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Introduction edit
Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh was the chief of Indian Air Force during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. He was the first IAF officer to be promoted to air chief marshal, and only air force officer from India to have held the five-star rank, Marshal of the Indian Air Force.[1][2]
Early life and education edit
Singh was born on 15 April 1919 in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), a town in the erstwhile Punjab Province of British India (in present-day Pakistan), into a Aulakh Jat family.[3]
Education edit
Singh was educated at Montgomery British India, and later entered the Royal Air Force College Cranwell in 1938 and was commissioned as a pilot officer in December 1939.[4]
Career edit
In 1943, he was promoted to acting squadron leader and became the commander of No 1 Squadron.[4]
No. 1 Squadron edit
Singh led No 1 Squadron into combat during the Arakan Campaign in 1944.[5]
DFC edit
He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in June 1944:[6]
Court-martial edit
Singh almost faced a court-martial in February 1945 when he tried to raise the morale of a trainee pilot (later rumoured to be the future Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh) by conducting a low level air pass over a house in Kerala.[5]
1947 Independence edit
As part of the celebrations for Independence Day on 15 August 1947, Singh by then a wing commander and acting group captain, led the first fly-past of RIAF aircraft over the Red Fort in Delhi.[7]
Operational Command edit
In 1949, Air Commodore Arjan Singh took over as the Air Officer Commanding of Operational command, which later came to be known as Western Air Command. Promoted to Air Vice Marshal, he was the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the command.[8]
D and VCAS edit
Towards the end of the 1962 Sino-Indian War, he was appointed the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, and became the Vice Chief in 1963.[8]
Chief of the Air Staff edit
On 1 August 1964, Singh took charge as the Chief of the Air Staff from Air Marshal Aspy Engineer. When appointed as the chief, he was just about 45.[9]
ACM edit
Singh also became the first chief of the Indian Air Force to be upgraded to the rank of Air Chief Marshal from the rank of Air Marshal in honour of his Air Force’s contribution in the 1965 war.[10] He retired in 1969 at the age of 50.[11]
Padma Vibhushan edit
He was was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1965.[11]
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Post-retirement edit
In 1971, Singh was appointed as the Indian Ambassador to Switzerland and Vatican serving concurrently, and was also appointed as the High Commissioner to Kenya from 1974 to 1977.[12]
Lt Governor edit
He was the Lt Governor of Delhi from December 1989 to December 1990.[12]
Marshal of the Indian Air Force edit
In January 2002, he was made Marshal of the Air Force, the first and only air force officer of India to have held the five-star rank.[13]
Air Force Station Arjan Singh edit
On 14 April 2016, then Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha announced that Indian Air Force base at Panagarh in West Bengal will be named after Arjan Singh in honor of his service, and will be called Air Force Station Arjan Singh from then.[14][15][16]
_Arjan_Singh_along_with_the_Chief_of_the_Air_Staff,_Air_Chief_Marshal_Arup_Raha_interacting_with_three_newly_commissioned_women_fighter_pilots,_in_New_Delhi_on_August_12,_2016.jpg)
Later life edit
Singh's health declined in his final years, and he frequently made references to growing old and the passing away of many of his friends. He remained active even at 98, continuing to take tea and to play golf twice a week at the Delhi Golf Club.[17]
Death edit
Singh suffered a cardiac arrest at his New Delhi residence in the early morning of 16 September 2017 and was rushed to the Army Hospital, Research and Referral, in New Delhi, where his condition was stated to be critical.[18] He died at 7:47 pm IST that evening.[10]
References edit
- ^ "Only Marshal of IAF, hero of 1965, Arjan Singh shaped the force". The Indian Express. 17 September 2017. Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- ^ Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh, DFC Archived 7 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "When Arjan Singh sold off his farm for IAF personnel". The Tribune. 17 September 2017. Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ a b "Timeline of the life of IAF Marshal Arjan Singh". The Indian Express. 16 September 2017. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Arjan Singh, Indian Air Force Marshall and War Hero, Dies at 98". Loksatta. 16 September 2017. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ "No. 36542". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 May 1944. p. 2534.
- ^ "Both of us were part of first flypast over Red Fort on August 15, 1947: Air Marshal Randhir Singh reminisces about Arjan Singh". The Indian Express. 17 September 2017. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Marshal of The Air Force". Indian Air Force. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ "Arjan Singh, Marshal of Indian Air Force, Dies at 98". NDTV. 16 September 2017. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Arjan Singh, Marshal of Indian Air Force, passes away". The Times of India. 16 September 2017. Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Arjan Singh: an epitome of military leadership". Manorma Online. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Arjan Singh, Marshal of the Indian Air Force and key figure in 1965 Pak war, dies at 98". Hindustan Times. 16 September 2017. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ A Many Splendoured Career Archived 25 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Sen, Sudhi Ranjan (15 April 2016). "India's Oldest Serving Soldier, Marshal of Air Force, Gets Rare Honour". NDTV. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
To honour India's oldest serving soldier, Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh – who turned 97 on Thursday...
- ^ "Bengal air base named after Arjan Singh". The Tribune. 15 April 2016. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
- ^ "Panagarh airbase to be renamed after Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh". ANI News. 14 April 2016. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
- ^ Singh, Roopinder (1 September 2002). "ARJAN SINGH, DFC MARSHAL OF THE INDIAN AIR FORCE". Rupa & Co ,India.
- ^ "Arjan Singh, Marshal of the Indian Air Force, critically ill, PM Modi visits him at Army R&R hospital". The Indian Express. 16 September 2017. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.