Suranjan Das (22 February 1920 – 10 January 1970) was a pilot 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 joined the Royal Indian Air Force during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was among the first pilots to be sent to Empire Test Pilots School to a test pilot for the Indian Air Force. He was a

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 ...

. He commanded the Halwara Air Force Station Base between 1967 and 1969 and was the director of the Aircraft & Armament Testing Group of the Indian Air Force from 1969 until his death. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan posthumously in 1970. He was the son of Sudhi Ranjan Das He died in an air crash while test flying a HAL HF-24 prototype. The entire 4.1-km stretch of the road connecting Old Madras Road and

Old Airport Road, Bangalore Old Airport Road is a major road in Bangalore, India. It was renamed from Airport Road after the new Bengaluru International Airport was opened at Devanahalli. Madivala Machideva Road is a 17 km stretch road which begins from the junction ...

, is named Suranjan Das Road after Group Captain Suranjan Das.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Suranjan 1920 births 1970 deaths Indian Air Force officers Indian aviators Indian test pilots Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in civil service Das family of Telirbagh