Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

Shivdev Singh (20 December 1919 - 29 December 1993) was a senior officer in 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 ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was among the first 24 Indian pilots selected from the Indian Air Force's 4th Pilot's Course to be seconded to the United Kingdom for operational training and squadron service with the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...

(RAFVR). Singh later played a significant role in planning and overseeing the air operations during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

Early life and education

Shivdev Singh was born on 20 December 1919.

Military career

Second World War

During the

, Singh was among the first 24 Indian pilots selected from the Indian Air Force's 4th Pilot's Course to be seconded to the United Kingdom for operational training and squadron service with the

(RAFVR). From 12 July 1941 to 23 December 1941 he was squadron pilot to

RAF Harwell Royal Air Force Harwell or more simply RAF Harwell is a former Royal Air Force station, near the village of Harwell, located south east of Wantage, Oxfordshire and north west of Reading, Berkshire, England. The site is now the Harwell Sc ...

. Singh was commissioned as a flight officer on 1 February 1942. As a bomber pilot, he flew 22 operational missions over Germany. He was appointed co-pilot to Drummond Wilson, serving with him on one raid in a

Short Stirling The Short Stirling was a British four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It has the distinction of being the first four-engined bomber to be introduced into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the war (the earlier Handley ...

. In March 1942 he transferred to

RAF Middle East Command Middle East Command was a command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) that was active during the Second World War. It had been preceded by RAF Middle East, which was established in 1918 by the redesignation of HQ Royal Flying Corps Middle East that h ...

. From there, he was subsequently posted to Egypt. During the

Burma campaign (1944–1945) The Burma campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II, South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily by Commonwealth of Nations, British Commonwealth, Republic of China (1912–49), Chinese and United States forces ...

in March 1945 Singh, then in No. 3 Squadron IAF, led a large wing formation flight over Japanese-occupied Burma, contributing to the capture of Rangoon in May 1945. After 18 months in Burma he was reassigned to New Guinea. He served as the Commanding Officer of No. 12 Squadron in Agra from 6 December 1946.

Post independence

Singh was appointed as the Station Commander of 4 Wing in Agra from 15 August 1947 to mid-October 1948. Throughout April 1951 he attended the Royal Air Force Staff College in

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

, UK. Following this, he served as the Air Advisor at the High Commission of India in London from November 1948 to late-April 1950. Upon returning to India, he was the Station Commander at Air Force Station

Jalahalli Jalahalli is a suburb in northern part of Bengaluru is one of the greenest areas of Bengaluru. It is mainly divided into Jalahalli East and Jalahalli West. Gangamma Circle is the junction between the roads connecting Jalahalli East, Jalahalli ...

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, from June 1951 to the end of January 1953. He then served as the Senior Air Staff Officer at Operational Command in Delhi from 25 January 1953 to 1 September 1954. Singh was appointed Director of Organisation at Air Headquarters in Delhi from early March 1955 to the end of May 1958. He was the Air Officer Commanding of No. 1 Operational Group ( Eastern Air Command) in Calcutta from 27 May 1958 to early December 1959, and later the Air Officer Commanding of Advance Headquarters, Operational Command in

Simla Shimla, also known as Simla (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summe ...

from January 1960 to January 1963. He then served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Air Command in Calcutta from January 1963 to 9 June 1963, Central Air Command in Calcutta from June 1963 to March 1966, and Western Air Command in Delhi from March 1966 to the end of July 1969. From July 1969 until his retirement on 31 March 1973, Singh served as the Vice Chief of Air Staff at the

Headquarters in Delhi. During this period, he played a key role in planning and managing air operations in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. After retirement, he was appointed as the Commodore Commandant of No. 12 Squadron in June 1976.

Death

Singh died on 29 December 1993.

References

External links

* (

British Pathé British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Shivdev 1993 deaths 1919 births Indian military aviators People of the Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948 Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell 24 Indian pilots Indian Air Force officers Indian military personnel of World War II Indian World War II pilots 20th-century Indian military personnel World War II fighter pilots