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

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

. 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 An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

Western Air Command The Western Air Command (WAC) is the regional command of Indian Air Force headquartered in New Delhi. It is the largest and most important Air Command of the IAF, comprising sixteen Air Force Bases (AFBs), and is responsible for aerial defence of ...

during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.

Early life and education

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

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

in the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

in 1917. He joined the Madras Flying Club 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 Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, commonly known by its former name Madras Law College, is a law school, located in Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), ...

in 1938. With the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

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

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

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 (India), Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala ...

. By 1942, now

Flying Officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

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 by ...

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

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

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

Arjan Singh Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, (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 (India), Chief of the Air Staff from 1964 to 1969, leading the Air ...

, as the

Flight commander A flight commander is the leader of a constituent portion of an aerial squadron in aerial operations, often into combat. That constituent portion is known as a flight, and usually contains six or fewer aircraft, with three or four being a common ...

. The squadron was inducted into the war and moved to

Imphal Imphal (; , ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (officially known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the former Kingdom of Manipur, surrounded by a ...

. 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 The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

for the remainder of the war. In April 1945, Rajaram was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Promoted to

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

, Rajaram served at the Air Force Station Kohat (now PAF Base Kohat).

Post-Independence

In 1950, he was promoted

Group Captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

and took command of

Tambaram Air Force Station Tambaram Air Force Station is an Indian Air Force airfield in Tambaram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-l ...

. 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 ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

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 Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from 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 ...

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 (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

and took over as the senior directing staff at the National Defence College. After the Sino-Indian War of 1962, the No. 1 Operational Group was formed at

Tezpur Tezpur () is a city 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. History Tezpur was under the rule of the Koch dynasty ...

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 (DCAS). As the DCAS, he led the committee of inquiry into the 1963 Poonch Indian Air Force helicopter crash in which five senior officers of the

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

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 Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. He was awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') 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 Januar ...

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 ...

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; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce 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 rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

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 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 rive ...

. 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, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

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 in India Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Indian recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Academic staff of the National Defence College, India Deputy chiefs of Air Staff (India)