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

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 ...

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

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, ...

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

, - , - {{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