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Man Mohan Singh (21 March 1906 – 3 March 1942), also spelled Manmohan Singh, was an early Indian
aircraft pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
who, in 1930, was the first Indian to fly solo from
Croydon Airport Croydon Airport (former 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 Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main air ...
, England, to Karachi, India. Singh was born in Loralai District (now in Pakistan). He later travelled to England and trained in civil engineering, aeronautical engineering and learnt to
fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...
. He was of one of the contestants who participated in a competition set by 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 Karim ...
in 1929, who offered a prize to the first Indian to fly the England-India journey (either way), solo and within a one-month time frame. In 1930, Singh was the first to complete the journey solo, in his aircraft which he named "Miss India". However, he missed the deadline by one day and the prize was awarded to pilot
Aspy Engineer Air Marshal (India), Air Marshal Aspy Merwan Engineer Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom), DFC (15 December 1912 – 1 May 2002) was an officer in the Indian Air Force who rose through the ranks to become independent India's second ...
. Singh later also became the first Indian to fly solo to South Africa from England. Singh joined 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 ...
Volunteer Reserve as a
pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...
at the onset of the Second World War, following which he joined the RAF Coastal Command and took command of a
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
flying boat during the
Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...
. He later became a flying officer with the British Indian Air Force. In 1942, he was with the flying boats that arrived at
Broome, Western Australia Broome, also known as Rubibi by the Yawuru people, is a coastal pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. In the the population was recorded as 14,660. It is the largest town in the Kimberley reg ...
when a Japanese air attack destroyed them all. Singh survived the attack only to drown in the harbour.


Early life

Man Mohan Singh was born in
Loralai Loralai ( ps, لورلايي, ur, ), also known as Bori ( ps, ), is the division headquarter of Loralai Division and district headquarter of Loralai District. It is in the northeast of Balochistan province in Pakistan. It is above sea level ...
(now in Pakistan), on 21 March 1906, to physician Makhan Singh, who had at one time received the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal. He completed his early education in Rawalpindi, first attending Denny's High School and then
Gordon College Gordon College may refer to: * Gordon State College, a public college in Barnesville, Georgia * Gordon College (Massachusetts), a Christian college in Wenham, Massachusetts * Government Gordon College, a Christian college in Rawalpindi, Pakistan * ...
. At the age of 17 years, in 1923, he travelled to England to study civil engineering and received his bachelor's degree four years later from the
Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...
. In addition, with a scholarship from the Government of British India, he studied aeronautical engineering and learnt to fly while a member of
Bristol and Wessex Aeroplane Club The Bristol and Wessex Aeroplane Club is a flying club based at Bristol Airport, providing plane hire, flying instruction and a ground school for general aviation. The club was formed in 1927 and officially opened by the Air Minister, Sir Samue ...
. He received his pilot certificate from Filton on 4 September 1928. He lived in Bristol for five years, residing at 24 Woodfield Road with the Leate family.


Career in aviation


The Aga Khan contest

In November 1929, keen to promote aviation, 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 Karim ...
, 48th Imam of the
Ismaili Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...
sect of Muslims announced a prize of £500 to the first Indian pilot who could fly solo between England and India. The contestants in 1930 included;
J. R. D. Tata Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (29 July 1904 – 29 November 1993) was a French-Indian aviator, industrialist, entrepreneur and chairman of Tata Group. Born into the Tata family of India, he was the son of noted businessman Ratanji Dadabhoy ...
, who later founded Tata Motors and Air India,
Aspy Engineer Air Marshal (India), Air Marshal Aspy Merwan Engineer Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom), DFC (15 December 1912 – 1 May 2002) was an officer in the Indian Air Force who rose through the ranks to become independent India's second ...
, who would later be appointed head of the Indian Air Force, Ram Nath Chawla, who was Engineer's friend, and Singh. The Maharani of Cooch Bihar presided over the naming ceremony of Singh's aircraft, a Gipsy Moth he named ''Miss India''. It was fitted with an additional 20-gallon fuel tank. Singh, a self-confessed poor navigator, had a map of India painted on its rudder because, he jokingly claimed, he frequently lost his way. One editor of a flight journal reported, "Mr Man Mohan Singh called his aeroplane ''Miss India'' and he is likely to!" On 11 January 1930 Singh made his first attempt to fly to India. That day, he departed from
Croydon Airport Croydon Airport (former 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 Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main air ...
near London, but smashed his propeller when landing at Noyon, France, the following evening. His second attempt, from Lympne on 24 January 1930, was also abandoned before completion. After flying for six days, he reached Rome and after reaching Naples, thick fog forced him to land on a mountain road in
Paola Paola is a female given name, the Italian form of the name Paula. Notable people with the name include: People In arts and entertainment *Paola Del Medico (born 1950), Swiss singer *Paola e Chiara, pop music duo consisting of two sisters born i ...
, southern Italy, damaging his aircraft and injuring his left eye. Both times, he returned to Croydon. It was at his third attempt that he completed the journey from Croydon to India, starting off on 8 April 1930, and was the first to land at RAF Drigh Road, Karachi on 9 May 1930, one day after the one-month deadline. As he had not completed the journey within the specified time frame due to a forced landing near
Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, the prize was awarded at the decision of the Royal Aero Club, to Aspy Engineer, who completed the journey solo and within a month. J. R. D. Tata did the journey starting in Karachi and arrived at Croydon one day after Engineer made his landmark arrival at Karachi. He later recalled that while refuelling, he came across Singh at Gaza, where he described Singh's "split-arse landing" and as he "turned to park alongside my aeroplane, just missed crashing into it by inches! It was Man Mohan Singh". He described Singh as "enthusiastic" and explained how Singh hunted desert gazelles while flying close to ground. The whole series of events was regularly reported by '' The Times'' and '' Flight''. Singh received a hero's welcome upon his return to Bristol when he was greeted at the station by his landlords Mr and Mrs Leate and their daughters Jean and Margaret with garlands of flowers. The president of the Bristol Indian Student Society, G. A. Ahmad recalled his students from university holidays to attend a special reception.


Aviator for Patiala state

As a result of his achievement, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, ruler of Patiala state, appointed Singh as his chief personal pilot and he subsequently became the first Indian to fly solo the journey from England to South Africa, albeit following his fourth attempt to do so and after a crash which resulted in a broken leg and a wrecked "Miss India". By this time, he was a familiar and popular figure at Croydon airport.


Air Force pilot during Second World War

Singh joined 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 ...
Volunteer Reserve as a
pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...
at the onset of the Second World War. He was one of the 24 Indian pilots seconded to England for training and action, where he was affectionately referred to by colleagues as "Chacha Man Mohan Singh" (uncle). He was appointed to the RAF Coastal Command and took command of a Sunderland flying boat during the
Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...
. His role was to find submarines. Later, he became a flying officer in the British Indian Air Force based in Singapore, taking responsibility for a
Catalina Catalina may refer to: Arts and media * ''The Catalina'', a 2012 American reality television show * ''Catalina'' (novel), a 1948 novel by W. Somerset Maugham * Catalina (''My Name Is Earl''), character from the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl'' ...
flying boat in operations in Indonesia and the Philippines. After withdrawing from Singapore due to the extent of their losses in the Japanese invasion, his squadron moved to Java and then to Broome, Western Australia, where he contributed to the rescue of Dutch civilians. On 3 March 1942, after the flying boats reached Broome, a Japanese air attack by nine Japanese Mitsubishi Zeroes began just before 10 am and caused the destruction of all the flying boats remaining on the water in Broome harbour. Singh is believed to have survived the initial attack only to drown in the harbour, being unable to swim. Eighty-seven other people were also killed.


Legacy

Singh is remembered on the Darwin Military Museum Memorial Wall and has a memorial in Singapore. His story is recounted in ''Defence of Europe by Sikh Soldiers in the World Wars'', written by his nephew Mohindra S Chowdhry and published by Troubador in 2018.


See also

* Australian Sikh Heritage Trail *
Sikhism in Australia Australian Sikhs number over 210,000 people and account for 0.8% of Australia's population as of 2021, forming the country's fifth-largest and fastest-growing religious group. The largest Sikh populations in Australia are found in Victoria, f ...


References


External links

*
For the Aga Khan's Prize
Stag Lane, 1930 {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Man Mohan 1906 births 1942 deaths Aviation pioneers Indian Air Force officers Indian military aviators Indian military personnel of World War II Indian World War II pilots Military personnel killed in World War II Indian Sikhs Alumni of the University of Bristol People from Rawalpindi Deaths by drowning in Australia