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Marshal
of the Air Force Arjan Singh, DFC, was one pilot who grew up in the annals
of the air force as the first chief for leading the force into war. He
was Chief of Air Staff when the IAF saw action in its first combat of
the modern age in 1965. He was hardly 44 years of age when entrusted with
the responsibility of leading the Indian Air Force, a responsibility he
carried with considerable flamboyance and élan.
Arjan
Singh was born on 15 April 1919, in Lyalpur, completing his education
at Montgomery. He was still in college in 1938, nineteen years of age
when he was selected for the Empire Pilot training course at RAF Cranwell.
His first posting on being commissioned was flying Westland Wapiti biplanes
in the North Western Frontier Province as a member of the No.1 IAF Squadron.
Arjan Singh, flew against the tribal forces, before he was transferred
for a brief stint with the Newly formed No.2 IAF Squadron. Later he moved
back to No.1 as a Flying Officer, when the Squadron re-equipped with the
Hawker Hurricane.
Promoted
to Squadron Leader in 1944, Arjan Singh led the Squadron against the Japanese
during the Arakan Campaign. flying close support during the crucial Imphal
Campaign and later assisting the advance of the allied forces to Rangoon,
Burma. For his role in successfully leading the squadron in combat, Arjan
Singh received the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in 1944. He was given
command of the IAF Display flight flying Hawker Hurricanes after the war
which toured India giving demonstrations. On 16 August 1947, he had the
unique honour of leading the fly-past of over a hundred IAF aircraft over
Delhi, over the red fort.
Promoted
Wing Commander, he attended Staff College at UK, and immediately after
independence became the AOC, Ambala in the rank of Group Captain. In 1949,
promoted to Air Commodore, Arjan Singh took over the Air Officer Commanding
of Operational Command, which later came to be known as Western Air Command.
Arjan Singh had the distinction of having the longest tenure as the AOC
of Operational Command, from 1949-1952 and again from 1957-1961. Promoted
to Air Vice Marshal, he was the AOC-in-C of Operational Command. Towards
the end of the 1962 war, he was appointed the DCAS and became the VCAS
by 1963. He was the overall commander of the joint air training exercises
"Shiksha" held between the IAF, RAF and RAAF.
On
1 August 1964, Arjan Singh took over as the Chief of Air Staff in the
rank of Air Marshal, which became the pinnacle of this career. Arjan Singh
was the first Air Chief who kept flying category till his CAS rank. Having
flown over 60 different types of aircraft from Pre-WW-2 era Biplanes to
the more contemporary, Gnats and Vampires, he also had flown in transports
like the Super Constellation
Arjan Singh's, testing time came in September 1965, when the subcontinent was plunged into war. When Pakistan launched its Operation Grand Slam, in which an armoured thrust targeted the vital town of Akhnur, he was summoned into the Defence Minister's office with a request for air support.
With
a characteristic non-chalance, he replied "...in an hour." And
true enough, the air force struck the Pakistani offensive in an hour.
He led the air Force through the war showing successful leadership and
effort. Though at a certain level, mistakes were made and planning could
have been better, in all fairness, it must be said that the credit for
thwarting Ayub Khan's grandiose plans to capture Kashmir is shared by
the Army and the Indian Air Force, and Arjan Singh for leading the air
force through the war.
Arjan
Singh was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his leadership of the air force,
and subsequently in recognition of the air force's contribution in the
war, the rank of the CAS was upgraded to that of Air Chief Marshal and
Arjan Singh became the first Air Chief Marshal of the Indian Air Force.
He retired in August 1969, thereupon accepting ambassador ship to Switzerland.
He remained a flyer to the end of his tenure in the IAF, visiting forward
squadrons & units and flying with them. Arjan Singh was a source of
inspiration to a generation of Indians and Officers.
In recognition of his services, the Government of India conferred the rank of the Marshal of the Air Force onto Arjan Singh in January 2002 making him the first and the only 'Five Star' rank officer with the Indian Air Force.
| Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh |
| PVSM, AVSM, VM |
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Dilbagh
Singh was the second Sikh Chief of Air Staff, the Indian Air Force had
after Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh. Born in Punjab on 10 March
1926, Dilbagh took an interest in flying at a very early age. He joined
the IAF in 1944 at the height of World War 2 and was posted to the No.1
Squadron flying Hurricanes at Kohat in 1945.
When
the tribal invasion of Kashmir came in October 1947, Dilbagh Singh was
actively involved in the operations. He was one of the first to fly operations
in a Spitfire from Srinagar. Later on he joined No.10 Winged Daggers Squadron
and flew sorties against the raiders in the Hawker Tempest aircraft. For
his role in the operations, Dilbagh Singh was Mentioned-in-Despatches.
After the Kashmir Operations, he was deputed to attend Flying Instructors
training after which Dilbagh Singh was involved in training Afghan Air
Force cadets.
Promoted
to Squadron Leader in 1954, he assumed the responsibilities of Officer
In Charge of Flying at the Ambala Air Base. Command of a Squadron came
his way in August 1955, when he took over No.2 Squadron flying Spitfire
XVIIIs. Dilbagh did not stay with No.2 Squadron for long, he handed over
command in February 1956 and went to France to get trained on the Mystere
IV-A fighter. After returning from France, Dilbagh took over as the CO
of No.1 Squadron flying the Mystere IV-A at Kalaikunda.
After
arriving in India, Dilbagh undertook the first official 'Supersonic Bang'
over India in New Delhi when the Mystere IV-A was showcased to the Nation.
After four years of operational flying, Dilbagh Singh went to Jamnagar
as the Chief Instructor at the Armament Training Wing.
Dilbagh
shot into the limelight in late 1962, when he was selected to be trained
on the MiG-21F which was being acquired by India from the USSR. He led
the first batch of seven 'chosen' pilots and 15 engineers for training
at Lugovya, an airbase in Kazakhstan in the erstwhile USSR for training
on the MiG-21F fighter. After undergoing training for five months, the
team came back to India to form the core of the first supersonic squadron,
No.28 First Supersonics Squadron. Dilbagh Singh raised the unit in Chandigarh
with an order of battle of six MiG-21s in early 1963.
In
May 1965, Dilbagh handed over the command of No.28 Squadron to Wg. Cdr.
M.S.D. Wollen (later Air Marshal) and joined Air Headquarters as Deputy
Director (Weapons). He was holding the staff job till the end of the 1965
war with Pakistan, when he took over command of Halwara AFB in the rank
of Group Captain. His services were recognised with the award of the Vayu
Sena Medal in 1966. More staff appointments followed.
At
the outbreak of the 1971 War, Dilbagh Singh was under Central Air Command,
as Air Officer Commanding of Lohegaon AFB, near Pune. From his base, No.35
Squadron flying Canberras struck Karachi Oil Tanks and Harbour Installations.
Dilbagh's responsibilities included providing facilities to aircraft of
the maritime air operations. Dilbagh became the Senior Air Staff Officer
in the Western Air Command in 1976 and finally became the Air Officer
Commanding in Chief (AOC-in-C) of Western Air Command in 1978. In 1979,
He received the Param Vishist Seva Medal for distinguished service.
In
1981, Dilbagh Singh became the Chief of Air Staff, in the rank of Air
Chief Marshal. His tenure lasted three years till 1984, in which time
the IAF saw the induction of the MiG-25, MiG-23 and the selection of the
Mirage 2000. He was also the Commodore Commandant of No.28 Squadron. Dilbagh
Singh laid down the office of CAS in 1984, by which time in a career spanning
four decades, he had about 5000 hours of flying on different types of
aircraft, was decorated by the government for distinguished service thrice