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NO. 6 SQUADRON The No 6 Squadron is one of the ten senior squadrons of the Indian Air Force, raised before Independence. The squadron formed at Trichinopoly (now Tiruchirapally) on December 1, 1942 under the command of the redoubtable Squadron Leader Mehar Singh. The 'Dragon' emblem was initially carried on the B-24 Liberators of the Squadron. A modified version of this dragon is shown on the patch currently worn by the pilots of the Squadron. By representing its association with both the sea and the air and its motto, ‘Sada Satark’ ‘Always Alert’. A squadron veteran interested in heraldic matters informs us that the crest as originally designed violated accepted rules of heraldry, in having the dragon facing from left to right. (This is because when flown on a flag, crest designs conventionally show the flagstaff on the left, which would have resulted in the dragon moving backwards when the flag was marched.) The error was only noticed after the Presiden

NO. 8 SQUADRON The No. 8 Squadron, Indian Air Force (Pursoots) was formed in 1943 at Trichinopoly (now Tiruchirapalli) and were trained at Peshawar and Bhopal. On December 2, 1943, they were moved to Doublemooring in Chittagong (now in Bangladesh) to work closely together with No. 82 Squadron RAF in the Burma Campaign. Equipped with Spitfires they had significant success against the Japanese Imperial Army.Presently, the squadron is based at the Bareilly Air Force Station, Uttar Pradesh. They will be re-equipped with the Su-30MKI Fighter aircraft by 2008-09. The Squadron’s motto is ‘Surakshya va Akraman’, meaning ‘Offence is Defence'. Its insignia has a star in the centre superimposed with a fierce dragon with an open mouth.