Air Marshal Aspy Merwan Engineer DFC (15 December 1912 – 1 May 2002) was an officer in the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the 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 aerial w ...

who rose through the ranks to become independent India's second Chief of the Air Staff, succeeding

Subroto Mukerjee Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee OBE (Bengali: সুব্রত মুখোপাধ্যায়) (5 March 1911 – 8 November 1960) was an Indian military officer who was the first Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Indian Air Force. He wa ...

in 1960 and preceding Arjan Singh. His flying career began in 1930 at the age of 17, when as a

co-pilot In aviation, the first officer (FO), also called co-pilot, is the pilot who is second-in-command of the aircraft to the captain, who is the legal commander. In the event of incapacitation of the captain, the first officer will assume command ...

he accompanied his friend R. N. Chawla to

Croydon Airport Croydon Airport (former International Civil Aviation Organization airport code, ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neocla ...

, London, from Karachi

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, by flight and were the first Indians to do so. Shortly afterwards, he won the

Aga Khan Aga Khan ( fa, آقاخان, ar, آغا خان; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Kari ...

contest for being the first Indian to fly the journey between England and India, solo and within a one-month time frame. Engineer subsequently joined the

, trained at

RAF Cranwell Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. Among other functions, it is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which trains ...

, saw action on the North Western Frontier Provinces (NWFP) and at

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

and as a result was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). By the end of the

Second World War 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 ...

he became

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 historic ...

. Following retirement, he served as

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

's ambassador to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

and later spent time living in California, before his last days in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

Early life

Engineer was born Aspy Merwan Irani on 15 December 1912 in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...

Punjab Province Punjab Province may refer to: * Punjab Province (British India), a former province of British India from 1849 to 1947 In Pakistan * Punjab, Pakistan, a province in Pakistan from 1970 onward * West Punjab, a province of Pakistan from 1947 to 195 ...

to Meherwan Irani and Maneckbai. Meherwan was a Divisional Engineer for the

North Western Railway The North Western Railway (abbreviated NWR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Jaipur, Rajasthan with 59,075+ employees, 658+ stations and a route length of more than 5761 km across at least some parts of fo ...

,. His interest in mechanics led his friends to rename him Engineer. Aspy was the eldest amongst eight siblings - two girls and six boys. His brothers,

Minoo is a Cities of Japan, city in northwestern Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Its name is commonly romanized as "Minō" or "Minoo"; however, the city government officially uses the spelling Minoh in English. As of October 2016, the city has an estimated ...

, Jungoo and Ronnie, also joined the Indian Air Force, while another brother, Homi, joined the Indian Army. Aspy, Minoo and Ronnie were recipients of the DFC, a unique feat where three brothers were decorated with gallantry awards. At the age of 7, Engineer witnessed aviators Alcock and Brown make an emergency aircraft landing on the Race Course grounds opposite his father's railway bungalow in Hyderabad, Sindh. He later recounted, "I dreamt of nothing else thereafter but aircraft landing on the roof-top of our spacious bungalow." He completed his early education from the Billimoria Parsi School,

Panchgani Panchgani, called Paachgani (पाचगणी in Marathi), is a hill station and municipal council in Satara district in Maharashtra, India. Panchgani attracts tourists throughout the year. It is also known for having many residential educa ...

, and the DJ Science College in

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 ...

. On his 17th birthday, his father presented him with a second-hand

de Havilland Gipsy Moth The de Havilland DH.60 Moth is a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Development The DH.60 was developed from the larger DH.51 biplane ...

and after less than three months of lessons, he obtained his license to fly from the Karachi Aero Club.

Aga Khan contest

In November 1929, the

, 48th Imam of the Ismailai sect of Muslims announced a prize of £500 to the first Indian who could fly solo between England and India within a one-month time-frame. Shortly after the announcement, Engineer as

and his friend R. N. Chawla set on a flight to England in March 1930, at a time lacking

radio communications Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...

. On 21 March 1930, they flew into

where the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...

and the press greeted them with garlands. The other contestants included; J. R. D. Tata, who later founded

Tata Motors Tata Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company, headquartered in Mumbai, India, which is part of the Tata Group. The company produces passenger cars, trucks, vans, coaches, buses. Formerly known as Tata En ...

and

Air India Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed ...

, and another Bristol trained pilot,

Man Mohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...

. Engineer left Croydon on 25 April 1930, crossing paths with Tata in Cairo. Tata gave Engineer the spare much needed

spark plug A spark plug (sometimes, in British English, a sparking plug, and, colloquially, a plug) is a device for delivering electric current from an ignition system to the combustion chamber of a spark-ignition engine to ignite the compressed fuel/air ...

which allowed Engineer to complete the journey from Croydon Airport, England, to RAF Drigh Road,

, now in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, in his Gipsy Moth and was awarded the prize, winning over Man Mohan Singh by one day. In response,

Sir Frederick Sykes Air Vice Marshal Sir Frederick Hugh Sykes, (23 July 1877 – 30 September 1954) was a British military officer and politician. Sykes was a junior officer in the 15th Hussars before becoming interested in military aviation. He was the first Off ...

Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...

, arranged for a public reception at

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the sec ...

and the Legislative Council of India awarded Engineer 10,000 rupees. However, as a result of an aircraft accident at

Bhuj Bhuj () is a Municipality and District Headquarters of Kutch District in the state of Gujarat, India. Etymology According to legend, Kutch was ruled by the Nāga chieftains in the past. Sagai, a queen of Sheshapattana, who was married to Kin ...

, he instead flew to his old school and landed on its playing field.

Military career

Early career

In 1931, Engineer entered the

Royal Air Force College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and ...

. At Cranwell, he was awarded the Grove's Memorial Flying prize for the best all-round pilot during his term. He was commissioned as a pilot and joined the newly formed No. 1 Squadron IAF. The No. 1 Squadron had only one

flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can b ...

and was then stationed in

Drigh Road Shahrah-e-Faisal, founded as Drigh Road, is a boulevard in Karachi that runs , from the Bhutto Underpass near Hotel Metropole in central Karachi, to Star Gate near Jinnah International Airport, where it becomes N-5 National Highway.

. The flight was equipped with four Westland Wapiti biplanes. As part of the 'A' flight of the squadron, Engineer flew a

Westland Wapiti The Westland Wapiti was a British two-seat general-purpose military single-engined biplane of the 1920s. It was designed and built by Westland Aircraft Works to replace the Airco DH.9A in Royal Air Force service. First flying in 1927, the Wa ...

and saw action in the

Waziristan campaign (1936–1939) The Waziristan campaign 1936–1939 comprised a number of operations conducted in Waziristan by the British Indian Army against the fiercely independent tribesmen that inhabited this region. These operations were conducted in 1936–1939, when ...

. In 1938, for action against the tribals, he became the first IAF Officer to be

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. In July 1938, three flights of the No. 1 Squadron IAF were formed and Engineer took command of the flight. He was one of the three flying officers of the three flights of No. 1 Squadron, the other two being

and Karun Krishna Majumdar.

World War II

In 1941, the

No. 2 Squadron IAF No.2 Squadron (Winged Arrows) is a unit dedicated to CAS in the Indian Air Force. No. 2 Sqn falls under the Eastern Air Command.Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

under the command of Squadron Leader A B Awan. Engineer was one among seven pilots to be deputed to form the squadron and served as the Squadron

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

. In June 1941, he was promoted to the acting rank of

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 ...

and took over as the

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) 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 given wide latit ...

of No. 2 Squadron. The squadron converted from Wapitis to the

Hawker Audax The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircra ...

in September, and later to

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft's ...

, under him. Engineer led the squadron in operations in the

Tochi Valley The Tochi Valley, also known as Dawar (from Middle Iranic dātbar, meaning "Justice-giver"), is a fertile area located in the North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.Khyber.ORGDawarh.Retrieved on 21-6-2012.Bosworth, Cl ...

. In December 1942, Engineer was mentioned in dispatches for the second time and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for distinguished services in Waziristan. In late 1942, he relinquished command of No. 2 Squadron, handing over to Squadron Leader Habib Ullah Khan. He subsequently tenanted staff appointments at Air Headquarters. In December 1944, he was promoted to the acting rank of

and took command of Air Force Station Kohat from

. After commanding the airbase for over a year, Engineer was selected to attend the RAF Staff College, Bracknell. On his return to India in November 1946, he was promoted to the acting rank of

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 then moved to Air HQ as the Air Officer-in-charge Administration (AOA).

Post-Independence

On 15 August 1947, with the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

, a new Air Headquarters of the

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India,* Quote: “The first collective use (of the word "dominion") occurred at the Colonial Conference (April to May 1907) when the title was conferred upon Canada and Australia. New Zealand and N ...

was formed. Engineer was promoted to the acting rank of Air Commodore and continued in his appointment as AOA. After Mukerjee, he was the second Air Commodore to be appointed in the RIAF. The assets of the Indian Air Force (like other branches of the military) had to be divided between the Dominions of India and Pakistan. Subroto Mukerjee and Engineer led the air force part of this committee. In September 1948, he assumed command of the No.1 Operational Group (later rechristened Western Air Command) from Air Commodore Mehar Singh. As the Air Officer Commanding (AOC), he led the Group to support the troops in

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. In July 1949, the Group was renamed Operational Command. He was selected to attend 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 ...

and embarked for 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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in late 1950. After the year-long course, he returned to India and was appointed Air Officer-in-Charge Technical & Equipment Service at Air HQ. In 1952, Engineer took over as the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff and Deputy Air Commander, IAF. 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 ...

on 1 October 1954. In November 1954, he led the Air Force in a goodwill mission to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. Engineer was deputed to the Hindustan Aircraft Limited (HAL) for a period of three years in 1958. On 28 May, he took over as the

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all ...

of HAL. On 23 May 1959, he became the second Indian to be promoted to the rank of Air Marshal.

Chief of Air Staff

In November 1960,

inaugurated its service to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan. Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee, CAS and Air Commodore (later

ACM ACM or A.C.M. may refer to: Aviation * AGM-129 ACM, 1990–2012 USAF cruise missile * Air chief marshal * Air combat manoeuvring or dogfighting * Air cycle machine * Arica Airport (Colombia) (IATA: ACM), in Arica, Amazonas, Colombia Computing * ...

) Pratap Chandra Lal, then

of the

Indian Airlines Corporation Indian Airlines was a division of Air India Limited. It was based in Delhi and focused primarily on domestic routes, along with several international services to neighbouring countries in Asia. It was a division of Air India Limited afte ...

were passengers on this flight. After landing in Tokyo, on 8 November 1960, Mukerjee was having a meal in a restaurant with a friend, an officer in the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

. A piece of food got lodged in his windpipe,

choking Choking, also known as foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO), is a phenomenon that occurs when breathing is impeded by a blockage inside of the respiratory tract. An obstruction that prevents oxygen from entering the lungs results in oxygen depr ...

him to death. Before a Doctor was called for and could attend, Mukerjee had passed away. The next day, his body was flown to Palam Airport,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

. After Mukerjee's untimely demise, Engineer was appointed the next Air Chief in late November. On 1 December 1960, he took over as the second Indian Chief of the Air Staff.

Awards and decorations

*Source:

Dates of rank

Later life

He retired from the Indian Air Force on 31 July 1964 after which he served as India's ambassador to Iran. Around 1990, he moved to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

where he founded the California Zoroastrian Center.

Death

Engineer died on 1 May 2002 in Mumbai.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

From India In 17 Days 1930
Movie footage of arrival at Croydon with Ramnath Chawla, March 1930
''Hamazor Issue 2012 - 2 ''"Air Marshal Aspy Engineer's Recollections"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Engineer, Aspy Merwan 1912 births 2002 deaths Indian Air Force air marshals Indian Air Force officers Indian aviators Ambassadors of India to Iran Parsi people Chiefs of Air Staff (India) Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell Croydon Airport D. J. Sindh Government Science College alumni Irani people Alumni of the Royal College of Defence Studies Indian recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)