Pink's War

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Pink's War
partof=


caption=Map of the area of operations
date=March and April 1925
place=South Waziristan
casus=Tribal rebellion
territory=
result=Tribal leaders accept terms
combatant1=RAF aircraft of No. 2 (Indian) Wing cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Air Commodore R C M Pink
work =Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation
publisher =
date =2007-06-17
url =http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Pink.htm
format =HTML
doi =
accessdate = 2007-09-08]
combatant2=Mahsud tribesmen
combatant3=
commander1=Wing Commander R C M Pink
commander2=
commander3=
strength1=Three aircraft squadrons
strength2=
strength3=
casualties1=Two personnel killed and one aircraft lost
casualties2=Not known
casualties3=
notes=

Pink's War was an air to ground bombardment and strafing carried out by the Royal Air Force, under the command of Wing Commander Pink, against the mountain strongholds of Mahsud tribesmen in South Waziristan in March and April 1925.cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Royal Air Force History - RAF History Timeline 1918 to 1929
work =
publisher = Royal Air Force
year =2003
url =http://www.raf.mod.uk/history_old/line1918.html
format =HTML
doi =
accessdate = 2007-09-08 ]

Background

The defence of the North-West Frontier Province was an important task for British India. In the 1920s, the British were engaged in a continuing effort to pacify militant tribesmen in the province. In July 1924 the British mounted operations against several of the Mahsud tribes in southern Waziristan and by October they had mostly been subdued. Only the Abdur Rahman Khel tribe and three other supporting tribes continued to attack British Indian Army posts.cite web
last =Smith
first =Richard
title =Pink, Richard Charles Montagu (1888–1932)
work =Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
url =http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/76073
format =HTML
accessdate = 2007-10-08]

Operations

The fledgling RAF was keen to establish its military credentials and the air officer commanding in India, Sir Edward Ellington, made the unprecedented decision to conduct air operations against the tribesmen without the support of the army.

Bristol Fighters and de Havilland DH9s from Nos. 5, 27 and 60 squadrons were deployed to the airstrips at Miranshah and Tank.cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =British Military Aviation in 1925
work =
publisher = Royal Air Force Museum
year =2003
url =http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/milestones-of-flight/british_military/1925.html
format =HTML
doi =
accessdate = 2007-09-08 ] Operations commenced on 9 March 1925cite book
last =Delve
first =Ken
title =The Source Book of the RAF
publisher =Airlife Publishing Ltd
year =1994
location =
pages =283
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = 1853104515] and the RAF squadrons strafed tribal mountain strongholds in a successful attempt to crush the rebellion.

On 1 May 1925, the tribal leaders sought an honourable peace bringing the short campaign to a close. Only two British lives and one aircraft were lost during the campaign. Pink's War was the first air action of the RAF carried out independently of the Army or Navy.

Honours

After the campaign was over, the India General Service Medal with the Waziristan 1925 bar was awarded to the 46 officers and 214 men of the Royal Air Force who took part in Pink's War. It was by far the rarest bar given with an India General Service Medal and was only awarded after the then Chief of the Air Staff Sir John Salmond succeeded in overturning the War Office decision not to grant a medal for the campaign. [cite book
last =Laffin
first =John
authorlink =John Laffin
coauthors =
title =Swifter than Eagles. A biography of Marshal of the RAF Sir John Salmond
publisher =William Blackwood & Sons Ltd
year =1964
location =
pages =207-208
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = ] The campaign's commander, Wing Commander Pink, received speedy promotion to group captain.

References