Air Marshal Man Mohan Sinha,

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

AVSM Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime Di ...

, VM, (8 January 1933 – 31 August 2018) was an

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 ...

officer and a veteran of 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 ...

. He was honoured with a number of medals including the Param Vishist Seva Medal, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and the Vayusena Medal.

Early life and education

Man Mohan Sinha was born on 8 January 1933 at

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango tr ...

Bihar and Orissa Province Bihar and Orissa was a province of British India, which included the present-day Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha. The territories were conquered by the British in the 18th and 19th centuries, and were governed by the then Indian Ci ...

, British India. He was educated at

St. Xavier's High School, Patna , motto_translation = For God and Country , location = , streetaddress = West Gandhi Maidan Marg , region = , city = , county = Patna , state ...

Military career

He joined the National defense academy (Indian military academy) in the then Inter services wing in 1948. He was then commissioned to the Indian Air Force 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 countrie ...

on 17 January 1953, serving in 3rd squadron (1953-1961). Subsequently, he became the Air Force ADC to Dr. Rajender Prasad (1961-1962) and Dr. Radhakrishnan (1962-1964), after which he transferred to 7th squadron (1964-1967), taking part in the

1965 Indo-Pakistan war 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 ...

1965 Indo-Pakistan War achievements

Sinha was a part of No. 7 Squadron IAF as a

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 ...

during the 1965 war against Pakistan. Squadron Leaders MM Sinha, SS Malik, AS Lamba, Dice Dhiman etc. making their mark in various missions during 1965 war. SS Malik, AS Lamba, PS Pingle, AR Gandhi received the Vir Chakra, along with Man Mohan Sinha, DK Dhiman, CG Pander, P Kondaiah who earned a Mention-in-Despatches for combat operations.

Command of No. 37 Squadron IAF

No. 37 Squadron IAF (Black Panthers) moved to

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 100, ...

from

Chabua Chabua (IPA: or ) is a town and a town area committee in Dibrugarh district in the state of Assam, India. Chabua is situated in between Dibrugarh town and Tinsukia town on NH-37 from both the district towns, respectively. Its name derives fro ...

at the end of March 1966, where command of the squadron passed 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 historic ...

Man Mohan Sinha on 25 August 1967. After the war he sat for the staff college exam; standing first amongst all three services in the staff college exam, he was thus sent to the

Joint Service Defence College The Joint Service Defence College (JSDC) was a training academy for British military personnel from 1983 to 1997. It has since been amalgamated into the Joint Services Command and Staff College. History The college was established as the Combined ...

in England. Graduating in 1970, he flew in the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Dec ...

; after which he first served as an instructor at the

College of Air Warfare College of Air Warfare (CAW) is a defence service training institution of the Indian Air Force. The college conducts courses and programmes in the art of Joint Warfare, with special emphasis on employment of Air Power. The functional and the ad ...

(then known as the Joint Air Warfare School) and then the

Defence Services Staff College The Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) is a defence service training institution of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. It trains officers of all three services of the Indian Armed Forces – ( Indian Military Service, Indian Nav ...

. Then joining the Indian

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

Mod in 1975.

AOC-in-C of Eastern Command IAF

He was a Commanding Officer for Eastern Air Command at

Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the 330th most populous city in India with a p ...

from 8 February 1988 – 31 January 1991 at the post of Air Marshal.

Promotions

He was promoted to air vice marshal on 26 January 1984 and air marshal on 1 August 1986, before retiring on 31 January 1991.

Post-retirement

Man Mohan Sinha has served as chairman of Velocity Apparelz Company in

Ismailia Ismailia ( ar, الإسماعيلية ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city has a population of 1,406,699 (or approximately 750,000, inclu ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

since 2001, while his son Siddharth Sinha is the CEO of parent company Vogue International Agencies FZE.

Awards and decorations

Image:Param Vishisht Seva Medal.jpg, Param Vishisht Seva Medal

References

External links

How I Too Nearly Missed The War! – Air Vice Marshal Ajit Lamba VrC

Embassy of India, Cairo , Bilateral , India-Egypt , Economic , Indian Companies in Egypt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinha, Man Mohan 1933 births 2018 deaths Indian Air Force air marshals Indian military aviators Indian military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Pilots of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Pilots of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Vayu Sena Medal Academic staff of the Defence Services Staff College Academic staff of the College of Air Warfare People from Bihar St. Xavier's Patna alumni