Air Mshl Douglas George King-Lee, AVSM PVSM is the oldest surviving Air Mshl of the @IAF_MCC . He was commissioned in 1944 & served in WWII. This thread lives through his exciting career that culminated with a tenure as AOC-in-C of Eastern Air Command in 1983. #IAFHistory (1/12)
Born and raised in Nagpur, he was selected for the 27th Pilot Course & reported to Initial Training Wing Poona in 1943. He did his basic training at EFTS, Jodhpur on the Tigermoth, and was commissioned in Nov 44. He earned his wings at 1 SFTS Ambala flying the Harvard. (2/12)
In Sep 45, he was thrown at the deep end with his first posting to 8 Sqn, flying the Spitfire at Mingaladon, Burma. He remained with sqn for a year & on return was based at Trichinopoly and Kolar where he experienced an accident on take-off (3/12)
In July 46, he was posted to 9 Sqn, then flying the Spitfire, Tempest and Harvard. Based at Peshawar and Bhopal, they would do regular detts to Miranshah. Incidentally, his COs would later be stalwarts of PAF - Air Mshl Ashgar Khan and AVM Mohammad Akhtar. (4/12)
In June 47, he was sent to Central Flying School, UK to be trained as a flying instructor, one of just 70 officers who were sent between 46-50. After his return in Dec 47, he would spend the next 6 years at Air Force Academy Jodhpur training budding pilots. (5/12)
He is a pioneer of Gliders in IAF. In 1951 he was sent to Fursinghi to convert & assess the first gliders. This was a gliding club started by Raja Sahib of Aundh & was later shifted to Hadpasar in Pune. In 1952 he set up Experimental Glider Training Flight at Jodhpur. (6/12)
Between 1956-59 he would be posted to NDA, Khadawasla to setup the Air Force Trg team on Gliders
and was the Officer-in-Charge. This would set the course for intake of cadets into Air Force from NDA for generations to come. (7/12)
In 1963, he was posted to setup 21 Wing at Rupsi in Assam, a WWII airstrip. On his recommendation, this plan was dropped. He was instead sent as the first Stn Cdr of Hashimara (16 Wing). A place that was abandoned, forested, wildlife infested but today houses the Rafale. (8/12)
During his tenure as Stn Cdr, the base inducted two sqn's of Toofani ac and a Mi-4 unit. A tenure as CO of 8 TAC (with 11 Independent Div and 1 Corps), a command of 2 Base Repair Depot at Gwalior, he would find himself in the east on Air Def duties during 1971 war. (9/12)
The day after the war ended he was sent to Dacca, where he moved into the empty PAF Officer's Mess. In 1972, on the establishment of the Indian Embassy, he was appointed as Air Attache. He was asked to stay in Dacca till the end of 1975 as Air Advisor. (10/12)
His contribution to training in the IAF - flying or otherwise, would continue through his career. He was Command Flying Trg officer at Training command from 1959-62, SASO of Trg Command in 1979, and finally commandant of NDC in 1980-82. bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/3… (11/12)
His final years would be of hard operational leadership assignments - AOC of Maritime ops at Bombay, AOC of J&K Air Ops, SASO & AOC-in-C of EAC. Today, 97 years young, settled in Bangalore, "Dougie" is still the thorough gentlemen he was always known as in the IAF (12/12)
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1/8: Reflecting on the success of India’s Radar & Communication Indigenisation Project, I had to ask—why did it succeed while other aviation projects, faced significant delays, despite similar govt mechanisms?
2/8: Objective clarity was the cornerstone of RCPO. The primary goal? Plugging air defence gaps.This target was broken down into milestones spanning a decade. Indigenisation followed. Of the initial ₹185 Cr budget, ₹105 Cr was for foreign eqpt—a decade later, this had reversed
3/8: Breaking down objectives into visible milestones was a game-changer. RCPO had deliverables every 2-3 years: set up X nodes, design/ install Y radars, and build Z software. When stakeholders can see progress they benefit from, confidence and support skyrocket.
For a long time, I wondered why the Chief of the @IAF_MCC was called the "Chief of Air Staff" and not the "Air Force Chief" or something similar. Well, at least I am finally enlightened. Sharing this brief of my exploration. (1/7)
#IAFHistory
The early 20th century witnessed a significant transformation in military structures, driven by the harsh realities of the Boer Wars (1899-1902). Reflecting on the conflict's challenges, the concept of "Staffs of the Services" emerged. 2/
These staff comprised officers with specialised qualifications tasked with reflective work, including acquiring and digesting extensive information, studying war possibilities, and preparing plans for potential scenarios. 3/
Jamangar Air Force station is in news these days. Jamnagar holds a very important place in @IAF_MCC. A topic worthy of a longer thread, but a few milestones are mentioned here.
A short thread (1/13) #IAFHistory
Jamanagar was not an Air Force Airbase before Independence, though the Jam Saheb was popular in the aviation circles. Post-independence, IAF was searching for a air firing and bombing range. After a search - it settled up Jamnagar and called it Armament Training Wing (ATW). 2/
The Jam Saheb was very fond of the Air Force and helped it immensely. It had an air to ground range at Sarmat and and air to air range in gulf of Kutch near the coastal strip of Jodhya - Balachandi. ATW was visited by Squadrons for training for a few weeks in rotation. 3/
Air Marshal Ravinder Nath Bharadwaj, PVSM, MVC, VM, affectionately nicknamed "Mummy", passed away at 89 yesterday.
He was awarded MVC during the 1971 War, attacking Pakistan's airfields in the west. He was one of the only two Sqn Ldrs to receive this award(1/9)
#IAFHistory
From the 66th Pilot Course, he was commissioned in 1955 & joined the fighter stream. In 1961, he qualified as a Pilot Attack Instructor, the modern-day "Top Gun". The CO of PAI School, Nobby Clarke, gave the nickname "Mummy" for his sweet demeanour. It stuck for life. 2/
Mummy also served in training extensively - He served as an instructor in Iraq & was with the OTU, training hunter pilots before the 1971 War, which earned him a Vayu Sena Medal, too. he continued his role in training later in life in staff appointments. 3/
While researching the initial lot of Cranwell graduates, I came across a name that caught my eye. This name was that of a certain Mr WHJ Wilkinson CIE ICS, whose name figures in most entry forms of the @IAF_MCC Cadets who went to Cranwell. The name did intrigue me a lot. (1/18)
My subsequent research revealed the story of a man who lived a very interesting life in India. It is a story that needs to be told, even if not directly related to #IAFHistory. It also has some gaps (gaps that I hope will be filled by crowdsourcing). 2/
Walter Hugh John Wilkinson was born in 1874 & went on to study at Oxford. Joining the ICS as a Political Officer, the 23-year-old arrived in India on 29 Nov 1897. His first five years were spent in various capacities in Bombay.. 3/
What was it like to be in the @IAF_MCC in 1933?
This narrative captures the essence of that first year, viewed through the eyes of the early aviators. Little did they know their journey would demand courage and sacrifice. (1/20) #IAFHistory
The first Indian Air Force officers completed their education at RAF College Cranwell in July 1932. They spent a few months training in England. Subsequently, in April 1933, they returned to India to create the first flight of the No 1 Squadron. 2/
Flight Lieutenant Cecil "Boy" Bouchier assumed command of this Flight. Boy Bouchier was a distinguished WWI veteran honoured with the DFC, AFC, and Polish and French Crosses. He volunteered for this role when no other British officer was prepared to lead. 3/