The squadron adopted the 'Oorial head' as its emblem in December 1944 shortly before the Supreme Allied Commander of South East Asia CommandLord Louis Mountbatten visited the squadron. The squadron crest consists of an Oorial head with the Ashoka on top and the squadron Motto 'Honour unto death' written below. When the squadron was formed at Peshawar the Afghan tribals used to conduct regular fights amongst the local mountain sheep known as the Oorial; a subspecies of the Urial, with a red coat. The Oorial is a wild horned mountain sheep, with a very lengthened sense of smell and sight. They have the ability to climb the steepest hillsides with remarkable ease, and are even wary and alert with significant strength and endurance. This animal has the ability of being a ferocious fighter that continues the fight to death rather than lose face and honour by turning away.[4]
In 1942 the squadron moved on a detachment to Hyderabad, Sindh, to operate in support of the army during operations against the Hurs. The Indian Army was then dealing with the insurrection instigated by Faqir Ipi.
During 1942, the squadron also operated Lysander detachments from Miranshah, a forward base in the North-West Frontier Province, for action against insurgent Pashtuns in North Waziristan. During this period the squadron operated its aircraft as bombers, besides carrying out its army air cooperation role, tactical reconnaissance and mail dropping missions.[3]
In June 1942, the squadron moved to the RAF station at Risalpur, near Rawalpindi, for converting onto the Hawker Hurricane fighter bombers. The conversion training was completed by August 1942 and No. 4 Squadron moved to Phaphamau to collect its branch new Hurricane IIC aircraft.[3]
In September 1943 the squadron moved from Phaphamau to Bhopal for air-to-air armament training. It was a disastrous move, as out of the 12 Hurricanes that took off, 3 crashed due to bad weather.
On completion of armament training, the squadron moved to Sulur in November 1943 to practice for eventual operations in Burma. In February 1944, the squadron moved to Ranchi to carry out special low flying and ground attack training before moving to the front for its operational tour to Burma.
In March 1944, the squadron moved to Fenny Airfield for operations against the Japanese occupation of Burma. The role of the squadron was to provide close air support to the British Fourteenth Army campaign. It was from Fenny Airfield that the squadron carried out its first operational sorties by providing fighter escort for Dakota transport aircraft, engaged in supply dropping missions for the Northern Combat Area Command in northern Burma.[3]
From August 1944 to January 1945, the squadron was based at Cox's Bazar to relieve No. 6 Squadron RAF and carried out close air support, interdiction and tactical reconnaissance operations.
As the British Fourteenth Army pushed the Japanese forces southwards and moved towards Rangoon, No. 4 Squadron was constantly on the move and kept moving from one advanced landing ground to another.
In December 1944, the Third Arakan Offensive began. The objective being to capture the Maya peninsula Akyab, Ramree island and to contain the Japanese in the Arkan and prevent them from crossing the Arakan Yoma and interfering with the advance of the British Fourteenth Army. No. 4 Squadron operated in direct support of the land forces and bombed Japanese strongpoints at Haparabyin and Ratheduang. During the landing of the Indian troops at Kangow, the squadron laid a smoke screen on the beach to enable safe landing of the troops. In recognition of the services rendered, the squadron's personnel were awarded one DSO, four DFCs and one MBE. It is at this time that the squadron adopted the Oorial head as its emblem.
In April 1945, No. 4 Squadron was transferred back to India, ferrying back 9 Hurricanes for conversion onto Spitfire aircraft. By end of 14 May Spitfire Mk VIIIs were received and conversion training commenced in June. The squadron took part in the Victory over Japan Day parade at Madras by carrying out a flypast.
In August 1945, the squadron was intimated of the possibility of the Oorials moving to Japan as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. This was a singular honour for the Royal Indian Air Force and for No. 4 Squadron in particular. Short take off and landing procedures were practiced in preparation for the move to Japan as it was envisaged that the aircraft would be flown off the aircraft carrier onto onshore airfields. The Spitfire had pneumatically operated flaps which could be lowered fully for landing or raised fully up. The squadron devised a method of getting 15 degrees of flaps by inserting wooden wedges.
On 8 April 1946, HMS Vengeance sailed with 22 aircraft of No. 4 Squadron, berthed at Singapore for refueling and set course for Iwakuni, a port of Kyushu island. The aircraft carrier finally arrived at Air Station Iwakuni and was anchored midstream. The decision taken earlier to fly the aircraft off the carrier was changed since excellent facilities were provided for off-loading and transporting the aircraft.
The squadron was given a temporary base at Air Station Iwakuni until the rest of the personnel arrived. Shortly thereafter, the squadron moved to its permanent location at Miho on Sloustin Island. From here the squadron undertook various flying tasks which were mainly maritime patrol over the sea to ensure there was no subversive activity or smuggling. The stay at Miho was an interesting one and a lot of extracurricular functions were undertaken.
The flight commanders Flight Lieutenant Nur Khan and Flight Lieutenant Shirpurkar evolved a pattern of formation flying depicting the letters "IAF". This being the first time such letters were seen in the sky. There were occasional exercises carried out to display the air strength to the local populations while large formations were flown over the big cities.
The squadron returned to India in February 1947 and was located at Kanpur. They were here when the country achieved independence. In October 1947, the squadron was re-equipped with Hawker Tempest IIs and became the training squadron for the Indian Air Force.[4]
The squadron phased the Mig-21 from its service on 31 October 2023. The squadron is now being equipped with Su-30 MKI.[6]
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 October 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire which honoured India's aviation service during World War II with the prefix Royal. After India gained independence from United Kingdom in 1947, the name Royal Indian Air Force was kept and served in the name of the Dominion of India. With the transition to a republic in 1950, the prefix Royal was removed.
No. 7 Squadron, Indian Air Force operates as a Special Munitions Delivery and air superiority unit. Based at Gwalior AFB, No.7 Squadron forms a part of 40 Wing AF, Central Air Command.
The Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) was the aerial force of British India and later the Dominion of India. Along with the Indian Army, and Royal Indian Navy, it was one of the Armed Forces of British Indian Empire.
Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee OBE was an Indian military officer who was the first Indian Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Indian Air Force. He was awarded several honours during the course of a three-decade-long career, ended by his untimely demise in 1960. He has been called the Father of the Indian Air Force.
The No.3 Squadron (Cobras) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) operates as a Close Air Support (CAS) and reconnaissance unit. Currently based at NAL Air Force Station, No. 3 Sqn falls under the Western Air Command, forms the 46 wing of the IAF.
No. 6 Squadron (Dragons) is a fighter squadron and is equipped with Jaguar IM/IS and based at Jamnagar Air Force Station.
No. 20 Squadron (Lightnings) is a fighter squadron. It is equipped with Sukhoi Su-30MKI and based at Lohegaon Air Force Station, Pune.
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Flying Officer Dinshaw Ferozeshaw Eduljee, AFC was a former officer of the Indian Air Force (IAF). He was the first pilot of the IAF to receive the Air Force Cross, on 1 June 1944. Eduljee is presumed to have died after the Hurricane fighter aircraft he was flying crashed in action behind Japanese lines in Burma. The circumstances and time of his death are not known.
Squadron Leader Mandepanda Appachu Ganapathy was a fighter pilot and officer of the Indian Air Force, known for his involvement in the Aerial Battle of Boyra during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. He was awarded the Vir Chakra for shooting down a PAF Sabre in the above-mentioned aerial battle
No. 106 Squadron ("Lynxes") is a squadron of the Indian Air Force. It was raised on 1 May 1957 with eight newly inducted PR.57 English Electric Canberras in the strategic photo-reconnaissance role. Initially positioned at Bareilly, later the squadron moved to Agra. When the Canberras were retired in 2007, the squadron was equipped with Hawker Siddeley HS 748 ("Avros"). The motto of the squadron is "Sarva Peshayami".
Wing Commander Karun Krishna 'Jumbo' Majumdar, DFC & bar was an officer in the Indian Air Force. He was the first Indian to reach the rank of wing commander.
No. 45 Squadron Indian Air Force is a Fighter Squadron internally based at Sulur AFS, Tamil Nadu. The squadron operates the indigenous HAL Tejas fighter from 1 July 2016. The squadron was initially based at Bangalore, Karnataka and later shifted to its main base in Sulur from 1 June 2018.
Air Vice Marshal Harjinder Singh, PVSM, MBE was an Air Officer in the Indian Air Force. He was one of the earliest to join the newly created Indian Air Force (IAF) in 1933 in the lowest rank of 'Hawai sepoy'. In a career spanning over three decades and two wars, he rose from the lowest enlisted rank to the then second-highest rank in the Indian Air Force. Hailed as technical wizard and innovator, he is considered a legend of the IAF.
In 1940, 24 Indian pilots, also known as the X-squad, were sent to the UK for operational training and squadron service with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR).
Air Vice Marshal Ranjan Dutt, VrC was a former air officer of the Indian Air Force. He last served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Air Command. Prior to that, he was the managing director of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
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