Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

Swaroop Krishna Kaul,

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of India. It is the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, and is awarded for "dist ...

, MVC, ADC (20 December 1935 – 19 February 2025) was Chief of the Air Staff of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

. Kaul served as the Air Chief from 1993 to 1995.

Background

Swaroop Krishna Kaul was born in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on 20 December 1935, into a

Kashmiri Pandit The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, located within the In ...

family, to K K Kaul. He did his schooling from Besant college in

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

and his graduation from Government College,

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

in 1951. Kaul died on 19 February 2025, at the age of 89.

Career

Kaul joined the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces. Here, cadets of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force train together before they go on to their respective service a ...

in 1951 and was commissioned in the IAF on 17 July 1954 During the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971, as a

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

Kaul led several missions into the Pakistani held areas of East Pakistan (now

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

) to photograph strategically vital areas. As

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of 37 Squadron, he was awarded the

Maha Vir Chakra The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) () is the second highest military decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. It replaced the B ...

, the second highest war-time military decoration in India. After Commanding the

Central Air Command Central Air Command may refer to: * Central Air Command (India), one of five operational commands of the Indian Air Force * Central Air Command (Pakistan), one of five operational commands of the Pakistan Air Force *Central Air Command (Sweden), on ...

and the

Western Air Command The Western Air Command (WAC) is the regional command of Indian Air Force headquartered in New Delhi. It is the largest and most important Air Command of the IAF, comprising sixteen Air Force Bases (AFBs), and is responsible for aerial defence of ...

, Kaul took over as the 16th Chief of the Air Staff of the

. In November 1994, Kaul was appointed as the

Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee The Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) is an administrative forum of the senior-most military leaders of the Indian Armed Forces, which advises the Government of India on all military and strategic matters deemed privy to military coordination, ...

. He retired from the Air Force in December 1995. He had over 3,700 hours of accident free flying to his credit.

Awards

Kaul was awarded the

for a show of conspicuous gallantry during the 1971 war and the

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of India. It is the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, and is awarded for "dist ...

in 1992. (Effective date of award – 4 December 1971) ''At the outbreak of hostilities, Wing Commander Swaroop Krishna Kaul, the Commanding Officer of a fighter bomber squadron volunteered for an urgent task to photograph certain areas which were badly needed in order to finalise our Army’s assault plans. The officer carried out four missions deep into enemy territories to cover the heavily defended sectors of Comilla, Sylhet and Saidpur. At times, Wing Commander Kaul had to fly as low as 200 feet over the most heavily defended enemy locations. Undaunted, he flew through these barrages, making repeated runs in each of his missions, and successfully completed the task. On 4th December, 1971, Wing Commander Kaul again volunteered for another task, to photograph the Tezgaon and Kurmitola airfields. His reconnaissance flights over these two airfields, in the face of the most sustained and heavy enemy ground fire stand out as acts of heroism, extreme gallantry and devotion to duty. In addition to his reconnaissance exploits, Wing Commander Kaul led the very first eight aircraft strike mission over Dacca. In this raid, his formation encountered four enemy aircraft near the target area. With exemplary leadership, Wing Commander Kaul maneuvered his force in such a manner that two of the enemy aircraft were shot down and the other two fled. The target thus became clear for attack. Throughout the period of operations Wing Commander Swaroop Krishna Kaul displayed conspicuous gallantry, determination and professional skill.''

References

External links

*
Air Chief Marshal Swaroop Kishna Kaul
, by B.N. Sharga, ''Kashmir Sentinel'', March 2003 (retrieved 11 September 2006). {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaul, S. K. 1935 births 2025 deaths Kaul, Swaroop Krishna Kashmiri people Kashmiri Pandits Indian Air Force air marshals Recipients of the Maha Vir Chakra Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Indian air attachés