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 The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

(RAFVR).Nair, K.S. 2019. Chapter 2. 1939-40: War in Europe, pp. 42-70 The pilots included

Ranjan Dutt Air Vice Marshal Ranjan Dutt, VrC (30 September 1921 or 1922 – 13 August 2009) 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 d ...

, Erlic W. Pinto, Hari C. Dewan, Mahinder Singh Pujji and Man Mohan Singh. Of the 24, 16 qualified as pilots and six were posted to non-flying duties. Eight completed further training as fighter pilots and served in RAF squadrons after the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

. Others were selected for

Bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

. Eight were killed during training or in action. Some of those who survived became Air Marshalls in the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

(IAF) after independence.

Recruitment

In 1940, the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

requested the British Government in India to send Indian pilots for further training in England. On 8 August 1940, 24 mostly newly qualified Indian pilots were recruited from Lahore and Ambala to join the RAFVR. They left Lahore for Bombay (now Mumbai) on 3 September 1940, and departed India as one group at the end of September 1940.

UK

The group arrived in England on the P&O liner SS ''Strathallan'' on 6 October 1940 and headed for

RAF Uxbridge RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Uxbridge, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, occupying a site that originally belonged to the Hillingdon House estate. The British Government purchased the estate in 1915, three years ...

on 8 October. Their arrival was given widespread media coverage. When they reached a London train station, they were greeted by Sir Louis Leisler Greig and the photographer William G. Vanderson. Each were also individually welcomed by the Air Minister,

Sir Archibald Sinclair Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso, (22 October 1890 – 15 June 1970), known as Sir Archibald Sinclair between 1912 and 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a British politician and leader of the Liberal Party. Backgr ...

, who handed each a note concluding "We shall be proud to have you fighting by our side". They were conducted by J. M. R. Jayakar. After a month the group had tea with the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

before being divided in two. Most were posted to No. 12 Elementary Flying Training School RAF at Prestwick to train on

Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...

s. Advanced training was completed at No. 9 Service Flying Training School at

RAF Hullavington RAF Hullavington was a Royal Air Force station located at Hullavington, near Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. The station opened in June 1937 and was predominantly used for various training purposes. It closed on 31 March 1992 when it was transfe ...

, Wiltshire, and they received their

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

on 16 April 1941. Of the 24, six were posted to non-flying duties. Eight had qualified for fighter training at No. 56 OTU at

RAF Sutton Bridge Royal Air Force Sutton Bridge or more simply RAF Sutton Bridge is a former Royal Air Force station found next to the village of Sutton Bridge in the south-east of Lincolnshire. The airfield was to the south of the current A17, and east of the Ri ...

. They included Dutt, Pujji, Mehta, Gnanamuthu and Nazirullah. They mostly served in RAF squadrons after the

for around three months in 1941. Others were selected for

. At first they received 425 rupees per month and an annual oversees allowance of £25, which was raised to £100.

Deaths and legacy

Eight were killed during training or in action. Dewan, Pinto, Shivdev Singh and Dutt later became Air Marshalls in the Indian Air Force after independence. In 2014 a statue of Pujji was erected in

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

, Kent. Man Mohan Singh's name is remembered on the

Darwin Military Museum The Darwin Military Museum was originally established as an artillery museum by the Royal Australian Artillery Association (NT) Inc (RAAA) to exhibit photographs and artefacts from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin's history during World War II. ...

Memorial Wall, Australia.

List of pilots

Gallery

File:Indian pilots arrival in UK (1940).png, Arrival in the UK File:Indian pilots (UK, 1940), tea.png, Tea time File:Indian pilots (1940).png, 19 of the pilots studying maps

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

External links

* (

British Pathé British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

) * (British Pathé) *{{cite web , title=Indian Air Force Gallery :: The twenty four Indian pilots , url=https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Galleries/History/WW2/RAF24/IndPilotswithRAF.jpg.html , website=Bharat Rakshak , access-date=13 November 2022, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113095458/https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Galleries/History/WW2/RAF24/IndPilotswithRAF.jpg.html, archive-date=13 November 2022 Indian Air Force Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II 1940 in the United Kingdom