Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

Trevor Keelor, VrC, VM (8 December 1934 – 27 April 2002) was an officer of Indian Air Force who participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. He was honoured with a number of medals including the

Vir Chakra Vir Chakra (pronunciation: ʋ iː ɾ a tʃ a kɾa) is an Indian wartime military bravery award presented for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy on the battlefield and is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards a ...

and the

Vayu Sena Medal The Vayu Sena Medal is a military decoration, usually awarded in peacetime for a job well done in the Indian Air Force. However, it has been granted during times of conflict for acts of gallantry in the face of enemy, though not in the same nu ...

.Sabre Killers - Keelor Brothers Denzil Keelor at Mangalorean.com
accessed June 2007
accessed July 2007 He had an elder brother, Denzil, who was also honoured for his service in the Indian Air Force. Both brothers have a Vir Chakra for the same feat of shooting down

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

fighters. It was the first time two brothers have received Vir Chakras for the same reason.

Biography

Trevor Keelor was born on 8 December 1934 in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

, India, and was educated at St. Francis' College in Lucknow. Most of his schooling happened in St. Francis', where his father was the headmaster. He joined the Indian Air Force in 1953 and rose to the rank of

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

. He retired in 1978 and died on 27 April 2002.

Awards

Keelor was awarded the

in 1964. The citation reads as follows:

On the 5th February 1964, Flt Lt Keelor was detailed to ferry a
Gnat A gnat () is any of many species of tiny flying insects in the dipterid suborder Nematocera, especially those in the families Mycetophilidae, Anisopodidae and Sciaridae. They can be both biting and non-biting. Most often they fly in large ...
from Poona to
Palam Palam (phonetically Pālam) is a major residential colony located in South West Delhi. The Indira Gandhi International Airport, formerly known as '' Palam Airport'', the main airport of National Capital Region is situated here. It is one of 70 Vi ...
in a formation of five aircraft. The last part of the flight had to be undertaken at a height of . While descending to land at Palam, he discovered, at a height of that there was no response from the engine to the throttle movements. After informing the leader, Flt Lt Kellor immediately broke off the formation and attempted a landing at Palam, knowing fully well that previous attempts to force and a Gnat had resulted in fatal or serious injury to the pilot. With great presence of mind and careful handling, he accomplished the forced landing successfully without any damage to the aircraft. Flt Lt Trevor Kellor displayed courage, presence of mind and a high standard of professional skill in the best traditions of the Indian Air Force.

In 1965 Keelor was awarded the

. The citation reads as follows:

On 3rd September 1965, on receipt of a report that a formation of Pakistani fighters were circling over our
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
position in the
Chhamb Chhamb ( pa, ), also known as Iftikharabad ( pa, ), named after Iftikhar Khan Janjua is an area in the southern tip of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. The Chhamb sector consists of many villages, Kherowal, Burejal, Nagial, Paur, Dingawali, Chak Pandit, ...
Sector of J&K, a formation of Gnat aircraft was ordered to intercept the intruders. Approaching the area, Sq Ldr Trevor Keelor, who was a section leader in the Gnat formation, sighted enemy F-86 Sabre jets and engaged them in air battle. When the combat was in progress, F-104 Starfighters of the Pakistani Air Force also joined in. Unmindful of the numerical superiority of the enemy, Sq Ldr Keelor chased a Sabre jet and pressed home his attack until the enemy aircraft caught fire and disintegrated in the air. This was the first victory of our Air Force in the air battles against the Pakistani Air Force. In this operation, Sqn Ldr Keelor displayed courage and leadership of a high order in the best traditions of the Air Force.

References

External links

1965, IAF Claimed its First Air-to-Air Kill
documentary published by IAF {{DEFAULTSORT:Keelor, Trevor 1934 births 2002 deaths Indian Air Force officers Indian aviators Pilots of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 La Martinière College, Lucknow alumni Recipients of the Vir Chakra Recipients of the Vayu Sena Medal