History of Indian Air Force

Tamil

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1/72 Lindberg SE 5a

While it is well known that several hundred thousand Indian troops were flung into the line on the western front in World War I, little is known of four airmen that fought in the air for the RFC. One of them, Lt Indra lal 'Laddie' Roy went on to score nine confirmed kills before falling to Fokker D VIIs on 22 Jul 1918. Roy was the second son of Bengali Zamindar family of Calcutta.
After graduating from Balliol College, Oxford he joined the RFC in early 1917. After training he joined the famous 56 Sqn, home to such famous aces as James Mc Cudden et al.
However, on 06 Nov he crash landed whilst flying SE5 (Scout Experimental 5) B567. Lying unconscious, he was taken for dead and laid out with other dead in a morgue at Etaples, France. After coming to, he kept banging on the closed morgue door but the frightened attendant did not open the door until well after he had stopped shouting in his school boy French. After recuperating and a further stint of training in England he joined 40 sqn at Bryas in France under Major AW Keene MC.
Flying SE 5As again he became a protégé to George McElroy and soon claimed his first victory, a Hannover scout on 06 Jul 1918. Steadily increasing his score, several times shooting down two machines on the same patrol he had been credited with a confirmed nine kills in 13 days by 19 Jul. But by the time his award of the DFC was gazzetted on 10 Sep, he was dead. On the 22 Jul at 0830 he had climbed with the dawn patrol when the flight was attacked by four Fokker D VIIs. Even as two of the attackers were shot down, Roy was seen flaming downwards over Carvin in German territory. He was buried in the Levil cemetery near Lens. He thus became the first Indian to win the DFC and also the only Indian to claim nine kills so far.
His example has remained a shining light for all Indians and indeed his nephew, Subroto Mukerjee was amongst the first batch of pilots to be commissioned in the fledgling IAF from Cranfield in 1933 and became the first Indian Chief of Air Staff.
This is the Lindberg 1/48 SE 5A re issue of the unremarkable 1958 kit. The kit is pretty basic with an oversized foster mount on the upper main plane (although Wolsley geared Hispano Suiza engine SE 5 s had theirs raised by 3 1/2 inches to clear the prop arc) including an oversized Lewis gun. Both had to be pared down and a trigger wire added from the trigger to the cockpit.
An Aldis sight was also fitted and a new acetate windscreen to resemble the Avro windscreen fitted. The standard scheme of PC 10 Khaki over all upper surfaces and fabric wrapped centre struts was achieved by using WW II Braun violet. There are a least 20 books out there on what PC 10 (pigmented Cellulose spec 10) looked like, but they varied in broad terms, amongst five individual preparations and I felt that braun violet came closest to the Khaki.. The undersides were painted a yellowish cream to represent the clear dope.
The individual markings were hand painted and decals from the spares box were used for the roughly hand painted fin serials. Rigging was silk pulled through pre drilled holes which were later filled with super glue and paint. The four bladed 200hp airscrew was modified to resemble the two bladed version. The figures are white metal from Airwaves and painted to represent the RFC Khaki green cavalry uniform with early RFC wings. The base is my son's Burrago car base for his BMW Z8 covered with some railway scenic grass sheet
 

Tamil

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First Indian Sqd.



Lt Indra Lal Roy sometime around 1917.



IL Roy (later RFC) (rear right) is seen with his brother PL Roy (rear left) of the Honorable Artillery Company (HAC) on 20 Dec 1914 at OTC. PL Roy survived the war.



SE 5 B 189 of 40 sqn. Roy sent down a Hannover, his first kill on 06 Jul and another on 08 Jul in this aircraft. On that date he shared another Hannover and also sent down a Fokker D VII. 40 sqn carried special markings on their ac such as the white strip.

 

Tamil

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Frog/Novell 1/72 Westland Wapiti IIA

After much hunting for an Aero club Wapiti in 1/72, I was finally gifted this Wallace from a very frustrated friend who sources my models in Blighty. I think the Frog (Novo) Russian mould kit is known quite well for all the wrong reasons. But it was quite a reasonable kit for a Wapiti conversion.
The Westland Wallace, a development of the Wapiti, was a light bomber/general purpose biplane that succeeded the DH9. 12 Mark 1s were built as Wapitis converted by fitting a 520hp Pegasus engine, lengthening the fuselage and adding brakes and a tail wheel in 1932. A further 56 conversions were ordered before the specification was up rated and 114 Wallace IIs were built. These featured a 680hp Mark IV Pegasus which increased speed to over 150mph, and enclosed cockpits. Amazingly there were still 83 on strength with the RAF at the outbreak of WW2.
The aircraft featured in the kit was Westland Wallace G-ACBR, which was converted from the original P.V.6 prototype to take part in the 1933 Houseton Everest Expedition, along with another converted P.V.3 Wallace, G-ACAZ. Powered by highly supercharged Bristol Pegasus I.S.3 engines, and with the rear cockpits fully enclosed and fitted with heating and oxygen equipment, these two machines made aviation history on 3rd April 1933 by flying over Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth.
Thus the aircraft needed to be modified in the following manner:
(a) Remove engine cowling and replace the sad look-alike of the Pegasus with an aero club white metal 9 cylinder Bristol Jupiter and propeller.
(b) Add long exhaust pipes attached to collector ring of engine.
(c) Re do the rear observer’s accommodation and add Lewis gun and scarf ring.
(d) Replace one cm thick windshield with acetate piece.
(e) Completely re do undercarriage with correct wapiti design.
(f) Add .303 side-mounted gun next to pilot’s cabin on port fuselage.
(g) Add oil radiator below nose.
(h) Organise complete rigging with model ship rigging line thread. Most of the modifications were done with plasti-card and left over Sprue and the wheels came from the spares box.
The decals were filched from a Hart kit and the serials were from the Tally Ho! RAF serials set. The checkers markings (recent research shows these were dark and light blue) came from a Corsair kit. The wings were pre drilled for the rigging and then filled with super glue. The aircraft was painted overall silver mixed with matt white to represent fabric dope and the metal forward fuselage was painted aluminum while the top decking was painted matt RAF dark green and the struts matt black. For more information on IAF Wapitis and their markings read my article at Indian Air force-aircraft histories-Wapiti Mk IIA.
 

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Airfix 1/72 Hawker Hart and Audax

The Hart, which proved to be the most adaptable biplane ever to enter RAF service, was designed to Air ministry spec 12/26 and was chosen as the standard day bomber over the Fairey Fox and Avro Antelope. The Hart served at home in seven Squadrons and three in India (11, 60 and 39). The first Harts came to India with 39 Squadron RAF. Sub variants included Hart (India) a tropicalised version serialled K2083-2132, K3921-3922 and K 8627-8631.
The first IAF Squadron to receive Harts was No 1 Squadron who started conversion on 25 Jun 39 at Ambala (after handing over their Wapitis to Coastal Defence Flights). Although Harts performed well in the watch and ward duties on the NWFP they were dogged by spares problems and were handed in in Jun 1940 when the unit reverted to wapitis and a flight of Audaxes. Soon after the type entered service it became apparent that the aircraft could be adapted to many roles and hence followed the Audax, Hind, Demon, Osprey, Hardy, Hector and Nimrod. The Audax which appeared in 1931 was the army cooperation version of the Hart, differentiated, by the long exhaust pipes and message collecting hook connected to the undercarriage.
The type was chosen to replace the Armstrong Whitworth Atlas and three RAF Wapiti Squadrons on the NWFP. No I Squadron IAF converted to the Audax in Jun 1940, 2 Squadron in Sep 1941 and 3 Squadron on 01 Oct 1941. No 3 Squadron being noteworthy in its action against the Pir of Pagaro's Hurs in the Sind. 3 Squadron was the last Squadron to hand in its Audaxs which continued on in the training and target towing role at SFTS Ambala till the end of the war.
The Hart shown here is a small modification from the Airfix Demon , painted to represent an aircraft from No 1 Squadron at Miranshah in 1940. The Audax is painted in standard RAF dark earth/dark green with undersides in trainer yellow. This was the standard RAF trainer scheme through out the war. The aircraft depicts an example from 3 Squadron in 1943 at SFTS Ambala.
 

SATISH

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c'mon man...you cant take sudden decision like this...continue the thread.
 

Tamil

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Match Box 1/72 Westland Lysander

This a straight Out of the Box (OOB) build of the ancient but still lovely matchbox Lysander in the markings of No 1 Squadron IAF (The Tigers). Although already operating Lizzies from Aug 41, The Tigers officially were presented with twelve Lysanders bought by the people of Bombay on 07 Nov 41 by the Governor of Bombay at Peshawar (the Squadron converted from a mixed bag of Wapitis and Harts). The Squadron salvaged a further three Lysanders from crashed aircraft of 28 Squadron RAF. The Squadron was moved to Toungoo (today Bangladesh) on 01 Feb 42 to take part in the Ist Burma campaign. As expected the Japanese struck the field twice that morning and, with the challenge being thrown, the CO “Jumbo Majundar” flew singly with two 250 lb bombs and destroyed the hangars at the IJAAF base at Mae-Haungsaun in Siam. This practice became a regular feature with the Squadron which was on occasion escorted by RNZAF Buffaloes. With the debacle in Burma the Lizzies continued to provide reconnaissance for the retreating Chinese sixth army and also carried RAF officers in the rear seat, dropping them on deserted airfields to recover abandoned Hurricanes under the noses of the Japanese. 1 Squadron Lizzies were the last Allied aircraft out of Burma when, on 12 Mar 42, 1 Squadron was recalled to Secunderabad. Ultimately in the four months of continuous action, the Squadron lost only one Lizzie to enemy action. It was also the only Indian unit to fly the Lysander. The model is painted in the standard RAF dark earth/ dark green with the early large roundels. The Squadrons codes are represented in sky/grey. On the nose is the ‘Tiger’ motif and the word ‘Konkan’ relating to the coastal region of the eastern coastline.
 

Tamil

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Consolidated B-24 Liberator

When India wanted to build a bomber force, it turned to the option of reclaiming some of the junked B-24J Liberators from the graveyard at Kanpur. The Liberators were originally flown by the Royal Air Force. They have been grounded at Kanpur following the terms of the Lend Lease agreement with the United States.
HAL helped refurbish nearly 44 of these World War Two era bombers that served on till 1967. The first of these equipped No.5 Squadron, followed by No.6 Squadron in Maritime Recce Role.
 

Tamil

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Monogram 1/48 Hawker Hurricane IIc

Drawn to this, “finest” Version of the Hurricane because my daughter is also called Koel, (after the Indian Cuckoo bird), I acquired this very old (1968) kit by Monogram some years back. Building was easy and quick and I decided to keep the flame dampers behind the exhausts and the rocket rails as both were used on almost all Hurricanes in IAF service. No significance of the nose art is available except for the fact that this aircraft was flown by Air Cmde (retd) Ratnagar. Standard SEAC paint scheme with full mainplane, fin and tailplane white ID bands with the Blue and sky roundels were used. Significant weathering and paint chipping were carried to reflect the harsh conditions of the Monsoons in the North East. The IAF began receiving Hurricanes IIB/Cs as replacement to the Lysander, Hart and Vengeance in the second half of 1942. Primarily employed in the Tac R role they rapidly gained distinction as the “eyes of the 15 Army” in the desperate battles around Kohima and Imphal. A pair led by then Sqn Ldr Arjan Singh, CO of No 1 Sqn IAF became famous as the “Arakan Twins”. The Hurricanes also carried out a large chunk of offensive ops against the Tamu rail/road arteries with Rockets / cannons and 250 lb bombs and one Hurricane IIC flown by Flt Lt JC Verma of No 6 Squadron IAF shot down a JAAF Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa (Oscar) flown by Cpl Tsuneo Nabeta of the 204th Sentai on 15.2.44 over Taung Bazaar (Bangladesh).
 

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LE 146 is seen off by an Indian Air force sentry at an unknown airfield in the east.



Log book entry of Air Cmde Ratnagar showing LE-146



2 Sqn (Winged arrows) was one of the first sqns to convert to the Hurricane in Sep 42. Note sqn Terrier”Tojo”



Hurricane - A color profile of LE146

 

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Airfix 1/72 Boulton Paul Defiant

The Indian Air Force received a handful of Defiant TT Mk III ac in mid 1944 to augment such motley types as the Tiger Moths, Lysanders and Wapitis at the Anti Aircraft School at Karachi and the No 22 AA Flight. The AA School had evolved out of the Anti Aircraft and Coastal Defence Wing of the school of artillery also at Karachi. The Defiants served alongside Fairey Battles and Wapitis in the target towing roles. Although pictures of that period indicate only the temperate scheme and ACSEA markings of blue and sky, I have used the more striking yellow/black target tug markings typical on all ac so employed. I’ve seen very few attempts at modifying the MkI into the TT Mk III (the TT Mk III has now become available in 1/48 scale) and I now understand why. The effort required requires a very strong motivation and will power to stay the course, but as I had decided to do all of the Indian Air Force’s 112 types that it has operated since 1932, in 1/72 scale, I had no choice.. So here it is, lots of plasti card, putty and acrylic sheet for the operators position plus some spare bits for the air driven winch and then some more putty for the under belly drogue and its housing. The ac was hand painted in house hold enamels and decals are from the spares box.
 

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