X-Nico

43 unusual facts about Indian Air Force


Agnipankh

Agnipankh (The wings of fire in Hindi) is an Indian film directed by Sanjiv Puri about pilots in the Indian Air Force.

The soap opera motif is quickly dispensed with when Pakistani forces led by their military dictator invade Kashmir, sparking off the Kargil War and resulting in the Indian Air Force being deployed.

Allahabad Airport

The Central Air Command is one of the five operational commands of the Indian Air Force.

Ambala Cantonment

It is currently the Headquarters of II Corps (India),(raised in 1970, formation sign Kharga) and an important forward Indian Air Force base.

Aspy Engineer

Air Marshal Aspy Merwan Engineer DFC (15 December 1912 – 1 May 2002) was an officer in the Indian Air Force who rose through the ranks to become Chief of the Air Staff and later served as India's ambassador to Iran.

Bareilly Airport

The air force station is one of the largest airbases of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Begumpet Airport

The Navigation Training School of the Training Command, Indian Air Force, formerly knows as Navigation and Signals School (N&SS), is based here.

The airport is home to the Andhra Pradesh Aviation Academy, Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy (RGAA) and the Begumpet Air Force Station of the Indian Air Force.

Bhimtal

The Head of the school is a working officer from the Indian Air Force.

Biju Patnaik

Patnaik flew with private airlines but at the start of the Second World War he joined the Royal Indian Air Force eventually becoming head of air transport command.

Car Nicobar Air Force Base

The 3,000-feet bitumen runway, built by the Japanese during their occupation of these islands between 1942–45, was extended to 8,886 feet by the Indian Air Force in 1967.

Charbatia Air Base

In 2011, the Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik announced that the air base will be converted into a full-fledged Indian Air Force station with six C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft.

Deepak B. Phatak

It is now deployed in the Indian Air Force to train technicians and engineers in the rigorous maintenance procedures required by a complex aircraft system.

Denzil Keelor

Air Marshal Denzil Keelor PVSM, AVSM, VrC, KC (born 7 December 1933) is a retired Indian Air Force air marshal and a hero of the Indo-Pakistani war.

Domlur

The major military establishments having divisions in Domlur are Indian Air Force, EME Workshop, and ASC (Army Service Corps).

Gandhi Global Family medals and awards

The recipients of the Mahatma Gandhi Award are the Indian Air Force and Indian Army for their work of rehabilitation and resettlement of Jammu and Kashmir State after the devastating 2005 Kashmir earthquake and Jain Acharya Samrat Dr Shiv Muni ji Maharaj of Sthanakvasi for promoting universal peace and brotherhood.

Goa International Airport

Dabolim airbase also hosts exercises by the Indian Air Force's fighter bombers and it has facilities for the Indian Coast Guard which operates a fleet of small aircraft such as Dornier-228s.

Grace Morley

For the last twenty years, she shared an apartment with a retired Indian Air Force officer and his wife, who became her Indian family, and it was there she died at the age of 84.

Hakimpet Air Force Station

Hakimpet Air Force Station (Hakimpet AFS) is an Indian Air Force base under the Training Command.

Harlow PC-5

Components for 50 aircraft were supplied to the Indian company Hindustan Aeronautics, who were to assemble the aircraft for use by the Indian Air Force as the PC-5A.

Idris Hasan Latif

Air Chief Marshal Latif was commissioned into the Royal Indian Air Force in 1942, and took part in the Burma Campaign on the Arakan Front during World War II.

Indian Army Corps of Engineers

The Sappers also contributed the first batch of airmen when the Indian Air Force was raised in 1932.

Jamnagar Airport

On August 30, 2012, at around 12:30 pm IST two Mi-17 helicopters of the IAF collided with each other while carrying out formation flying and firing exercise.

Jodhpur Airport

It shares its airside with the Jodhpur Air Base of the Indian Air Force.

Kapil Kak

Kapil Kak is a retired officer of the Indian Air Force, who rose to the rank of Air Vice Marshal.

Kazi Salahuddin

Salahuddin decided to play and went to Kolkata on a Cargo Plane of the Indian Air Force.

Lalkaar

Two battle hardened brothers, one in the Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) and the other in the Royal Indian Army get ready to face and fight the stubborn Japanese invaders in Burma during World War II while falling in love with the same girl (Mala Sinha).

Lohegaon

Being an Indian Air Force Base, there is a Kendriya Vidyalaya No.1 and Primary Nursery school as well, Most of the students in these schools are children of Defense personnel staying in New Project, Gurdwara Colony, Lohegoan.

M. M. Alam Road

The road is named after flying ace of Pakistan Air Force, Air Commodore Muhammad Mahmood Alam who was the recipient of the Pakistani military decoration, the Sitara-e-Jurrat (The star of courage) and a bar to it for his dog fight during the Indo Pakistan War of 1965 when he downed five Indian aircraft in less than a minute, the first four within 30 seconds, establishing a world record.

Narayan Menon

Air Marshal Narayan Menon (born 27 September 1944) was a former Air Officer-in-Charge (Personnel) with the Indian Air Force.

Norman Anil Kumar Browne

Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne, also known as "Charlie" Browne, Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) of the Indian Air Force (IAF)from 31 July 2011 to 31 Dec 2013.

Padhiana

Although as many as 282 Army personnel, hailing from Padhiana village, have shown their valour in the World War I and World War II and more than 35 youth from the village still serve in the Indian Army, while some have joined the Indian Air Force has been ignored by the administration.

Pradeep Vasant Naik

Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik served as the nineteenth Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Rajeev was born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, to Indian Air Force Officer, Air Commodore M. K. Chandrasekhar and Mrs. Valli Chandrasekhar.

Ravish Malhotra

Ravish Malhotra (born on 25 December 1943 in Lahore (now in present day Pakistan)) is a retired Air Commodore of the Indian Air Force.

Sadhashivan Radhakrishnan

Air Marshal Sadhashivan Radhakrishnan is a Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) of the Indian Air Force’s Bangalore based Training Command.

Sakanmaw

The 10 IAF Squadron of the Indian Air Force wiped out the village during World War II due the fact it was an important Japanese concentration point.

Shankar Vihar

Shankar Vihar is a residential complex for the serving Officers and their family of Indian Army, Indian Air Force & Indian Navy, provided by the Government of India.

Show of force

Operation Poomalai, on 4 June 1987, the Indian Air Force mounted a mercy mission to airdrop humanitarian relief supplies over the besieged town of Jaffna in Sri Lanka during the Sri Lankan Civil War.

Stephen Venables

During the descent from Panch Chuli V Venables broke both his legs in a fall, when an abseil anchor failed; thanks to his Indian and British team mates and the Indian Air Force, he was rescued.

Subroto Cup

Subroto Cup is conducted by the Indian Air Force, with support from India's Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports.

Subroto Cup Football Tournament is an inter-school football tournament in India, named after the Indian Air Force Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee.

Tezpur Airport

The airfield in Tezpur was constructed by the British Royal Indian Air Force during World War II in 1942.


2002 Jalandhar MiG-21 crash

On May 3, 2002, an Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-21bis crashed into a bank in Jalandhar, Punjab, India, killing eight and injuring 17 people on the ground.

Agni-VI

In June 2011, for the very first time then IAF'S Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik vehemently argued in favour of broadening India's nuclear strike capabilities beyond the immediate neighbourhood.

Airports Authority of India

In addition to in-house flight calibration of its navigational aids, AAI undertakes flight calibration of navigational aids for the Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and other private airfields in the country.

Avadi

The major military establishments having divisions in Avadi are the Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), EFA-Engine Factory,Avadi, Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indian Navy, Central Vehicle Depot (CVD), The Ordnance Depot OD, Unfit Vehicles park UVP and the Ordnance Clothing Factory (OCF).

Comco

In 2003, one of the Comco aircraft was forced to land after being intercepted by aircraft from the Indian Air Force, after it had strayed into Indian airspace by mistake on a flight from Karachi to Malé.

Defence Avionics Research Establishment

The units are being produced by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for use in all IAF and Indian Navy aircraft & Helicopters.

Dorothy Britton

Her late husband, Air Vice Marshal Sir Cecil ("Boy") Bouchier, K.B.E., C.B., D.F.C. was the first commander of the Indian Air Force and a station commander during the Battle of Britain.

Gorget

Air officers in the Indian and Sri Lankan air forces also wear gorget patches with one to five stars depending on their seniority.

Jagdev Chandra

Air Commodore Jagdev Chandra, (Punjabi) (6 Oct 1916- 19 Apr 1991), Royal Indian Air force and later one of the first recruits of Indian Air Force, was a war veteran, served with excellence in Burma during World War 2.

Nibaran Chandra Mukherjee

His grandchildren included Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee, the first Indian to head the Indian Air Force, Prasanta Mukherjee, who became Chairman of the Railway Board and is credited as having played a key role in the establishment of Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, India’s first locomotive manufacturing plant, Renuka Ray, a Gandhian social worker, freedom fighter and later Congress MP, and Amiya Charan Banerjee, mathematician.

No. 224 Squadron IAF

No. 224 Sqn, IAF was raised on 4 July 1983 at Airforce Station Adampur under the command of Wg Cdr RA Massey, Vr C, as a part of Western Air Command.

No. 31 Squadron IAF

31 Squadron IAF, nicknamed Lions, is a Ground Attack squadron of the Indian Air Force, believed to operating from Halwara AFS.

Pistol Auto 9mm 1A

The Pistol Auto 9mm 1A is widely used by Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, Central Armed Police Forces, and other Law enforcement agencies such as State Police forces, as a service weapon.

Ramesh Sakharam Benegal

Air Commodre Ramesh Sakharam Benegal AVSM, MVC (born 9 October 1926 – died April 2003) was an ex-officer of the Indian Air Force and a recipient of Maha Vir Chakra, India's second highest gallantry Award.

St. George's College, Mussoorie

In 2005, the Indian Air Force gifted the school a trainer jet aircraft, TS-11 Iskra, as a tribute to the distinguished service of the school's alumni in the armed forces.

Sufi Barkat Ali

Like other Muslims, he learned the reading of the Qur'an in his village Brahmi and then went to the nearest available schools in the towns of Halwara, famous for its Indian Air Force base, to receive his education.