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Showing posts with the label Westland

NO. 1 SQUADRON

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NO. 1 SQUADRON The first Indian Air Force unit raised was No.1 Squadron, Indian Air Force on April 1, 1933. Since then a number of Squadrons, Flights and Units were raised spanning the number range 1-224. With the exception of a few SA-2 Squadrons raised in the mid 60s, all other Squadrons operated either fixed wing aircraft or helicopters. No.1 Squadron Air Force was raised on  April 1, 1933 at Drigh Road, Karachi and equipped with 04 Westland Wapiti aircraft. The Indian element consisted of six officers and nine technicians then known as Hawai Sepoys. The early history of 1 Squadron is synonymous with the history of the Indian Air Force. It was formed on the day the Indian Air Force received its first batch of trained pilots from RAF Cranwell. The first batch of Indians at Cranwell were HC Sircar, Subroto Mukherjee (later Air Marshal and the first Indian Chief of the Air Staff), AB Awan, Bhupendra Singh, Amarjit Singh and J N Tandon. Its current location is Mah

NO. 4 SQUADRON

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NO. 4 SQUADRON The No. 4 Squadron of Air Force was formed at Peshawar on Feb 1, 1942, under the command of Sqn Ldr Hu 'Bulbul' Khan. It was the third IAF Squadron to be equipped with the Westland Lysander Army Co-operation aircraft. Within days of its formation, the Squadron would move to Miranshah, were the first mission against the tribals in NW Frontier was undertaken to bomb Shirani. The crest, which was adopted in 1944 consists of an Oorial head with the Ashoka on top and the Squadron’s Motto ‘Maan par Jhan’ meaning 'Honour unto death' written below. The oorial was named after the local mountain sheep present in the Peshawar area where the squadron used to conduct ops. This was to symbolise the qualities of endurance, strength and the fighting spirit that makes it fight to death rather than lose face and honour by turning away.