History of the Indian Air Force

The history of the Indian Air Force began with its establishment in 1932 and continues up to the present day.

Formation and early pilots

The establishment of the Indian Air Force (IAF) happened when the Indian Air Force act was passed on October 8 1932. Soon thereafter, the IAF's No.1 Squadron was comissioned on April 1 1933. The IAF initially had five Indian pilots, one RAF Commanding officer, Flt Lt (later Air Vice Marshal) Cecil Bouchier and four Westland Wapiti biplanes.

The first five pilots commissioned into the IAF were Harish Chandra Sircar, Subroto Mukerjee, Bhupendra Singh, Aizad Baksh Awan and Amarjeet Singh. A sixth officer, S N Tandon had to revert to ground duties as he was too short. All of them were commissioned as Pilot Officers in 1932 from RAF Cranwell. Subroto Mukerjee later went on to become the IAF's first Chief of the Air Staff. Subsequent batches inducted before World War II included Aspy Engineer, K K Majumdar, Narendra, Daljit Singh, Henry Runganadhan, R H D Singh, Baba Mehar Singh, S N Goyal, Prithpal Singh and Arjan Singh.

Rquote|left|The Indian Air Force is what it is today because of one thing only - the imagination, courage, loyalty and great quality of the first little pioneer band of Indian officers and airmen, for they were the salt of the earth. They have built up a great fighting service and I am proud to have been associated with this wonderful achievement, if only for a little while.|Air Vice Marshal Sir Cecil Bouchier, First Commanding Officer of the Indian Air Force.

World War II (1939-1945)

During World War II, the IAF played an instrumental role in blocking the advance of the Japanese army in Burma, where its first air strike was on the Japanese military base in Arakan. It also carried out strike missions against the Japanese airbases at Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in northern Thailand.

During the war, the IAF went through a phase of steady expansion. New aircraft, including the U.S. built Vultee Vengeance and the British Hawker Hurricane and Westland Lysander, were added to its fleet.

In recognition of the services rendered by the IAF, King George VI conferred the prefix "Royal" in 1945. Thereafter the IAF was referred to as Royal Indian Air Force. In 1950, When India became a republic, the prefix was dropped and it reverted back to Indian Air Force.

First Kashmir War 1947

In a bid to gain control of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, Pathan tribesmen poured into Kashmir on October 20, 1947, aided by the Pakistani Army. Incapable of withstanding the armed assault in his province, the "Maharaja" of Kashmir, Hari Singh, asked India for help. The Government of India made its assistance conditional upon Kashmir's accession to India. The Instrument of accession was signed on October 26 1947 and the next day Indian troops were airlifted into Srinagar. The agreement was later ratified by the British.

Taking off from Safdarjang, then known as "Willingdon Airfield", the IAF landed Indian troops at Srinagar airfield at 09:30 hours IST on October 27. This was the most instrumental action of the war as the troops saved the city from the invaders. Apart from the airlifting operations and supplying essential commodities to the ground troops, the Indian Air Force had no other major role to play in the conflict. On December 31, 1948, both nations agreed to a UN mediated cease-fire proposal marking the end of hostilities. A Line of Control has since separated Indian-held Kashmir from Pakistani-held Kashmir.

colonial rule, 1960

Belgium's 75-year colonial rule of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Congo ended abruptly on June 30,1960. Unable to control the deteriorating situation in its former African colony, Belgium asked for UN assistance. In India, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was quick to respond to the initial appeal for help and sent IAF Canberra aircraft as a part of the UN-led mission in Congo.

econd Kashmir War 1965

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 tested the strength of the Indian Air Force to its full limit. While the Indian air force was successful in bombarding Pakistani air-fields and ammunition depots and providing crucial air cover to the Indian army, its operations against the Pakistani Air Force were met with stiff resistance.

On September 1 1965, war had erupted between the Republic of India and Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The first missions were flown against the Pakistani armour thrust at Chhamb. Indian Air Force's Number 45 squadron quickly responded to the urgent call for air strikes against the Pakistani army and IAF "Vampire FB Mk 52s" were successful in staggering the Pakistani invasion. The Vampires were followed in quick succession by Mysteres of No. 3 and 31 squadrons from Pathankot. While the Pakistani invasion was blunted, one IAF Vampire was shot down by ground fire and three Vampires were lost over Chhamb in a dog-fight with F-86 Sabres of the PAF.

The appearance of the Sabres necessitated a move by the IAF to send the "Folland Gnat" fighters to the forward base of Pathankot. This move by the IAF succeeded. On September 3, an IAF Gnat, flown by Squadron Leader Trevor Joseph Keelor of the No. 23 Squadron, shot down a PAF F-86 Sabre, marking the first IAF air combat victory since the Burma Campaign. The very next day, another F-86 Sabre was shot down by an IAF Gnat.

On September 6, the Indian Army crossed the Indo-Pakistan border near Lahore to relieve pressure off the Chamb-Jaurian sector. On the evening of the same day, the PAF responded with attacks on two Indian airfields. The attack on Pathankot was successful and the IAF lost nearly 10 aircraft on the ground. However, the attack on Halwara was relatively less successful. IAF shot down two PAF Sabres but lost IAF Hunters. The Indian pilots ejected and survived while both PAF pilots were killed.

On September 7, the IAF mounted over 33 sorties against the PAF airfield complex at Sargodha. PAF lost about 6 aircraft that day. But losses on the Indian side were heavy too. Two "Dassault Mystère" and three Hunters were shot down in two separate events. In another event, an IAF Mysteres successfully engaged a PAF F-104 Starfighter and shot it down. The pilot of the Mysteres, Squadron Leader Ajjamada Boppaya Devayya, was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India's second highest gallantry award, for his heroics during the air combat.

On the same day, PAF attacked IAF airfields in the region bordering erstwhile-East Pakistan. The raid on Kalaikunda was successful once again and the IAF lost 8 aircraft in two raids. However, two of the attacking PAF Sabres were shot down by IAF Hunters. One Indian pilot, Flight Lt. Alfred Tyrone Cooke, engaged four Sabres singlehandedly and shot down one confirmed and claimed another as probable. This second probable Sabre flew back to Dhaka, but was declared a 'write-off' by the PAF.

The war tapered off after September 8 and there were occasional clashes between the IAF and the PAF. During the conflict IAF "English Electric Canberra" raided several Pakistani bases including Sargodha and Chaklala. On September 14, Canberras undertook the deepest strike yet on the Pakistani bases of Peshawar and Kohat.

At one stage, the IAF was operating 200 air missions simultaneously. IAF Gnats of No. 23 and 9 squadrons played a significant role in major air battles and helped to turn the tide after an initial Pakistani thrust. In addition to counter air sorties, the Indian Air Force also launched massive offences on the invading army.

The IAF also flew deep into Pakistani territory to target Pakistan's airfields and missile launch centres. On these missions, sporadic air-combats occurred between IAF and PAF fighters. One Gnat was shot down on September 12, followed by a Sabre on September 14. One Hunter and one Sabre were shot down in an air combat on September 16, and three Sabres were downed by Gnats on September 18 and 19th. The last air combat of the war happened on September 20, when two IAF Hunters were shot down in exchange for one PAF Sabre. On the same day a F-104 intercepted a Canberra bomber on its way back from Sargodha and shot it down. On September 21, IAF Canberras carried out a deep strike daylight sortie into Pakistan and destroyed the PAF Radar at Badin using rockets. The Ceasefire was declared on the night of Sept 22.

Bangladesh Liberation War 1971

After the 1965 War, the Indian Air Force went through an intense phase of modernisation and consolidation. With newly acquired HF-24, MiG-21 and Sukhoi Su-7BM aircraft, the IAF was able to measure up to the most powerful air forces in the world.

The professional standards, capability and flexibility were soon put to the test in December 1971 when India and Pakistan went to war over (then) East Pakistan. At the time, the IAF was under the command of Air Chief Marshal Pratap Chandra Lal. On November 22, 10 days before the start of a full-scale war, four PAF F-86 Sabre jets attacked Indian and Mukti Bahini positions near the Indo-Bangla border in the Battle of Garibpur. In what became the first ever Dogfight over East Pakistan skies (present day Bangladesh), three of the 4 PAF Sabres were shot down by IAF Gnats, and hostilities commenced. December 3 saw the formal declaration of war following massive, but failed preemptive strikes by the Pakistan Air Force against Indian Air Force installations in the west. The PAF targets were against Indian bases in Srinagar, Ambala, Sirsa, Halwara and Jodhpur on the lines of Operation Focus. But the plan failed miserably as Indians had anticipated such a move and no major losses were suffered. The Indian response over Pakistan skies however produced severe blows to the PAF.

Within the first two weeks, the IAF had carried out more than 4,000 sorties in East Pakistan and provided successful air cover for the advancing Indian army in East Pakistan. IAF also assisted the Indian Navy in sinking several Pakistani naval vessels in the Bay of Bengal. In the west, the airforce demolished scores of tanks and armoured vehicles in a single battle - the Battle of Longewala. The IAF pursued strategic bombing by destroying oil installations in Karachi, the Mangla Dam and gas plant in Sindh. As the IAF achieved complete air superiority over the eastern wing of Pakistan within a few days, [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,878969,00.html Bangladesh: Out of War, a Nation Is Born] Dec. 20, 1971 TIME] the ordnance factories, runways, and other vital areas in East Pakistan were severely crippled. In the end, the IAF played a pivotal role in the victory for the Allied Forces leading to the liberation of Bangladesh. In addition to the overall strategic victory, the IAF had also claimed 94 [ [http://orbat.com/site/cimh/iaf/IAF_1971_kills.pdf#search=%22iaf%20combat%20kills%22 IAF Combat Kills, 1971 war] ] Pakistani aircraft destroyed, with some 45 of their own aircraft admitted lost. The IAF had however, flown over 7000 combat sorties on both East and West fronts and its overall sortie rate numbered over 15000. Comparatively the PAF was flowing fewer sorties by the day fearing loss of planes. Towards the end of the war, IAF's transport planes dropped leaflets over Dhaka urging the Pak forces to surrender; East Pakistani sources note that as the leaflets floated down, the morale of the Pakistani troops sunk. [ [http://www.mukto-mona.com/Articles/ishfaq/air_aspect71.htm Air aspect of the Liberation War 1971 by Air Cdre Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury (Retd)] ]

Operation Meghdoot 1984

Operation Meghdoot was the name given to the preemptive strike launched by the Indian Military to capture most of the Siachen Glacier, in the disputed Kashmir region. Launched on April 13, 1984, this military operation was unique as it was the first assault launched in the world's highest battlefield. The military action was quite successful as Indian troops managed to gain two-thirds of the glacier with the rest remaining under Pakistani control.

Kargil 1999

During the Kargil War with Pakistan, the Indian Air Force is said to have proved the decisive force in accelerating the end of the conflict. It successfully provided considerable air-cover for Indian troops fighting against Pakistani soldiers and also carried out air assaults against enemy forces in Kashmir [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu5gzo_wXko&feature=related Indian documentary video - YouTube.com] ] . Most notable were the IAF's Mirage 2000 aircraft [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j80E1mHAohU National Geographic channel video - YouTube.com] ] , which carried out surgical operations to assist ground troops in securing the strategically crucial "Tiger Hill" from its Pakistani captors. The IAF also carried out several operations to provide essential supplies to the ground troops. During the conflict, one IAF MiG-27 and an IAF MiG-21 were claimed shot down by Pakistani air defence missiles However the Indian Air Force had stated that the MiG-27 had an engine flameout in the initial stages of attacking the mountain top targets with its cannon. This is confirmed by an Unofficial Pakistan Air Force Website - [http://www.pafcombat.com/combat-losses/iaf-siachen-kargil.htm PAF Combat.com] , maintained by a serving Air Commodore of the PAF. The MiG-21M was on a search operation to find the MiG-27s crash site, when it was shot down. Later, a Mi-17 helicopter was shot down by a shoulder-held missile with the loss of all its crew.

Atlantique Incident

On August 10 1999, a Pakistan Navy French-built naval Breguet Atlantic was flying over the Rann of Kutch area and was shot down by two IAF MiG-21 jets killing all 16 aboard.

References