment at Longewala, literally stopping the enemy offensive in its tracks. The IAF had good reason for
satisfaction with its showing during the December 1971 conflict. Although Pakistan had
initiated the war with pre-emptive air strikes against major forward air bases, the IAF
rapidly gained the initiative and had thereafter dominated the skies over both fronts.
Admittedly, there had to be war losses but the IAF flew many more sorties than its
opponent with interdiction missions predominating, and the bulk of the Service's attrition
was the result of intensive anti-aircraft fire; in aerial combat, the IAF proved its
superiority in no uncertain manner. First round had gone to the Gnats, again, but its
later compatriots, the MiG-21s, were to shortly demonstrate the superiority of this
supersonic fighter, flown by professionals. Six squadrons of MiG-21FLs were part of the
IAF's order-of battle, participating in operations both in the Eastern and Western
Sectors. Three MiG-21 squadrons, operating from Gauhati and Tezpur,took part in
counter-air, escort and close air support tasks during the blitzkrieg action in
Bangladesh. That the MiG-21 was highly effective in short range, precision attacks was
amply demonstrated during the attacks with 500 kg bombs on the PAF's air bases at Tezgaon
and Kurmitola, while pin point 57 mm rocket attacks were carried out against key command
centres in the capital Dacca itself. It was in the Western theatre that the
MiG-21 was employed in its primary task, that of air defence, escort and interception.
Deployed at all the major air bases, from Pathankot in the north to Jamnagar in the South
Western area, the MiG-21FLs mounted hundreds of combat air patrol sorties over Vital
Points (VP) and Vital Areas (VA), flew escort missions for bombers and strike fighters and
were continuously scrambled to intercept hostile intruders. The MiG-21 finally met its
original adversary, the F- 104 Starfighter, in air combat over the Subcontinent during the
December 1971 conflict and in all four recorded cases of classic dog fights, the MiG-21s
outclassed and out fought the F- 104s. The first aerial victory was on 12 December 1971,
when MiG-21FLs of No. 47 Squadron shot down a PAF F-104 over the Gulf of Kutch and this
was followed by three more victories in quick succession on 17 December, when MiG-21FLs of
No. 29 Squadron escorting HF-24 Maruts, shot down intercepting F-104s near Uttarlai in the
Rajsthan desert in gun-missile encounters, while a third F-104, on an intruding mission,
was shot down by another MiG 21FL of No.29 Squadron. Mig 21 pair The December 1971 war also
meant the gaining of India's highest award for gallantry to the IAF. Flying Officer
Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, flying Gnats with No. 18 Squadron from Srinagar, was posthumously
awarded the Param Vir Chakra. Notwithstanding the successful campaign of December 1971
which created both history and geography, the Indian Air Force had lessons to draw from
subsequent analyses of the conflict, although for the most part, these lessons dictated
refinement rather than any fundamental change. Aircraft Systems Testing Establishment
(ASTE) the Tactics & Air Combat Development Establishment, (TACDE), the 'College of
Air Combat' and other specialist establiments continued to mature. Work on the ADGES was
resumed in 1974-75 and plans for the qualitative upgrading of the entire Air Force were
continually refined. The IAF handed over its Super Constellations to the Navy in 1975. The
early seventies saw force levels being consolidated, and training in new weapons-systems
and evolution of new tactics being honed. By the mid '70s, the IAF was clearly in
need of urgent re-equipment decisions and various requirements, better known by their
acronyms DPSA, TASA, METAC and HETAC, were pursued and decisions were forthcoming at last.
The period, the IAF was to benefit from a crest in the eighties, the period 1978-88
witnessing a major modernisation programme which replaced most of the earlier generation
and obsolete equipment with spanking new aircraft types and weapon systems. No less than
twenty new aircraft types and sub-types entered the IAF's service over these years,
including various strike fighters, third-generation supersonic interceptors, tri-sonic
reconnaissance aircraft, strategic heavy lift transports, medium tactical transports,
light transport aircraft, heavy lift and medium-assault helicopters, basic trainers,
surface-to-air missiles and an array of sophisticated weaponry propelling the IAF, or Bharatiya
Vayu Sena, into one of the world's better equipped air arms. First off the mark was selection of the
Jaguar strike fighter, to meet the IAF's urgent Deep Penetration Strike Aircraft (DPSA)
requirement, to replace the Canberra and Hunter still soldiering on in this exacting role.
After many years of evaluation and negotiation, the Anglo-French fighter was contracted
for, an interim batch of ex-RAF Jaguars being accepted to re-equip No. 14 Squadron. IAF
pilots and technicians received conversion training with the RAF and British Aerospace in
Lossiemouth, Coltishall and Warton before ferrying the first Jaguars to India in July
1979. These were followed by a batch of U.K. built Jaguars to re-equip No. 5 Squadron even
as simultaneously, HAL prepared for production of the aircraft, its powerplants, avionics
and accessories in India. By the mid-80s, the Jaguar was in service with Nos. 5, 14, 16
and 27 Squadrons while a flight of No.6 Squadron was equipped with the Maritime Jaguar
carrying the new generation Sea Eagle anti-ship sea-skimming missile. The Jaguar strike
fighter was equipped also with Magic air-to-air missiles on unique overwing pylons,
featured advanced nay-attack systems and able to carry formidable warload till the far
ends of the sub-continent. Meanwhile, in 1976, the
"third generation" MiG-21bis, considered the definitive variant of the classic
tailed-delta fighter design, was to follow-on the "M" sub-type, as a multi-role
air superiority/ground attack version. The MiG-21bis assumed the prime air defence mantle
and sufficient numbers were acquired in 1976-77 to equip three squadrons (Nos. 15, 21 and
23) formerly operating the Gnat light fighter. With some 580 MiG-21s delivered by HAL and
nearly 250 MiG-21s (including the two-seat operational trainers) imported as "fly
aways", the type remained an immense asset for the Indian Air Force for over a
quarter century. The quantity vs. quality dilemma inevitably faced by most of the world's
air forces as a consequence of spiralling costs was mitigated for the IAF by the large
scale availability of the MiG-21, which type will surely go down as one of aviation
history's all-time classics. The next requirement to be
met was for a Tactical Air Strike Aircraft (TASA). With the various development programmes
to enhance the operational performance of the HF-24 Marut by HAL abandoned for one reason
or the other, the Government of India concluded an agreement with the Soviet Union for the
MiG-23 variable-sweep fighter. Four squadrons, then flying the HF-24 and Sukhoi Su-7 were
re-equipped with the MiG-23BN and induction into IAF service of this swing-wing fighter.
Nos. 10 and 220 Squadrons were shortly operational on the new type and Nos. 31 and 221
followed to add a considerable measure of potency to the offensive air support formations
of the IAF. The dedicated strike derivative, selected for licence production by HAL, was
the MiG-27M which shared the overall configuration of the BN but was optimised for
low-level, high-speed performance. The last Sukhoi Su-7 Squadron (No.222) became the first
MiG-27M unit and the Ajeet light fighter squadrons were gradually re-equipped with the
MiG-27ML, No.9 being followed by Nos.18,22 and lately, No.2. Induction of the new
generation F-16 fighter by the PAF in 1981-82 was a "dejavu" type situation for
India and in order to counter such a challenge, the Government contracted for the MiG-23MF
air superiority version of the swing-wing fighter, equipped with beyond-visual range
missiles, and two new squadrons (Nos. 223 and 224) were formed on the type in 1982.
However, these were considered only an interim solution and, in the absence of suitable,
known, Soviet equivalents, India turned to Western sources for an advanced technology
interceptor. In 1982, a contract was finalised with France for the Mirage 2000
delta-wing, fly-by-wire fighter, with high agility and a formidable radar/missile
combination. IAF pilots and technicians had converted to the Mirage 2000 at Mont de Marsan
and ferried the fighters from France in the summer of 1985. Two squadrons (Nos. 1 and 7)
were re-equipped with the new French fighter in 1985-86 and the Indian Air Force employed
this multi-role advanced technology fighter to good effect in a number of actions within
the next few years. Not too long afterwards, the Indian Air
Force was, to be pleasantly surprised when its test pilots were invited to evaluate the
Soviet Union's latest, still-under-wraps, air superiority fighter, vaguely known to the
public as the Fulcrum. Officially designated the MiG-29, the IAF team was obviously
delighted by the new generation fighter's performance and handling qualities, described as
"truly outstanding". Two years were to pass, however, before the Governments of
India and the Soviet Union formalised an agreement for supply of the MiG-29, integrated
with contemporary pulse doppler radar and new weapon systems. |
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