Panagarh Airbase Renamed After Former IAF Chief Arjan Singh

Panagarh: In a first, Panagarh airbase was on Friday renamed as Air Force Station Arjan Singh after the former Indian Air Force chief.

On the occasion of 97th birthday of Arjan Singh, Marshal of the Indian Air Force, Air Marshal C Hari Kumar, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command, renamed the airbase at a ceremony.

"It is a proud moment for the Indian Air Force and the state of West Bengal. He is an icon and a role model. We have to work hard to ensure that the name is suitably looked after in terms of capability and performance," Kumar told reporters.

"It is for the first time that we have taken a conscious decision to rename an airbase after an individual." Panagarh, approximately 150 kms from Kolkata, is located in Burdwan district. The airbase in Panagarh was constructed in 1944 during the Second World War.

Coincidentally, around the same time in eastern theatre,a young Commanding Officer of No. 1 Squadron, then Squadron Leader Arjan Singh, was leading the 'Tiger' squadron in saving Imphal Valley against the marauding Japanese forces.

His leadership and daring exploits earned him a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), which was pinned on him by Lord Mountbatten in Imphal during the operations.

Air Force Station, Panagarh, post the Second World War,played a significant role in the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan.

Singh was the IAF chief from August 1964-69. He wasthe first Indian Air Chief to be elevated to the rank of Air Chief Marshal on January 16, 1966.

In recognition of his lifelong services, the government conferred the rank of the "Marshal of the Indian Air Force" on Arjan Singh on January 28, 2002 making him the first and the only 'Five Star' rank officer with the Indian Air Force.

Singh was born on April 15, 1919, in Lyalpur (now Faislabad, Pakistan), and completed his education at Montgomery (now Sahiwal, Pakistan).

At the age of 19, he was selected to the Empire Pilot training course at RAF Cranwell.

His first assignment on being commissioned was to fly Westland Wapiti biplanes in the North-Western Frontier Province as a member of the No.1 RIAF Squadron.

After a brief stint with the newly formed No. 2 RIAF Squadron where the Marshal flew against the tribal forces, he later moved back to No.1 Sqn as a Flying Officer to fly the Hawker Hurricane.

He was promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader in 1944. Singh led the Squadron against the Japanese during the Arakan Campaign, flying close air support missions during the crucial Imphal Campaign and later assisting the advance of the Allied Forces to Rangoon.

For his role in successfully leading the squadron in combat, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in 1944.

On August 15, 1947, he achieved the unique honour of leading a fly-past of over a hundred IAF aircraft over the Red Fort in Delhi.

After his promotion to the rank of Wing Commander, he attended the Royal Staff College at the UK. Immediately after Indian independence, he commanded Ambala in the rank of Group Captain.

In 1949, he was promoted to the rank of Air Commodore and took over as Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of an operational command, which later came to be known as Western Air Command.

Singh had the distinction of having the longest tenure as AOC of an operational base, initially from 1949-1952 and then again from 1957-1961.

After his promotion to the rank of Air Vice Marshal, he was appointed as the AOC-in-C of an operational command.

Towards the end of the 1962 war, he was appointed as the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff and he became the Vice Chief of the Air Staff in 1963. He was the overall commander of the joint air training exercise "Shiksha" held between IAF, RAF (Royal Air Force) and RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force).

On August 1, 1964, in the rank of Air Marshal, the Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh took over reins of IAF, at a time when it was still rebuilding itself and was gearing up to meet new challenges.

Singh was the first Air Chief to keep his flying currency till his CAS rank.

Having flown over 60 different types of aircraft from pre-World War II era biplanes to the more contemporary, Gnats and Vampires, he has also flown in transport aircraft like the Super Constellation.

In 1965, when Pakistan launched its Operation Grand Slam, with an armoured thrust targeted at the vital town of Akhnoor, Singh led Indian Air Force through the war with courage,

determination and professional skill.

He inspired IAF to victory, despite the constraints imposed on the full-scale use of Air Force combat power.

Then Defence Minister Y B Chavan wrote about him, "Air Marshal Arjan Singh is a jewel of a person, quiet efficient and firm; unexcitable but a very able leader".

He was awarded Padma Vibhushan for his astute leadership of the Air Force during the war.

Subsequently in recognition of the Air Force's contribution during the war, the rank of the CAS was upgraded and Arjan Singh became the first Air Chief Marshal of the Indian Air Force.

He remained a flyer to the end of his tenure in IAF, visiting forward bases and units and flying with the squadrons.

He retired in August 1969, thereupon accepting Ambassadorship to Switzerland. He was Lieutenant Governor of New Delhi from December 1989 to December 1990.

Having been a source of inspiration to all personnel of Armed Forces through the years, government conferred the rank of the Marshal of the Air Force upon Arjan Singh in January 2002 making him the first and the only 'Five Star' rank officer with Indian Air Force.