The Royal Air Force strikes of 1946 was a series of demonstrations and strikes at several dozen

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 ...

stations in the Indian subcontinent beginning on 22 January 1946. As these incidents involved refusals to obey orders they technically constituted a form of

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...

Protests

A series of demonstrations and strikes occurred at several dozen

stations in the Indian subcontinent beginning on 22 January 1946. As these incidents involved refusals to obey orders, they technically constituted a form of

. The protests arose in response to slow demobilization and return of British troops to Britain, and use of British shipping facilities for transporting

G.I. G.I. are initials used to describe the soldiers of the United States Army and airmen of the United States Air Force and general items of their equipment. The term G.I. has been used as an initialism of "Government Issue", "General Issue", or " ...

s. The "mutiny" began at either

Maripur Maripur or Mauripur ( ur, ماری پور ) is a village to the west of Karachi, Pakistan, near Hawke's Bay Beach. Air Force Base PAF Base Masroor is the largest airbase operated by the Pakistan Air Force. It is located in the Mauripur area ...

or nearby

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 ...

( RAF Drigh Road) and later spread to involve nearly 50,000 men over 60 RAF stations in India,

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, Burma and as far away as Singapore, Egypt, North Africa, and

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. The peaceful protests lasted between three and eleven days. For their part, the British Government argued that the amount of shipping available was insufficient to permit immediate repatriation of the large number of personnel. However, later declassified reports have shown that British troops were deliberately retained in India to control possible unrest from the

independence movement Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

, and the grievances of the RAF men may have also included significant political views and sympathy with the

communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925. H ...

. The initial protests in Karachi took the form of a collective refusal to prepare kit for inspection and going to the parade ground at the normal time but in casual

khaki drill Khaki drill (KD) is the British military term for a type of fabric and the military uniforms made from them. History Khaki colour uniforms were first introduced in 1848 in the British Indian Army Corps of Guides. As well as the Corps of Guid ...

rather than the " best blue" uniforms required when on morning parade. The issues were ultimately resolved. Some of the airmen involved faced

courts-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

. However, the precedent set by this event was important in instigating subsequent actions by the

Royal Indian Air Force 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 offi ...

and later, the

Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India. Fr ...

in February 1946 in which 78 of a total of 88 ships mutinied.

Lord Wavell Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and the First World War, during which he was wounded ...

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

, commented at the time, "I am afraid that heexample of the Royal Air Force, who got away with what was really a mutiny, has some responsibility for the present situation."Field Marshal Viscount Wavell to Mr Attlee (via India Office), Telegram, L/PO/4/28: ff 66-7. Sent 24 February 1946, 4.50 pm at New Delhi, appears in ''The Transfer of Power in India, 1942-47'', Volume 6, Page 1055 edited by

Nicholas Mansergh Philip Nicholas Seton Mansergh (27 June 1910 – 16 January 1991) was a historian. His focus was on Ireland and the British Commonwealth. As the Smuts Professor of Commonwealth History at Cambridge University after 1953, he trained many of the ...

, published by Foreign & Commonwealth Office (London, 1976).

References

* .

Bibliography

Mutiny in the RAF - the Air Force Strikes of 1946
David Duncan. 1999 .
Review of Richard Woodman's ''A brief history of mutiny''
''Journal for Maritime research''. August 2005. *. *John W. Cell, in Reviews of Books; Asia. ''White Mutiny: British Military Culture in India'' by Peter Stanley. The American Historical Review, Vol. 104, No. 3. (Jun., 1999), pp. 888–889.
SECRET HISTORY: MUTINY IN THE RAF

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

. * {{Indian independence movement History of the Royal Air Force Mutinies Events that led to courts-martial 1946 in India 1946 in the United Kingdom 1946 in military history 1946 labor disputes and strikes Labour disputes in India

Protests

See also

References

Bibliography