Air Marshal Ramaswamy Rajaram, DFC (1917–1969) was a senior officer in the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct ...

. He died in harness while serving as the Vice Chief of Air Staff (VCAS) of the Indian Air Force. He was the

Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

Western Air Command during the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

Early life and education

Rajaram was born to B S Ramaswamy Iyer, a Superintending Engineer with the Public Works Department (PWD) in

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration i ...

in the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

in 1917. He joined the

Madras Flying Club Madras Flying Club is an Flight training, aviation academy in Tiruchi, India. It offers courses on pilot training, aircraft maintenance, and cabin crew management, among others. It is one of the oldest aviation academies in the country. Locatio ...

and received his flying license in 1935. He attended the

Presidency College, Chennai Presidency College is an art, commerce, and science college in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. On 16 October 1840, this school was established as the Madras Preparatory School before being repurposed as a high school, and then a gra ...

. He then joined the Madras Law College in 1938. With the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, civilian pilots were invited to join the Indian Air Force Volunteer Reverse.

Military career

World War II

Rajaram was commissioned on 20 November 1939 and posted to the Coastal Defence Flight at

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. He was then posted to the No. 4 Flight at

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

and then to the No. 1 Flying Training School at

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-ar ...

. By 1942, now Flying Officer Rajaram underwent specialised training in fighter reconnaissance and converted to the

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

aircraft. He served with the No. 6 Squadron IAF commanded by

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...

Mehar Singh Padri Mehar Singh was one of the founding members of Fiji's Kisan Sangh when it was established in 1937. He remained a prominent member of the union until 1943, when he and Ramcharan Singh led a faction that supported the strike instigated by the ...

and then with the No. 1 Squadron IAF, commanded by

Arjan Singh Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, DFC (15 April 1919 – 16 September 2017) was a senior air officer of the Indian Air Force. He served as the 3rd Chief of the Air Staff from 1964 to 1969, leading the Air Force through the Indo-Pa ...

, as the Flight commander. The squadron was inducted into the war and moved to

Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the f ...

. In December 1944, now Squadron Leader Rajaram took over command of the No. 1 Squadron IAF from Squadron Leader Arjan Singh. The squadron operated in the Burma campaign for the remainder of the war. In April 1945, Rajaram was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Promoted to

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

, Rajaram served at the Air Force Station Kohat (now

PAF Base Kohat PAF Base Kohat is an airbase of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) located in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. While it currently serves as a training base for PAF airmen, the facility was also used as a major operational base of the Royal Air Fo ...

Post-Independence

In 1950, he was promoted

Group Captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

and took command of

Tambaram Air Force Station Tambaram Air Force Station is an Indian Air Force airfield in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Located in the neighborhood of Tambaram, this Air Force station is primarily involved in the training of pilots as Qualified Flying Instructors and Mecha ...

. Rajaram attended the

RAF Staff College, Andover The RAF Staff College at RAF Andover was the first Royal Air Force staff college to be established. Its role was the training of officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of air force matters. History Foundation Following the f ...

and the

Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

in 1953. In December 1955, he was posted as Director of Personnel in Air HQ. After a three-year stint, he was promoted to the rank of air commodore and appointed Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) of the Operational Command. In 1960, he was promoted to the rank of

Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

and took over as the senior directing staff at the National Defence College. After the

Sino-Indian War of 1962 The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Ti ...

, the No. 1 Operational Group was formed at

Tezpur Tezpur () is a city and urban agglomeration in Sonitpur district, Assam state, India. Tezpur is located on the banks of the river Brahmaputra, northeast of Guwahati, and is the largest of the north bank cities with a population exceeding 10 ...

in December 1962. Rajaram was appointed the first Air Officer Commanding (AOC). In June 1963, the formation moved to Shillong and was re-designated Eastern Air Command. The appointment of AOC was upgraded to Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) and Rajaram took over as the first AOC-in-C of the command in Shillong. In Aug 1963, he moved to Air HQ, having been appointed

Deputy Chief of the Air Staff Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (DCAS) may refer to: * Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Australia) * Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (India) * Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Pakistan) * Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom) The Deputy Chief ...

(DCAS). As the DCAS, he led the committee of inquiry into the

1963 Poonch Indian Air Force helicopter crash On Friday, 22 November 1963, an Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed in Poonch district enroute to Poonch town, killing all six people on board. Six distinguished officers of the Indian Armed Forces were on board, ...

in which five senior officers of the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by th ...

were killed. On 1 October 1964, Rajaram was appointed Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Air Command. He led the

's operations in the Western theatre during the

. He was awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

for his leadership in the war. After the war, Rajaram was promoted Air Marshal in January 1966, and took over as the first

Commandant of the National Defence College The Commandant of the National Defence College in India is the overall in-charge of all the functioning of the National Defence College including academics and administration. The Commandant of the college is a Three-star rank officer from the t ...

from the Indian Air Force. After a short stint as Commandant NDC, he assumed office of the Vice Chief of Air Staff (VCAS) in December 1966.

Death and legacy

Rajaram was suffering from

Leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

. He was admitted to the Military Hospital in New Delhi on 14 June 1969 and his condition worsened on 16 June. He died on 18 June at 0855 hours. The Chief of the Air Staff

Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admi ...

was present when he died. He was cremated with full military honours. His body was carried in a procession from the residence of the Vice Chief at No.6, King George's Avenue (now Rajaji Marg) to the

Nigambodh Ghat Nigambodh Ghat is located on the banks of the Yamuna river coast in New Delhi, situated on the Ring Road, Delhi at the back of the historic Red Fort. It consists of a series of bathing and ceremonial stepped piers leading to the waters of the ...

. All IAF installations in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

were closed on the day as a mark of respect. In 1973, the All India Lawn Tennis Association instituted the Air Marshal Rajaram All India Sub-Junior Tennis Trophy in his memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajaram, Ramaswamy Indian Air Force air marshals Vice Chiefs of Air Staff (India) Commandants of National Defence College, India 1917 births 1969 deaths Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in civil service Deaths from leukemia Indian Air Force officers Alumni of the Royal College of Defence Studies Indian recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)