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First group of Indian pilots arrive in London, 8 October 1940

In 1940, 24 Indian pilots, also known as the X-squad, were chosen from 72 trainees of the Indian Airforce 4th Pilot's Course and sent to the UK for operational training and squadron service with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR).[1][2]

The pilots included Ranjan Dutt, Erlic W. Pinto, Hari C. Dewan, Mahinder Singh Pujji and Man Mohan Singh. Of the 24, 16 qualified as pilots and six were posted to non-flying duties. Eight completed further training as fighter pilots and served in Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons after the Battle of Britain. Others were selected for Bomber/Coastal Command.

Eight were killed during training or in action. Some of those who survived became Air Marshalls in the Indian Air Force (IAF) after independence.

Recruitment

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In 1940, the Air Ministry requested the British Government in India to send Indian pilots for further training in England.[3][a] On 8 August 1940, 24 mostly newly qualified Indian pilots were recruited from Lahore and Ambala to join the RAFVR.[2][3] They left Lahore for Bombay (now Mumbai) on 3 September 1940,[5] and departed India as one group at the end of September 1940.[1][2][b]

UK

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The group arrived in England on the P&O liner SS Strathallan on 6 October 1940 and headed for RAF Uxbridge on 8 October.[6][c] Their arrival was given widespread media coverage.[1] When they reached a London train station, they were greeted by Sir Louis Leisler Greig and the photographer William G. Vanderson.[7][8] Each were individually welcomed by the Air Minister, Sir Archibald Sinclair, who handed each a note concluding "We shall be proud to have you fighting by our side".[9] They were conducted by J. M. R. Jayakar.[10]

After a month the group had tea with the King before being divided in two.[10][11][d] Most were posted to No. 12 Elementary Flying Training School RAF at Prestwick to train on Tiger Moths.[1][2] Advanced training was completed at No. 9 Service Flying Training School at RAF Hullavington, Wiltshire, and they received their wings on 16 April 1941.[1] Of the 24, six were posted to non-flying duties.[2] Eight had qualified for fighter training at No. 56 OTU at RAF Sutton Bridge.[1] They included Dutt, Pujji, Mehta, Gnanamuthu and Nazirullah.[1] They mostly served in RAF squadrons after the Battle of Britain for around three months in 1941.[1][12][13] Others were selected for Bomber/Coastal Command.[2]

At first they received 425 rupees per month and an annual oversees allowance of £25, which was raised to £100.[14]

Deaths and legacy

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Eight were killed during training or in action.[15] Dewan, Pinto, Shivdev Singh and Dutt later became Air Marshalls in the Indian Air Force after independence.[1]

In 2014 a statue of Pujji was erected in Gravesend, Kent.[16][17] Man Mohan Singh's name is remembered on the Darwin Military Museum Memorial Wall, Australia.[18]

List of pilots

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List of 24 Indian pilots seconded to UK 1940
Pilot Comment Image References
Kenneth Joseph Bhore Arrived in England at age 27 years. Later joined Pakistan Air Force (PAF). [15]
Kali Prasad Chaudhury Born to K.N. Chaudhury of Ballinganj, Calcutta, India. Served in No. 10 Operational Training Unit RAF. Killed in action at age 26 years on 18 June 1941; aircraft lost. Memorial at Golders Green Jewish Cemetery . [19]
Kanwar Haveli Shah Chopra Born 18 December 1915, died 6 October 1954. [20]
Rustom Nariman Dastur Born to Nariman Pestonji Dastur and Hoiabai Nariman Dastur, of Bandra, Bombay, India. Killed in action at age 22 years on 31 August 1941. He is buried at Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery. [21]
Hari Chand Dewan Arrived in England at age 18 years. Later became Air Marshal and head of the Eastern Air Command in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. [15][22]
Ranjan Dutt In England he flew Hurricanes with No. 32 Squadron RAF, and upon return to India flew Lysanders. Died in 2009. [23]
Mohit Mohan Ghose Recruited at age 25 years. [15]
Anandaraj Samuel Gnanamuthu Born to Captain G. D. Gnanamuthu, Civil Assistant Surgeon, of Kollegat, Coimbatore District, India. Died 11 July 1941 at age 22 years. [24]
Harbans Krishan Khanna Born 15 May 1919. Died 31 Aug 1941. [25]
Chander Parkash Khosla Killed in action. He is commemorated at Air Forces Memorial [26]
Mian Mohd Latif Arrived in England at age 21 years. [15]
Ali Raza Khan Pasha Born 12 January 1917, died in service 18 June 1941. He is buried in the Muslim section of Brookwood Cemetery, UK. [27][28]
Hukum Chand Mehta Died during an accident while training on 3 November 1941. He is commemorated at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne cemetery [29][30]
Edwin Nazirullah For a while served No. 32 Squadron RAF. Later joined PAF [1][29][31]
Erlic Wilmot Pinto Served in the UK from 1940 to 1942. Graduated from RAF Staff College, Andover. In 1959, became Air vice marshal, India. [6][32][33]
Mahinder Singh Pujji Born in 1918, died in 2010. [34]
Om Prakash Sanghi Arrived in England age 25 years. [15]
Satya Pal Shahi Retired in 1973 [35][36]
Gurbachan Singh Died in crash on 12 April 1941 after hitting telephone wires [37]
Shiv Dev Singh Arrived in England at age 20 years. He made 22 operational flights over Germany occupied territory. Later became Air Marshal and then Vice of Air Staff in post-independent India. Credited his fame to looking like Man Mohan Singh. [11][38][39]
Tarlochan Singh Born 28 Jul 1915. Killed whilst training. [31][40]
Man Mohan Singh Older than the others, they referred to him as "cha-cha". Killed in action. [1][11]
Ganjam Subbaramaiah First to die. [15][31]
Chaman Lal Tandon Arrived in England age 21 years [15]
[edit]
  • Arrival in the UK[41]
    Arrival in the UK[41]
  • Tea time
    Tea time
  • 19 of the pilots studying maps[42]
    19 of the pilots studying maps[42]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Calls to expand the Indian Air Force were made in early 1940.[4]
  2. ^ A twenty fifth pilot, Dattatreya Anant Samant, not part of the group but travelled on the same liner to the UK and may have passed security as he appeared like the others.[1] He gained a place at the RAFVR and later served No.263. Squadron RAF.[1]
  3. ^ The IAF Act was passed on 8 October 1932 and in the late 1970s the date became Air Force Day in India.[1]
  4. ^ K.S. Nair cites the location as Windsor Castle, while newspapers of the time say it was at Buckingham Palace.[1][10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Nair, K. S. (2019). "2. 1939-40: War in Europe". The Forgotten Few; The Indian Air Force in World War II. Noida, UP: Harper Collins. pp. 42–70. ISBN 978-93-5357-067-5.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Goodrum, Alastair (2019). "6. A foreign field and English sky". School of Aces: The RAF Training School that Won the Battle of Britain. Amberley Publishing Limited. pp. 130–150. ISBN 978-1-4456-8618-9.
  3. ^ a b "For the RAF: 24 Indian pilot officers". Bradford Observer. 14 August 1940. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ Singh, Jasjit (2013). "2. War from the east". Defence from the Skies: 80 Years of the Indian Air Force: 80 Years of the Indian Air Force. New Delhi: KW Publishers Pvt Ltd. p. 39. ISBN 978-93-81904-53-4.
  5. ^ "Departure of Indian pilots". Belfast Telegraph. 3 September 1940. p. 9 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ a b "UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960". 1940 Passenger list. 9 October 1940. Retrieved 9 November 2022 – via ancestry.co.uk.
  7. ^ "Photograph of Indian pilots arriving in the UK". www.bl.uk. British Library. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Our defenders in the air and at sea". The Sphere. 19 October 1940. p. 72 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "Air Minister welcomes Indian pilots". The Scotsman. 9 October 1940. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ a b c "Indian pilot officers entertained by the King". West Ham and South Essex Mail. 15 November 1940. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ a b c Chowdhry, Mohindra S. (2018). "7. Sikhs in the Second World War". Defence of Europe by Sikh Soldiers in the World Wars. Leicestershire: Troubador Publishing Ltd. pp. 329–383. ISBN 978-1788037-983.
  12. ^ "Indian Air Force | Indian Air Force Aircraft". RAF Museum. 15 August 2020. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Indian pilots in Britain: Participation in raids over Germany". Civil & Military Gazette. Lahore. 27 September 1941. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. ^ "Indian pilots in England". Civil & Military Gazette. Lahore. 30 October 1941. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h "Indian Air Force Gallery :: IAFVR pilots in UK". Bharat Rakshak. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  16. ^ McGowan, Susan (2019). "14. The House of Windsor, 1917-". The Little History of Kent. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-7509-9114-8.
  17. ^ Sharma, Manimugdha S. (29 November 2014). "World War II Indian pilot honoured with statue in UK". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  18. ^ "Remembering Flying Officer Manmohan Singh". Australian Sikh Heritage. Archived from the original on 16 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  19. ^ "Pilot Officer Kali Prasad Chaudhury". RAFCommands. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  20. ^ "Service Record for Flight Lieutenant Kanwar Haveli Shah Chopra 1596 GD(P) at Bharat Rakshak.com". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  21. ^ "Pilot Officer Rustom Nariman Dastur | War Casualty Details 2316987". CWGC. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  22. ^ Batabyal, Guru Saday (2020). Politico-Military Strategy of the Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971. Taylor & Francis. p. 282. ISBN 978-1-000-31766-4.
  23. ^ Panther Red One: Memoirs of a Fighter Pilot: Memoirs of a Fighter Pilot. KW Publishers Pvt Ltd. 2013. p. 129. ISBN 978-93-85714-91-7.
  24. ^ "Search Results". CWGC. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  25. ^ "Service Record for Wing Commander Harbans Krishan Khanna 1632 A&SD at Bharat Rakshak.com". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  26. ^ "Pilot Officer Chander Parkash Khosla | War Casualty Details 1802690". CWGC. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  27. ^ "Service Record for Pilot Officer Ali Raza Khan Pasha Not Issued GD(P) at Bharat Rakshak.com". Bharat Rakshak. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  28. ^ "Pilot Officer Ali Raza Khan Pasha". RAFCommands. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  29. ^ a b Mohan, PVS Jagan (2010). "No.4 Squadron (Feb 1942-June 1943)". The Westland Lysander in Indian Air Force Service. Hydrabad: Jagan Pillarisetti. pp. 21–32.
  30. ^ "Pilot Officer Hukum Chand Mehta | War Casualty Details 2810562". CWGC. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  31. ^ a b c Sapru, Somnath (15 July 2014). Combat Lore: Indian Air Force 1930-1945: Indian Air Force 1930-1945. New Delhi: KW Publishers Pvt Ltd. pp. 130–133. ISBN 978-93-85714-34-4.
  32. ^ "Air Vice-Marshall E.W. Pinto" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 22 November 1963.
  33. ^ Pandey, Hemant Kumar; Singh, Manish Raj (2017). "3. Operation Vijay: Annexation of Portuguese India (1961)". India's major military & rescue operations. Horizon Books. pp. 30–31. ISBN 978-93-86369-39-0.
  34. ^ Visram, Rozina (9 January 2014). "Pujji, Mahinder Singh (1918–2010), fighter pilot". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/103160. ISBN 978-0-19-861411-1. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  35. ^ "Service Record for Air Vice Marshal Satya Pal Shahi 1601 GD(P) at Bharat Rakshak.com". Bharat Rakshak. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  36. ^ Reed, Sir Stanley (1972). Indian and Pakistan Year Book and Who's who. Times of India Press.
  37. ^ "Indian Air Force Aircraft Data [www.bharat-rakshak.com]". Bharat Rakshak. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  38. ^ "Service Record for Air Marshal Shivdev Singh 1595 F(P) at Bharat Rakshak.com". Bharat Rakshak. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  39. ^ Sainik Samachar. Director of Public Relations, Ministry of Defence. 1970. p. 10.
  40. ^ "Service Record for Pilot Officer Tarlochan Singh 1631 GD(P) at Bharat Rakshak.com". Bharat Rakshak. Archived from the original on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  41. ^ "East meets west". Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough. 9 November 1940. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  42. ^ "The camera's eye in war time". Illustrated London News. 23 November 1940. p. 664 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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