Anchit Gupta Profile picture
Jun 23 17 tweets 7 min read
When the @IAF_MCC pilots flew the F-86 Sabres with the USAF and then “slew” it in the 65 and 71 Wars. The saga of the 80 odd IAF fighter pilots who trained with the USAF between 1963-66 and later claimed five PAF Sabre kills amongst them! #IAFHistory (1/17) Image
1962 Sino-Indian War prompted two key changes – an expansion in the IAF fighter sqns requiring higher pilot intake & US + UK Military aid and assistance to balance the power equation with China. 2/ Image
It was felt that the sqn trg in India would not be able to produce the required nos of fully ops pilots in time to man these sqns. Help was sought from both the UK and the USA, and both responded. The USAF-bound IAF pilots would fly the T-33A & F-86 (Sabres) 3/ Image
US Air Force opened up its Combat Crew Training Sqn (CCTS) with the “Advanced Fighter Course” (course No 111104A) to the Indian pilots together with LatAm, Far Eastern, NATO countries, Iran & Pakistan crew. The course was for roughly 6 mts btwn Lackland, Randolph & Nellis AFB. 4/ Image
The USAF required that pilots should have 200 jet hours & an instrument rating. AirHQ decided that only pilots from Vampire & Toofani Sqns would be sent. Anyone with more than 300 hours was not considered except for the first batch. At least 82 pilots were trained over 3 years.5/ Image
The first month was spent at Lackland AFB for English Trg, followed by conversion trg at Randolph, flying the T-33A trainer & the last few months at 4521st CCTS Sqn at Nellis AFB flying both T-33A + F-86 Sabre included air-to-ground and air-to-air live armament training. 6/ Image
At Randolph, they did conversion trg for 14 hours on the T-33A. 90 min sorties covered circuits, landings & simulated flame-out patterns. Trg was imparted in aerobatics, instrument flying, GCA radar approaches, two & four aircraft close formation. No one was sent solo yet. 7/ Image
Thereafter they moved to Nellis. Nellis was known as the ‘home of the fighter pilot’. The Navy “Top Gun” school had not yet come up (it started in 69) and the Nellis-based CCTS was the “Top Gun” school of the era. 8/ Image
The first month at Nellis was spent on solo formation flying in the T-33A followed by A2G strafing & skip bombing ex. The trainee IAF pilots were trained to carry out four ac co-ordinated attacks in formations with pilots from Pakistan, Iran, LatAm & NATO. 9/ Image
Subsequently, they did conversion & gunnery trg on the F-86F Sabre. It was the first ac they flew with hydraulically powered flight controls. The A2G phase consisted of strafing, R/P firing, dive-bombing & low-level bombing. The A2A phase consisted of firing on a towed banner.10/ Image
There was a general Certificate of ‘Graduation’ for all individuals who had successfully completed the course. Certificates of Achievement for the highest score by an individual -Strafe, Rocketry, Dive Bombing, Level (Skip) Bombing & Air-to-Air Firing 11/ Image
In addition, 3 trophies were awarded: - Best in academics or Ground Subjects, Overall best in Live Armament/Flying ‘Top Gun’, Overall best or Outstanding Student. At least three IAF officers won the “overall Top Gun” Trophy – VK Bhatia, Dadoo Subaiya & V Vidyadhar. 12/ Image
The pilots benefited immensely – Learnt to fly two different a/c, tactics from USAF, and flying & living with pilots from various countries. Perhaps most importantly, they understood the F-86 Sabre better which would lead to these pilots claiming 5 kills in Air or Ground. 13/ Image
Sukrut Raj , who attended the course from March-October 65, was flying with 4 Sqn in 1971 War. During an escort msn, bounced by PAF Sabres, he outmaneuvered the enemy aircraft and shot it down. He was awarded a Vir Chakra for the A2A kill. 14/ Image
One of the last pilots to complete the course in 1996, DC “Danny” Nayyar, with 221 Sqn was on his first counter-air mission over Dacca airfield during the 71 War and faced Ack Ack fire, but managed to destroy a Sabre on the ground, earning a Vir Chakra. 15/ Image
Jimmy Bhatia flying the Su-7 with 32 Sqn in the 71 war was responsible for the destruction of three Sabres on the ground in a deep penetration strike at a PAF airbase. This earned him his second VrC, one of the only 5 to receive a “Bar to VrC” in IAF. 16/ Image
Due to the 65 War, USA pulled out the aid & the program ended. I am grateful to @vayusena , Air Mshl Rajkumar, Air Mshl VK Bhatia, Air Mshl Mike McMahon, Flt Lt Peter Brown, Sqn Ldr Dadoo Subaiya and Gp Capt Vidyadhar for the inputs and pictures for this thread. 17/ Image

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More from @AnchitGupta9

Jun 25
Celebrating today, 50 threads on @IAF_MCC History. Barring a few earlier, it all began in Jan’22. Since then: ~1000 tweets, 5.2 million views, ~70,000 engagements. This thread is a compendium of all the threads so far. Humbled & grateful for the encouragement. #IAFHistory (1/51) Image
The heroic story of Leh Airfield construction (1/50)

Beautifully Camouflaged Vampire and its heroics in 1971 War (2/50)

Read 51 tweets
Jun 18
Air Cmde Narinder Chatrath(3959) VrC, today passed away,aged 95.He commanded 17 Sqn @IAF_MCC during 71 war that led an attack on Kurmitola, the heavily defended airbase near Dacca taking on a dogfight with two PAF Sabres, shooting one down. May he rest in peace. #IAFHistory (1/6) Image
Commissioned in 1950 with 53 Pilot course. Joining the fighter stream, he flew the Spitfire, Tempest, and the Vampires in his initial career. Posted to FIS, he qualified as a flying instructor and was posted to the academy at Begumpet in 1955. 2/ Image
He was ADC to the Chief of Air Staff in 1958, and had the honor to be posted to the Egyptian airforce as an instructor from 1959 to 1961. An honour reserved only for the very best of instructors in the IAF. 3/ Image
Read 6 tweets
Jun 16
This thread seeks to give a historical perspective to cadre management by taking a peek into some critical periods in the evolution of the @IAF_MCC officer cadre. It throws up some real-life fascinating insights that planners might want to consider. #IAFHistory (1/17) Image
Between 1932 and 1939, IAF had 20 officers commissioned - all having been trained at Cranwell. With an aspiration to expand the IAF, the IAF Volunteer Reserve was announced – a kind of an Emergency Commission without any institutional commitment of service length. 2/ Image
With WWII in full swing, the British Indian Govt increased the IAF’s intake to a record 680 officers in 1943, equal to the size of all the officers already in the IAF at that time-thereby doubling the IAF’s Nos. This bulge was necessitated by the mil requirement of the times. 3/ Image
Read 17 tweets
Jun 12
The Shorts Sealand was the first ac to be inducted after the establishment of the Dte of Naval Aviation in the @indiannavy. An order for ten of these was placed in 1952. At that time no other Navy in the world had this a/c, which meant the defence minister was under fire! (1/4) Image
"Scandal of Sealands" - In a parliament debate on 24 March 1953 the Defence Minister, Sardar Majithia (ex IAF officer and CO, 2 Sqn) eloquently explains the logic to Shri Jaipal Singh. The extract of the debate is attached as images. (size of the print can be challenging!) 2/ Image
The first Sealand INS-101 was handed over on 13 Jan 53. The Fleet Requirements Unit was commissioned with Lt Cdr YN Singh as CO. The FRU operated from Cochin's airfield at Willingdon Island, known as INS Vendurthy II, later as INS Garuda. The Sealand was in service until 1963. 3/ Image
Read 6 tweets
Jun 10
@IAF_MCC celebrates AVM Harjinder Singh as the pioneer of the Tech branch. Unsung and unknown is the name of Air Cmde Narinjan Parsad Nair. He was the 4th senior-most officer ever in the tech branch when he hung his boots in 1965. This is his journey. #IAFHistory (1/16)
Born on 21 Nov 1915 at Kunjha, Gujrat in West Punjab, to Dewan Durga Prasad Nair who was a criminal lawyer with practice at Ferozepur, Nair would be inclined to the military from early on. His RIMC interview was conducted by the Governor of United Provinces 2/
He was at RIMC Dehradun from 1927 to 1933. A contemporary of Gen. Prem Bhagat, he joined the Indian Military Academy in 1934 but was withdrawn on medical grounds having partially lost hearing in one ear due to an infection caught during participation in a swimming competition 3/
Read 16 tweets
Jun 8
Do you get confused with the nomenclature of establishments in the @IAF_MCC ? Words like Comd/Wing/Station/ FBSU/ C&MU confuse you? This abridged thread tries to explain the structural philosophy which the IAF has followed, initially borrowed from the RAF. #IAFHistory (1/16) Image
The IAF HQ in Delhi is essentially divided along the Ops, Maint & Adm verticals. Its 5 geographical & 2 functional command HQs are likewise divided. Each Comd oversees numerous Stations that are largely functional in nature. These stations are named as per their functions. 2/
While Air Forces like the USAF & PAF have named their Stations after luminaries of their service, the IAF has largely stuck to numbering them (with very few recent exceptions) 3/ Image
Read 17 tweets

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