On the night of 20th December, 1942, war came to Calcutta. The city was in the midst of the Christmas cheer, the Viceroy Linlithgow was gracing the city with his presence, and everyone was looking forward to the festivities ahead (1/n) 
But that night, all changed. Eight KI-21 bombers from Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF), codenamed "Sally" by the Allies, raided Calcutta. Oil stores at Budge Budge bore brunt of the attack (2/n)
According to some eyewitnesses, a massive hole was blown into the Maidan opposite the Grand Hotel. While there was no loss of life, the bombing landed a killer blow on the psyche of the city, prompting mass exodus upcountry (3/n)
The Jap Sallies returned for the next few nights & the raid on Christmas Eve saw bombs landing around Bentinck Street causing casualties and amplifying the horror. The British administration was caught badly napping (4/n)
But now they swung into action with a number of temporary airfields coming up all over the city. Most memorable of these was bang in the middle of the city along Red Road. By middle of January, Eight Beaufighter night-fighters arrived in the city (5/n)
On 14th Jan, 1943, a new squadron, RAF 176 was raised with these. Just a day later, the squadron was called into action as the Japanese bombers returned on the night of 15th Jan. Awaiting them was a rising star of the RAF (6/n)
Barely 21, Maurice Pring was already just 1 kill from being rated an "ace", having 4 confirmed kills & 2 probables in the North African theater when he arrived in Calcutta. The night of 15th Jan, 1943, it didn't take long for Pring to add to his tally (7/n)
In a daring duel fought 20 miles S/SW of Khulna, Maurice Pring shot down three Japanese Sallies in just 4 mins. The next day, the newspaper headlines exploded! (8/n)
The Statesman's headline read, “Lend to be free. Be like Sergeant Pring, put all your efforts behind the fight against the enemy. Bravo Pring.” Other dailies weren't far behind. Overnight, Maurice Pring became a celebrity in town (9/n)
The RAF awarded him the Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) & on Jan 21st, he was commissioned as Pilot Officer on promotion. Pring, along with Pilot Officer Harjinder Singh was also chosen to be the face of RAF recruitment adverts in India (10/n)
And accolades weren't only official. While looking to buy a .22 rifle for hunting in Calcutta, Pring was dejected to find the price of his desired choice out of bounds. A wealthy looking Indian gentleman now swung into the scene (11/n)
He paid for the gun + 2000 rounds, then took Pring for a ride in his Rolls Royce and treated the latter to a sumptuous meal at Firpo's! Reversals at the hands of the Allied pilots in Calcutta led to the Japanese suspending the raids (12/n)
But on 5th Dec, 1943, they returned in broad daylight, this time bolstered by fighter planes from the Navy. Pring was scheduled to go on leave but had volunteered at the last minute for the mission (13/n)
As Pring flew in for combat in formation, they were surprised by Japanese Zeroes from top and were brutalized. Only one plane escaped while 3, including Pring went down (14/n)
On the 10th of Dec, a search party located Maurice Pring's remains in the tall grass on the other side of Hooghly. He ad been badly burnt. Two days later, Maurice Pring was laid to rest at Bhowanipur Cemetery (15/n)
Story & picture credits: bharatrakshak.com
For reading in more detail, visit this link: bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/WW…
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