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Erlic Pinto
Air Vice Marshal Erlic Wilmot Pinto, PVSM (29 June 1921 – 22 November 1963) was an Air officer in the Indian Air Force. He was the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) Western Air Command when he was killed in the 1963 Poonch Indian Air Force helicopter crash. He served in the IAF from 1940 until his death in 1963. He was the theatre air commander commanding the air operations during the Annexation of Goa. Early life and education Erlic Pinto was born on 29 June 1921 into the Pinto do Rosario family of Porvorim, Goa. His brothers Fausto and Norman also served in the Indian Armed Forces. Fausto joined the Indian Navy and retired as a Rear Admiral while Norman joined the Indian Army and retired as a Captain. He attended the St. Paul's School, Belgaum and the St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. Military career World War II In August 1940 Pinto was seconded to the UK along with 23 other trained Indian pilots. He served with the No. 12 Squadron RAF from 1940 to 1942. In ...
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Air Vice Marshal (India)
Air vice marshal is a two-star air officer rank in the Indian Air Force. It is the third-highest active rank in the Indian Air Force. Air vice marshal ranks above the one-star rank of air commodore and below the three-star rank of air marshal. The equivalent rank in the Indian Army is major general and in the Indian Navy is rear admiral. Appointments Officers in the rank of air vice marshal hold important appointments like Air Officer Commanding Jammu and Kashmir (AOC J&K), Air Officer Commanding advance HQs of the air commands. At air headquarters, air vice marshals hold the appointments of assistant chief of air staff in different staff branches and those of additional director general. Insignia The flag of an Air vice marshal is sky blue with the Indian Air Force roundel surmounted by the eagle from the Indian Air Force badge, with two yellow stars in the fly. The badges of rank consist of one sky blue band (on a slightly wider navy blue band) over a sky blue band on a nav ...
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Porvorim
Porvorim (pronounced ''Parvari '' ), is the '' De facto'' legislative and executive capital of the state of Goa, India, as both the Goa Legislative Assembly and Secretariat are functioning from the same complex in the region of Alto Porvorim in porvorim.(Alto – Portuguese word meaning high or upper). Soon it will also become the '' De facto'' judicial capital of Goa, when the High Court of Bombay at Goa (Bombay High Court – Panaji Bench) which is currently functioning from Lyceum complex in Panaji, is transferred to the new building complex which is being constructed in Alto – Betim Porvorim region of Porvorim. The construction of the new building is expected to be completed by December 2020. Porvorim is situated on the right bank (north bank) of the Mandovi River, as '' de jure'' capital of Goa, Panaji is located on the opposite bank. Porvorim is considered an upmarket residential hub as it lies on the Mumbai– Goa highway NH66. Goa's largest shopping centre – Mal ...
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Battle Of Imphal
) , partof = the Operation U-Go during the Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II , image = Imphalgurkhas.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = Gurkhas advancing with Grant tanks to clear the Japanese from Imphal-Kohima road in North Eastern British India , date = 8 March – 3 July 1944 , place = Imphal, Manipur, India , coordinates = , result = British Indian victory , combatant1 = British Empire * India , combatant2 = Japan , commander1 = William Slim Geoffry Scoones Jack Baldwin , commander2 = Masakasu Kawabe Renya Mutaguchi Subhas C. Bose , strength1 = 4 Infantry Divisions1 Armoured Brigade1 Parachute Brigade , strength2 = 3 Infantry Divisions1 Tank Regiment2 Indian regiments , casualties1 = 12,603 killed and woundedLouis Allen, ''Burma: The Longest War'', p. 638 , casualties2 = 54,879 ...
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Chindits
The Chindits, officially as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. The British Army Brigadier Orde Wingate formed the Chindits for raiding operations against the Imperial Japanese Army, especially long-range penetration, attacking Japanese troops, facilities and lines of communication deep behind Japanese lines. Their operations featured long marches through extremely difficult terrain, undertaken by underfed troops often weakened by diseases such as malaria and dysentery. Controversy persists over the extremely high casualty-rate and the debatable military value of the achievements of the Chindits. Background & formation During the East African Campaign of 1940–41, Wingate – under General Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief of the Middle East Command – had begun to explore guerilla tactics, when he created and commanded a unit know ...
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Dive Bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that Dive (aviation), dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the Aerial bomb, bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact throughout the bomb run. This allows attacks on point targets and ships, which were difficult to attack with conventional level bombers, even ''en masse''. After World War II, the rise of precision-guided munitions and improved Anti-aircraft warfare, anti-aircraft defences—both fixed gunnery positions and fighter interception—led to a fundamental change in dive bombing. New weapons, such as rockets, allowed for better accuracy from smaller dive angles and from greater distances. They could be fitted to almost any aircraft, including fighter aircraft, fighters, improving their effectiveness without the inherent vulnerabilities of dive bombers, which needed air superiority to operate effectively. Method A dive bom ...
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Vultee A-31 Vengeance
The Vultee A-31 Vengeance was an American dive bomber of World War II, built by Vultee Aircraft. A modified version was designated A-35. The Vengeance was not used operationally by the United States, but was operated as a front-line aircraft by the British Royal Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, and the Indian Air Force in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific. The A-31 remained in service with U.S. units until 1945, primarily in a target-tug role.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 69. Design and development In 1940, Vultee Aircraft started the design of a single engined dive-bomber, the Vultee Model 72 (V-72) to meet the requirements of the French ''Armée de l'Air''. The V-72 was built with private funds and was intended for sale to foreign markets. The V-72 was a low-wing, single-engine monoplane with a closed cockpit and a crew of two. An air-cooled radial Wright Twin Cyclone GR-2600-A5B-5 engine rated at powered the V-72. It was armed with both fixed forw ...
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Pratap Chandra Lal
Air Chief Marshal Pratap Chandra Lal, DFC (6 December 1916 – 13 August 1982) was the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) of the Indian Air Force during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. He served in the IAF from 1939 until his retirement in 1973. He was the CAS at the time of Operation Chengiz Khan, the preemptive strikes that were carried out by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) that marked the formal initiation of hostilities of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Slated to study law in England, Lal instead joined the Air Force Volunteer Reserve at the outbreak of World War II. After serving as a navigation instructor, he trained as a pilot and joined the No. 7 Squadron IAF. He later commanded this squadron during the Burma Campaign and mentioned in dispatches as well as awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1945, he was absorbed into the permanent cadre of the Indian Air Force (IAF). After the Partition of India in 1947, he served as the Director of Planning and Training at Air HQ. In ...
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Flight (military Unit)
A flight is a small military unit within the larger structure of an air force, naval air service, or army air corps; and is usually subservient of a larger squadron. A military aircraft flight is typically composed of four aircraft, though two to six aircraft may also form an aircraft flight; along with their aircrews and ground staff. In some very specific examples, typically involving historic aircraft, a flight may contain as many as twelve aircraft, as is the case with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) of the British Royal Air Force (RAF). In most usages, two or more flights make up a squadron. Foreign languages equivalents include '' escadrille'' (French), ''escuadrilla'' ( Spanish), ''esquadrilha'' ( Portuguese), ''zveno'' ( Russian), and ''Schwarm'' ( German). In the case of a non-flying, or 'ground flight', such as Mechanical Transport Flight (MTF), Supply Flight, Accounts Flight, etc; no aircraft, and a roughly equivalent number of support personnel ...
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Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and RAF, and as FLTLT in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and has sometimes also been abbreviated as F/L in many services; it has never been correctly abbreviated as "lieutenant". A flight lieutenant ranks above flying officer and below a squadron leader and is sometimes used as an English language translation of a similar rank in non-English-speaking countries. The rank originated in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) in 1914. It fell into abeyance when the RNAS merged with the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War but was revived in 1919 in the post-war RAF. An RAF flight lieutenant is the equivalent of a lieutenant in th ...
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24 Indian Pilots (1940)
In 1940, 24 Indian pilots, also known as the X-squad, were sent to the UK for operational training and squadron service with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR).Nair, K.S. 2019. Chapter 2. 1939-40: War in Europe, pp. 42-70 The pilots included Ranjan Dutt, Erlic W. Pinto, Hari C. Dewan, Mahinder Singh Pujji and Man Mohan Singh. Of the 24, 16 qualified as pilots and six were posted to non-flying duties. Eight completed further training as fighter pilots and served in RAF squadrons after the Battle of Britain. Others were selected for Bomber/Coastal Command. Eight were killed during training or in action. Some of those who survived became Air Marshalls in the Indian Air Force (IAF) after independence. Recruitment In 1940, the Air Ministry requested the British Government in India to send Indian pilots for further training in England. On 8 August 1940, 24 mostly newly qualified Indian pilots were recruited from Lahore and Ambala to join the RAFVR. They left Lahore for ...
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Captain (armed Forces)
The army rank of captain (from the French ) is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to the command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today, a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery (or United States Army cavalry troop or Commonwealth squadron). In the Chinese People's Liberation Army, a captain may also command a company, or be the second-in-command of a battalion. In some militaries, such as United States Army and Air Force and the British Army, captain is the entry-level rank for officer candidates possessing a professional degree, namely, most medical professionals (doctors, pharmacists, dentists) and lawyers. In the U.S. Army, lawyers who are not already officers at captain rank or above enter as lieutenants during training, and are promoted to the rank of captain after completion of their training if they are in the active component, or aft ...
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Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four-star general. Two officers have been conferred with the rank of field marshal, a five-star rank, which is a ceremonial position of great honour. The Indian Army was formed in 1895 alongside the long established presidency armies of the East India Company, which too were absorbed into it in 1903. The princely states had their own armies, which were merged into the national army after independence. The units and regiments of the Indian Army have diverse histories and have participated in several battles and campaigns around the world, earning many battle and theatre honours before and after Independence. The primary mission of the Indian Army is to ensure national security and national unity, to defend the nation from external aggressio ...
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