Air Commodore Mehar Singh,
MVC
MVC may refer to:
Science and technology
* Maximum-value composite procedure, an imaging procedure
* Multivariable calculus, a concept in mathematics
* Multivariable control, a concept in process engineering
* Mechanical vapor compression, a desal ...
,
DSO, (20 March 1915 – 11 March 1952) was a
fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...
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 ...
. He was affectionately known as 'Mehar Baba', a sobriquet coined by
Aspy Engineer
Air Marshal (India), Air Marshal Aspy Merwan Engineer Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom), DFC (15 December 1912 – 1 May 2002) was an officer in the Indian Air Force who rose through the ranks to become independent India's second ...
. Considered a Legend of the IAF, he last served as the
Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Operational Group.
Early life and education
Mehar Singh was born on 20 March 1915 at Lyallpur (now
Faisalabad in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
). He was selected for the
Royal Air Force College Cranwell (RAFC),
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in 1933 while he was in the final year of
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
and joined in 1934. He performed exceedingly well at Cranwell, which impressed college authorities.
Air Vice Marshall H. M. Grave, commandant, RAFC wrote of Singh:
Military career
Early career
Singh was commissioned as a
pilot officer
Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...
in August 1936 and posted to
No. 1 Squadron, then the only squadron in
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.
Origi ...
. It was raised on 1 April 1933 at
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 cap ...
with four
Westland Wapiti aircraft. The Indian element consisted of six officers and nine technicians then known as ''Hawai Sepoys''. Singh was amongst the first six pioneering officers who joined the squadron.
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...
C. A. Bouchier,
DFC, an officer of 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 ...
(RAF) was the first
commanding officer
The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...
of the squadron.
Under the leadership of Singh,
No. 6 Squadron IAF
No. 6 Squadron (Dragons) is a fighter squadron and is equipped with Jaguar IM/IS and based at Jamnagar Air Force Station.
History
No. 6 Squadron is one of the ten senior squadrons of the Indian Air Force. Formed prior to independence, its va ...
with its
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...
aircraft, came to be known as 'The Eyes of the
14th Army Fourteenth Army or 14th Army may refer to:
* 14th Army (German Empire), a World War I field Army
* 14th Army (Wehrmacht), a World War II field army
* Italian Fourteenth Army
* Japanese Fourteenth Army, a World War II field army, in 1944 converted ...
', which was commanded by General
William Slim
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
.
On 14 May 1947, he was promoted to the acting rank of
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...
and was appointed Group Captain in charge of Flying Training at Air headquarters. He was promoted to the rank along with Wing Commander
Narendra.
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948
After the
accession of Jammu and Kashmir on 26 October 1947, the first
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
units were airlifted to
Srinagar
Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...
, starting with the 1st battalion
Sikh Regiment
The Sikh Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. Sikh regiment is the highest decorated regiment of the Indian Army and in 1979, the 1st battalion was the Commonwealth's most decorated battalion with 245 pre-independence and 82 ...
(1 Sikh) led by
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
Dewan Ranjit Rai
Lieutenant Colonel Dewan Ranjit Rai, MVC (1913 - 1947) was an Indian Army officer who played a key role during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. As the Commanding Officer of the 1st battalion, The Sikh Regiment (1 Sikh), he was the first recip ...
. An entire infantry brigade was to be airlifted. Mehar Singh was the first pilot to land at
Srinagar
Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...
and as the AOC No. 1 Operational Group, he inducted the troops in just five days.
Lord Mountbatten
Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...
lauded this feat, saying that he didn't know of an instance of an airlift being effected in such a short time.
Singh then established an air bridge to Poonch. He personally piloted the first aircraft and landed at
Poonch Airport
Poonch Airport (also known as ''Poonch Airstrip'') is an airport located in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Though no scheduled flights operate from Poonch, in 2005, then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Ghulam Nabi Azad m ...
. The airstrip was surrounded by streams on three sides and has a steep approach. Against heavy odds, he landed a
Douglas
Douglas may refer to:
People
* Douglas (given name)
* Douglas (surname)
Animals
*Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking
*Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...
with three tons of load against normal rated load of one ton. Moreover, he did so without any landing aids, the airstrip being lit with the help of oil lamps.
Singh was also the first pilot to land in
Leh
Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former res ...
in
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
. Along with
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
K S Thimayya as passenger, led a flight of Six Dakotas of
No. 12 Squadron IAF across the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
, towering up to 24000 feet negotiating the
Zoji La
Zoji La (sometimes Zojila Pass) is a high List of mountain passes#India, mountain pass in the Himalayas. It is in the Government of India, Indian Union territory of Ladakh, Kargil district, Kashmir. Located in the Dras, Drass, the pass connec ...
and
Fotu La
, photo = Fotu.La.01.jpg
, photo_caption = Fotu La
, map = India Ladakh#India
, map_caption = Location of Fotu La in Ladakh
, elevation_m = 4108
, elevation_ref =
, traversed = Srinagar-Leh highway
, location = Ladakh, India
, range = H ...
passes and landed at an improvised sandy airstrip next to the
Indus river
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
at a height of 11540 feet. Singh did this without de-icing equipment, cabin pressurisation or route maps.
Awards and decorations
Distinguished Service Order
In March 1944, then Acting Squadron Leader Mehar Singh was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...
(DSO), the only officer of the Indian Air Force to have won this award.
The citation of the DSO reads as follows:
Maha Vir Chakra
On 26 January 1950, when the
Awards and decorations of the Indian Armed Forces were established, Air Commodore Mehar Singh was awarded the second-highest war-time military decoration, the
Maha Vir Chakra (MVC).
The citation of the MVC reads as follows:
Resignation and life after IAF
Singh resigned from the IAF on 27 September 1948, over differences with some senior officers on service matters, instead of getting involved in controversy.
After his retirement, Singh served as the personal adviser to the
Maharaja of Patiala
The Maharaja of Patiala was a maharaja in India and the ruler of the princely state of Patiala, a state in British India. The first Maharaja of Patiala was Baba Ala Singh (1695–1765).
Yadavindra Singh became the maharaja on 23 March 1938. H ...
Yadavindra Singh
Maharaja Sir Yadavindra Singh () was the 9th and last ruling Maharaja of Patiala from 1938 to 1971. He was also an Indian cricketer who played in one Test in 1934.
Early life and family
Born at Patiala City in Patiala State, within the ...
, the
Rajpramukh of
Patiala and East Punjab States Union
Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak'' (the 'Fortunate Castle') constructe ...
(PEPSU).
Death
On the night of 16 March 1952, Singh was flying from Jammu to New Delhi and was caught in a storm, killing him.
Legacy
Singh was considered to be a legendary pilot and a flying prodigy. He was the first pilot to land in
Srinagar
Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...
,
Poonch Poonch, sometimes also spelt Punchh, may refer to:
* Historical Poonch District, a district in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in British India, split in 1947 between:
** Poonch district, India
** Poonch Division, in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, ...
,
Leh
Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former res ...
and
Daulat Beg Oldi. In a relatively short career of 12 years, he rose to the rank of air commodore and was decorated with two war-time gallantry awards.
In 2018, the Indian Air Force constituted the ''Meher Baba Prize'' in the honour of Air Commodore Mehar Singh for drones development.
References
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, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Mehar
1915 births
1952 deaths
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in India
Indian Air Force officers
People from Faisalabad
Punjabi people
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1952
Indian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Recipients of the Maha Vir Chakra