Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

Erlic Wilmot Pinto,

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

(29 June 1921 – 22 November 1963) was an

Air officer An air officer is an air force officer of the rank of air commodore or higher. Such officers may be termed "officers of air rank". While the term originated in the Royal Air Force, air officers are also to be found in many Commonwealth nations ...

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 the

Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

(AOC-in-C)

Western Air Command , colors= , colors_label= , battles= 1962 Sino-Indian War, 1971 India-Pakistan War, Operation Meghdoot , anniversaries= , commander1= Air Marshal Sreekumar Prabhakaran, AVSM, VM , commander1_label= Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief(AOC-in-C) , n ...

when he was killed in the 1963 Poonch Indian Air Force helicopter crash. He served in the IAF from 1940 until his death in 1963. He was the theatre air commander commanding the air operations during the

Annexation of Goa The Annexation of Goa was the process in which the Republic of India annexed ', the then Portuguese Indian territories of Goa, Daman and Diu, starting with the armed action carried out by the Indian Armed Forces in December 1961. In Indi ...

Early life and education

Erlic Pinto was born on 29 June 1921 into the Pinto do Rosario family of

Porvorim Porvorim (pronounced ''Parvari '' ), is the ''De facto'' legislative and executive capital of the state of Goa, India, as both the Goa Legislative Assembly and Secretariat are functioning from the same complex in the region of Alto Porvorim in ...

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

. His brothers Fausto and Norman also served in the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by ...

. Fausto joined the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

and retired as a

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

while Norman joined the

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- ...

and retired as a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He attended the St. Paul's School, Belgaum and the

St. Xavier's College, Mumbai St. Xavier's College is a private, Catholic, autonomous higher education institution run by the Bombay Province of the Society of Jesus in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was founded by the Jesuits on January 2, 1869. The college is affil ...

Military career

World War II

In August 1940 Pinto was seconded to the UK along with 23 other trained Indian pilots. He served with the

No. 12 Squadron RAF Number 12 Squadron, also known as No. 12 (Bomber) Squadron and occasionally as No. XII Squadron, is a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The squadron reformed in July 2018 as a joint RAF/Qatar Emiri Air Force squadron. It is currently ...

from 1940 to 1942. In 1942, he returned to India and joined the oldest squadron of the IAF,

No. 1 Squadron IAF No. 1 Squadron (''The Tigers''), the oldest squadron of the Indian Air Force operates as a multirole ( air superiority and electronic warfare) unit. Part of 40 Wing of the Indian Air Force under Central Air Command, it is based at Maharajpur in ...

, then commanded by Squadron Leader Henry Runganadhan. After a short stint, he was transferred to No. 7 Squadron IAF. In October 1943, he was promoted to the acting rank of

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 ...

and took command of a

flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

. The commander of the other flight in the squadron was Flt Lt

Pratap Chandra Lal Air Chief Marshal Pratap Chandra Lal, DFC (6 December 1916 – 13 August 1982) was the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) of the Indian Air Force during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. He served in the IAF from 1939 until his retirement in 1973. He ...

. The squadron was equipped with the

Vultee A-31 Vengeance The Vultee A-31 Vengeance was an American dive bomber of World War II, built by Vultee Aircraft. A modified version was designated A-35. The Vengeance was not used operationally by the United States, but was operated as a front-line aircraft by ...

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

s and supported the

Chindits The Chindits, officially as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. The British Army Brigadier Orde Wingate form ...

. The squadron also helped in relieving the Siege of Imphal. For his service in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, Pinto was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

in December 1944. After a two-year stint in No. 7 Squadron, he served briefly with No. 9 Squadron IAF. He was promoted to the acting rank of

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

and took command of

No. 4 Squadron IAF No. 4 Squadron IAF (Oorials) is a fighter squadron of the Indian Air Force (IAF) equipped with the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, MiG-21 Bison, based at Uttarlai Air Force Station in Uttarlai in Barmer, Rajasthan, India. Since its establishment during ...

in August 1945. After the war, Pinto was absorbed into the permanent cadre of the IAF. In July 1946, he took charge of the Initial Training Wing (ITW) (later

Air Force Administrative College Air Force Administrative College (AFAC), located at Coimbatore, is one of the oldest training institutes of the Indian Air Force (IAF). Courses offered College conducts following courses for in service officers: * Basic Air Typing Staff Cour ...

) at

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

. The ITW was based at

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

and Pinto served as the first commandant of the college in Coimbatore, where it has remained since.

Post-Independence

On 15 August 1947, with the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

, a new Air Headquarters of the

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India,* Quote: “The first collective use (of the word "dominion") occurred at the Colonial Conference (April to May 1907) when the title was conferred upon Canada and Australia. New Zealand and N ...

was formed. Pinto was promoted to the acting 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 ...

and served in the Directorate of Organisation at Air HQ. In December, the RIAF took over Air Force Station Palam from 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 ...

. Pinto took over the airbase thus becoming the first RIAF officer to take command. The airbase was a part of the No. 1 Operational Group commanded by Air Commodore

Mehar Singh Padri Mehar Singh was one of the founding members of Fiji's Kisan Sangh when it was established in 1937. He remained a prominent member of the union until 1943, when he and Ramcharan Singh led a faction that supported the strike instigated by th ...

and participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. For the command of the airbase during the war, Pinto was

. He was promoted to substantive Wing Commander on 15 August 1948. In November 1948, Pinto 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 took command of the Advanced Training School (AFS) at

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-area ...

. The AFS was rechristened No. 1 Air Force Academy in July 1949. In February 1950, Pinto was appointed the second Air advisor to the

High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom The High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom is the head of the High Commission of India to the United Kingdom. The High Commission is located at India House, London, India House in London. History In 1919, a committee chaired by the M ...

India House, London The High Commission of India in London is the diplomatic mission of India in the United Kingdom. It is located in India House on Aldwych, between Bush House, what was Marconi House (now Citibank) and Australia House. It faces both the London Sc ...

. The High Commissioner throughout his tenure was

V. K. Krishna Menon Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (3 May 1896 – 6 October 1974) was an Indian academic, politician, and non-career diplomat. He was described by some as the second most powerful man in India, after the first Prime Minister of India, Jawa ...

, who later became the

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

. Pinto was selected to attend the

RAF Staff College, Andover The RAF Staff College at RAF Andover was the first Royal Air Force staff college to be established. Its role was the training of officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of air force matters. History Foundation Following the fo ...

in April 1952. After completing the year-long staff course, he was promoted to substantive Group Captain. Pinto served as the Director of Policy and Plans at Air HQ from 1955 to 1958. In May 1958, he was promoted to the acting rank of Air Commodore and took over as the Air Officer-in-charge Administration (AOA). As the AOA, he served as a Principal Staff Officer to the CAS Air Marshal

Subroto Mukerjee Air Marshal (India), Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee Order of the British Empire, OBE (Bengali Language, Bengali: সুব্রত মুখোপাধ্যায়) (5 March 1911 – 8 November 1960) was an Indian military officer who was the ...

. In November 1959, Pinto was promoted to the acting rank of

and appointed

(AOC-in-C) Operational Command. He took over the command from Air Vice Marshal

Arjan Singh Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, DFC (15 April 1919 – 16 September 2017) was a senior air officer of the Indian Air Force. He served as the 3rd Chief of the Air Staff from 1964 to 1969, leading the Air Force through the Indo-Pak ...

. In December 1960, he took the salute at the

passing out parade Passing out is the completion of a course by military or other service personnel or the graduation from a college, largely in Commonwealth nations. Soldiers sometimes take part in a passing out parade upon completion of a basic training course. T ...

at the Air Force Station Hyderabad.

Annexation of Goa

In December 1961, the

launched Operation Vijay against

Portuguese India The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a se ...

. The overall commander of the operation was

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri (Bengali: জয়ন্তনাথ চৌধুরী; 10 June 1908 – 6 April 1983) was a General Officer in the Indian Army. He served as the 6th Chief of Army Staff from 1962 to 1966 and the Military Gove ...

, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command. Pinto, as the AOC-in-C Operational Command was the theatre air commander. He had forces in the airbases in

and

Belgaum Belgaum (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous ...

for the operation. These consisted of a

section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sign ...

of four

Dassault Mystère The Dassault MD.452 Mystère is a 1950s French fighter-bomber. Development After the success of the Ouragan, Dassault was working on a more advanced machine which would take to the air in early 1951 as the MD.452 Mystère I. The first proto ...

s, a

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

of Toofanis and a signal unit under him. This was the first real action seen by the Mysteres. The mandate handed to Pinto was listed out as follows: * The destruction of Goa's lone airfield in Dabolim, without causing damage to the terminal building and other airport facilities. * Destruction of the wireless station at Bambolim, Goa. * Denial of airfields at Daman and Diu, which were, however, not to be attacked without prior permission. * Support to advancing ground troops. The air forces under Pinto bombed the

Diu Island Diu Island, ''Ilha de Dio'' in Indo-Portuguese, is an island off the southern coast of Gujarat's Kathiawar peninsula, separated from the mainland by a tidal creek. It has an area of 40 km², and a population of 44,110 (2001 census). Adminis ...

. The ammunition, petroleum dumps and water reservoirs were destroyed by the bombers. The Portuguese strong-points of Fort-De-Cova, Secho and Fort-De-Mar were heavily also damaged.

Death and legacy

On 22 November 1963, Pinto was killed when his helicopter crashed en route to

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, ...

. In a great loss to the Indian Armed Forces, the crash claimed six distinguished officers. The officers who were on the helicopter apart from Pinto were: *

Daulet Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command *

Bikram Singh, General Officer Commanding

XV Corps 15th Corps, Fifteenth Corps, or XV Corps may refer to: *XV Corps (British India) * XV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * 15th Army Corps (Russian Empire), a unit in World War I *XV Royal Bav ...

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 ...

N K D Nanavati, General Officer Commanding 25 Infantry Division *

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

S R Oberoi, Commander 93 Infantry Brigade *Flight Lieutenant S S Sodhi, Pilot The news of the air crash came as a shock to the nation. Multiple distinguished visitors paid their respects including

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

and the Chief of the Air Staff

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 ...

. A black-bordered extraordinary

Gazette of India ''The Gazette of India'' is a public journal and an authorised legal document of the Government of India, published weekly by the Department of Publication, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. As a public journal, the ''Gazette'' prints offic ...

was issued on 23 November. Pinto was laid to rest with full military honours. The funeral procession started at the Pinto residence on

Akbar Road Akbar Road is a Highway, main road, in central New Delhi, India. At the north-east end it stretches from the India Gate roundabout. At the south-west end it stretches up to the Teen Murti roundabout. The roundabout leads to Lok Kalyan Marg, Rajaj ...

. The coffin was placed on a

gun carriage A gun carriage is a frame and mount that supports the gun barrel of an artillery piece, allowing it to be maneuvered and fired. These platforms often had wheels so that the artillery pieces could be moved more easily. Gun carriages are also used ...

and moved on to the cemetery on

Prithviraj Road Prithviraj Road (Hindi: पृथ्वीराज मार्ग, Urdu: پرتھوی راج مارگ ''Pṛthvīrāj Mārg'') is one of the historic & influential roads of New Delhi. It houses the most elite residences of major people of India. ...

. The

Pallbearer A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between the roles of ...

s were 10 officers of the rank of Air Vice Marshal, including future Chiefs

Om Prakash Mehra Air Chief Marshal Om Prakash Mehra, PVSM (19 January 1919 – 8 November 2015) was a former air officer in the Indian Air Force. He served as the Chief of the Air Staff from 1973 to 1976. He received Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM), the highes ...

. He was awarded the

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

posthumously on 26 January 1964. He also received

Param Vishist Seva Medal Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) ( IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

in 1969. A memorial has been built at the site of the air crash, commemorating the names of the victims. The Indian Army organises an annual event to pay homage to them. An 'Akhand Path' is also organised by the people of Poonch and surrounding villages, as a mark of their love and affection towards the departed souls, every year to commemorate the tragic accident.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinto, Erlic Wilmot 1921 births 1963 deaths Indian Air Force air marshals Indian aviators Indian Air Force officers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in India