Indra Lal Roy (), (2 December 1898 – 22 July 1918) was the sole Indian World War I

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

. While serving in the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

and its successor, the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, 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

Family background

The second son of Piera Lal Roy and Lolita Roy, he was born in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, 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 estate was founded by Roop Chandra Roy in the late 17th century. His older brother,

Paresh Lal Roy Paresh Lal Roy () (20 December 1893 – 30 December 1979) was an Indian amateur boxer, credited with popularising the sport among Indians. He is known as the Father of Indian Boxing. His grandson is the Indian journalist and founder of the ND ...

(1893–1979), served in the 1st Battalion,

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

, and later became known as the "father of Indian boxing." His maternal grandfather, Dr.

Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty, also spelled Surjo Kumar Chakraborty ( – 29 September 1874) was the first Indian to pass the examination of the Indian Medical Service (IMS) in 1855 and subsequently became the Professor of Materia Medica ...

, was one of the first Indian doctors to be trained in Western medicine. His nephew,

Subroto Mukerjee Air Marshal (India), Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee Order of the British Empire, OBE (Bengali Language, Bengali: সুব্রত মুখোপাধ্যায়) (5 March 1911 – 8 November 1960) was an Indian military officer who was the ...

(1911–1960), served as a fighter pilot in World War II, and later became the first Indian Chief of Air Staff of the Indian Air Force.

First World War

When the First World War broke out, Roy was attending St Paul's School, Hammersmith in London, England. Initially rejected by the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

on the grounds of poor eyesight, Roy paid for a second opinion from a leading eye specialist, and the decision was overturned. Five months after turning 18, on 4 April 1917 he joined the RFC, and was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

on 5 July. After training and gunnery practice at

Vendôme Vendôme (, ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest Communes of France, commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019). It is one of the ...

and Turnberry, he joined No. 56 Squadron on 30 October. Roy was part of "A" Flight, commanded by Captain

Richard Maybery Captain Richard Aveline Maybery (4 January 1895 – 19 December 1917) was a Welsh flying ace in the First World War. Biography Maybery was born in Brecon, Wales, on 4 January 1895, the only son of Aveline Maybery, a solicitor, and his wife L ...

. On 6 December, Roy was injured and knocked unconscious after he crash-landed his S.E.5a fighter. Thought to be dead, he woke up in a French

morgue A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cus ...

. While recovering, Roy made numerous sketches of aircraft — many of which survive. In May he returned to duty as an equipment officer and within a few weeks was passed as medically fit to fly. He was transferred to Captain

George McElroy Captain George Edward Henry McElroy MC & Two Bars, DFC & Bar (14 May 1893 – 31 July 1918) was a leading Irish fighter pilot of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force during World War I. He was credited with 47 aerial victories. Mili ...

's flight in No. 40 Squadron in June 1918. On his return to active service, Roy achieved ten victories (two shared) in thirteen days. His first was a

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

over Drocourt on 6 July. This was followed by three victories in the space of four hours on 8 July (two Hannover Cs and a

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII qui ...

); two on 13 July (a Hannover C and a Pfalz D.III); two on 15 July (two Fokker D.VIIs); and one on 18 July (a

DFW C.V The DFW C.IV, DFW C.V, DFW C.VI, and DFW F37 were a family of German reconnaissance aircraft first used in 1916 in World War I. They were conventionally configured biplanes with unequal-span unstaggered wings and seating for the pilot and observer ...

). Roy's final victory came the following day when he shot down a Hannover C over

Cagnicourt Cagnicourt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais ''département'' in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A farming village located 11 miles (18 km) southeast of Arras at the junction of the D13 with the D14E. Population Place ...

. He is believed to be the first and only Indian flying ace of the First World War. Roy was killed over Carvin on 22 July 1918 in a

dog fight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an air combat manoeuvring, aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a ...

against the

s of ''

Jagdstaffel 29 Royal Prussian ''Jagdstaffel'' 29, commonly abbreviated to ''Jasta'' 29, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The squadron would score 76 aerial vi ...

''. He is buried at

Estevelles Estevelles () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A farming village situated some northeast of Lens, near the junction of the D164e and the D917. The canalised river Deûle forms the ...

Communal Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France.

List of aerial victories

Awards and honours

Roy was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in September 1918 for his actions during the period of 6–19 July 1918. He was the first Indian to receive the DFC. His citation read: L L ROY

:Lieutenant Indra Lal Roy. ::"A very gallant and determined officer, who in thirteen days accounted for nine enemy machines. In these several engagements he has displayed remarkable skill and daring, on more than one occasion accounting for two machines in one patrol. (20 September 1918) In December 1998, to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth, the

Indian postal service India Post is a government-operated postal system in India, part of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world. Warren Hastings ha ...

issued a commemorative stamp in his honour. Indra Lal Roy remains the only Indian flying ace fighter pilot to this day.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, Indra Lal 1898 births 1918 deaths Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force officers British World War I flying aces Military personnel from Kolkata Indian aviators Bengali Hindus People educated at St Paul's School, London British Army personnel of World War I Indian military personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) British military personnel killed in World War I Indian recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)