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RIAF
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. The Indian Air Force was officially established on 8 October 1932. Its first flight came into being on 1 April 1933 with six RAF-trained officers and 19 ''Havai Sepoys'' (air soldiers). The aircraft inventory consisted of four Westland Wapiti IIA army co-operation biplanes at Drigh Road, Karachi as the "A" Flight nucleus of the planned No.1 (Army Co-operation) Squadron. History During the First World War, four Indian volunteers – Lieutenants Shri Krishna Chandra Welinkar, Hardit Singh Malik, Errol Suvo Chunder Sen and Indra Lal Roy – served as fighter pilots with the Royal Flying Corps. In September 1917, Sen was shot down and became a prisoner-of-war; and over the next 10 months, Malik was wounded and Welinkar and Roy were killed. ‘Laddie’ Roy destroye ...
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RAF India
RAF India, later called Air Forces in India (1938–47) was a command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) that was active from 1918 until Indian independence and partition in 1947. It was the air force counterpart of the British Army in India. Origins and history The command had its origins in units of the Royal Flying Corps in India. In November 1915, the War Office despatched No. 31 Squadron to India, the squadron arriving at Nowshera in December. The squadron, including a basic aircraft park, was subsequently transferred to Risalpur. A period of intensive training ensued, during which flights were periodically sent on patrols over the North-West Frontier regions. A second squadron ( No. 114 Squadron) was added in 1917. When the RAF was formed in May 1918, the total strength of the air force in India was 80 officers and 600 men. During the 1920s and 1930s, RAF India suffered from under-funding and subordination to the Commander-in-Chief, India; in July 1938, Thomas Inskip, the M ...
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Badge Of The Royal Air Force
The badge of the Royal Air Force is the heraldic emblem used to represent the RAF which features an eagle superimposed on a circlet which is surmounted by a crown. The badge was based on a design by a tailor at Gieves Ltd of Savile Row. It was first used in August 1918 and the original circlet showed a garter and buckle. The present plain circlet dates from 26 January 1923 when the badge was registered at the College of Arms and, it being noted that the garter and buckle were heraldically incorrect, a substitution was made. In heraldic terms it is: "In front of a circle inscribed with the motto Per Ardua Ad Astra and ensigned by the Imperial Crown an eagle volant and affronté head lowered and to the sinister." Although there have been debates among airmen over the years whether the bird was originally meant to be an albatross or an eagle, the consensus is that it was always an eagle. When the badge was issued by the College of Arms in 1923, they described the bird as b ...
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Star Of India (flag)
The Star of India refers to a group of flags used during the period of the British Raj in the Indian subcontinent. India had a range of flags for different purposes during its existence. The Princely states had their own flags which were to be flown alongside the British flag as a symbol of suzerainty. The official state flag for use on land was the Union Flag of the United Kingdom and it was this flag that was lowered on Independence Day in 1947. The flag of the governor-general of India was defaced with the Star of India. The civil ensign and naval ensign were the Red Ensign or Blue Ensign, respectively, defaced with the Star of India emblem. History Ideas for a flag for areas under British India were initially imperial ones, rather than nationalist ones. After the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the later establishment of the British Raj, a representative symbol of the new government was pending. Various designs were proposed for the first Star of India flag in 1863, keeping s ...
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Royal Flying Corps
"Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , battles_label = Wars , battles = First World War , disbanded = merged with RNAS to become Royal Air Force (RAF), 1918 , current_commander = , current_commander_label = , ceremonial_chief = , ceremonial_chief_label = , colonel_of_the_regiment = , colonel_of_the_regiment_label = , notable_commanders = Sir David Henderson Hugh Trenchard , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = Roundel , identification_symbol_2 = , identification_symbol_2_label = Flag , aircraft_attack = , aircraft_bomber = , aircraft_ ...
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Indra Lal Roy
Indra Lal Roy (), (2 December 1898 – 22 July 1918) was the sole Indian World War I flying ace. While serving in the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force, he claimed ten aerial victories; five aircraft destroyed (one shared), and five 'down out of control' (one shared) in just over 170 hours flying time, making him the first Indian flying ace. Family background The second son of Piera Lal Roy and Lolita Roy, he was born in Calcutta, where his father was a barrister and Director of Public Prosecutions. He was nicknamed "Laddie". Roy came from a highly qualified and distinguished family. The Roy family is a Bengali Brahmin family originally from the Barisal district in present-day Bangladesh. Prior to India's partition, the Roy family was a prominent Zamindar family of East Bengal. The Roy family estate is known as Lakhutia (note: there are several variations of the spelling of this word, including ‘Lakutia’ and ‘Lakhotia’). The Lakhutia Zamindar es ...
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Erroll Chunder Sen
Erroll Suvo Chunder Sen (13 March 1899 – after December 1941?) was an Indian pilot who served in the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force during the First World War, and who was among the first Indian military aviators. Family and early life Sen was born in Calcutta to an Indian father and English mother. His grandfather was the philosopher and social reformer Keshab Chandra Sen; and his aunt was Suniti Devi, the Maharani of Cooch Behar. At an early age, he moved with his mother, brother and sister to England. He was educated at Rossall School in Fleetwood, Lancashire, where he joined its unit of the Officers' Training Corps. First World War Sen applied for a commission in the Royal Flying Corps in November 1916, but his application was rejected as he was under age. After a period working in a bank, and having now turned 18, he made a second attempt in early 1917. This time he was successful, and he was awarded a temporary honorary commission in the RFC as a second lie ...
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Hardit Malik
Sardar Hardit Singh Malik (23 November 1894 – 31 October 1985) was an Indian civil servant and diplomat. He was the first Indian High Commissioner to Canada, and then Indian Ambassador to France. He was the first Indian to fly as a pilot with the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War. He also played first-class cricket between 1914 and 1930. Early life The second son of Sardar Bahadur Mohan Singh and Sardarni Lajvanti, he was born in Rawalpindi, Punjab, British India (now in Punjab, Pakistan). Malik was the title bestowed to his grandfather Sardar Khazan Singh. He travelled to England aged 14, where he attended a prep school and then Eastbourne College, before reading history at Balliol College, Oxford, from October 1912, graduating in 1915. He achieved an Oxford blue in golf. Malik appeared in 18 first-class cricket matches. He played in five County Championship matches for Sussex in 1914 and then returned to play for Sussex in 1921, also playing one match for ...
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Shrikrishna Chandra Welinkar
Shrikrishna Chandra Welinkar (23 October 1894 – 30 June 1918) was an Indian pilot who served in the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force during the First World War. Among the first Indian military aviators, he was also the first to be killed in action. Early life Welinkar was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) in October 1894. A member of the Gwalior royal family's household, he attended St. Xavier's High School in Bombay, after which he joined Jesus College, Cambridge in the Lent term of 1915 to read history and law. First World War After the outbreak of war, Welinkar was commissioned a lieutenant in the 3rd Gwalior Lancers, a Gwalior State regiment of the Imperial Service Troops, and was on the staff of the Maharaja of Gwalior. Becoming interested in aviation, he took lessons at a flying school at Hendon and obtained a Royal Aero Club certificate in August 1916. With 50 hours of flying time, Welinkar then applied for a commission in the Royal Flying Corps on 22 November 1916, ...
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First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising France, Russia, and Britain) and the Triple Alliance (containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdi ...
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Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former capital of Pakistan and capital of the province of Sindh. Ranked as a beta-global city, it is Pakistan's premier industrial and financial centre, with an estimated GDP of over $200 billion ( PPP) . Karachi paid $9billion (25% of whole country) as tax during fiscal year July 2021 to May 2022 according to FBR report. Karachi is Pakistan's most cosmopolitan city, linguistically, ethnically, and religiously diverse, as well as one of Pakistan's most secular and socially liberal cities. Karachi serves as a transport hub, and contains Pakistan’s two largest seaports, the Port of Karachi and Port Qasim, as well as Pakistan's busiest airport, Jinnah International Airport. Karachi is also a media center, home to news channels, film and f ...
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Shahrah-e-Faisal
Shahrah-e-Faisal, founded as Drigh Road, is a boulevard in Karachi that runs , from the Bhutto Underpass near Hotel Metropole in central Karachi, to Star Gate near Jinnah International Airport, where it becomes N-5 National Highway.VIP artery: Shahrah-e-Faisal becomes 'model road'
The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 10 September 2016, Retrieved 9 October 2021
CM Sindh approves uplift of main Karachi artery
Samaa TV News website, Published 14 October 2016, Retrieved 9 October 2021
This road is one of Karachi's busiest, and is used by approx ...
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Westland Wapiti
The Westland Wapiti was a British two-seat general-purpose military single-engined biplane of the 1920s. It was designed and built by Westland Aircraft Works to replace the Airco DH.9A in Royal Air Force service. First flying in 1927, the Wapiti entered service with the RAF in 1928, and remained in production until 1932, a total of 565 being built. It equipped twenty squadrons of the RAF, both overseas (particularly in India and Iraq) and at home, remaining in RAF service until 1940, also being used by the Air Forces of Australia, Canada, South Africa and India. It also formed the basis for the Westland Wallace which partly replaced the Wapiti in RAF use. The Wapiti is named for the wapiti, also known as elk, one of the largest species of the deer family and one of the largest land mammals in North America and eastern Asia. Design and development In 1927, the British Air Ministry issued Specification 26/27 for a replacement of the elderly Airco DH.9A, designed during the ...
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