In this article, we are going to discuss about Air Force Ranks in India and other information about Air Force.
So let’s start. Things which we will discuss in this article are the work, moto formation and establishment of Indian Air force. The number 1 squadron of Indian Air force, the roundel commands ranks of commissioned officers and the international Air base of Indian Air force.
So first of all the task of Indian Air force obviously to secure the Indian Airspace and to carry warfare during the war or conflict. Also Indian Air Force has always played a key role in serving the Country men during the time of natural calamities.
During natural calamity Indian Air Force uses its transport Aircraft such as C-17(Globemaster) c-130j(Super Hercules) AN-32 to provide help to the countrymen and support them with food and other materials.
Indian Air Force Motto
The motto of Indian Air Force is Nabham Sparsham Deeptam which is a Sanskrit phrase which means touch the sky with Glory.
Formation and establishment of Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force was established on 8th of October 1932 with the Indian Air Force Act 1932 adopted the Royal Air Force uniforms, badges, brevets and insignia. Most of the things which are there in Indian Air Force are adopted from the Royal Air Force. The Air Force day is celebrated on this day as it was established in 1932 on 8th of October.
The Number 1 Squadron
It was the first squadron of Indian Air Force and it was raised on 1st of April 1933. It was the only squadron of Indian Air Force until 1941 though more flights were added. it was only in 1942 when the world war ii started and more squadrons were added to the Indian Air Force.
The number 1 squadron had four Westland Wapiti biplanes and six officers. These Westland wapiti biplanes were the first fighter jet of the Indian Air Force. These are called biplanes because you can see two Air wings on these planes.
Indian Air force Roundel
Indian Air Force roundel can show you the evolution of the Indian Air Force.
As can be seen in above image, in 1933 this was the Indian Air Force’s roundel and it remains till 1942. In 1942 when the world war ii started the Indian Air Force removed the red dot from its roundel to prevent any confusion from the Japanese flag which is the Rising Sun which also has a red dot in between and a white background.
When India got independence in 1947 it changed its roundel to the Ashok chakra and when India got Republic it got their force got a new roundel which looks similar to the flag of India Safran color outside, in the outer ring and white and inside it is green color roundel is basically a circular disc which is used as a symbol for Air forces generally they consist of rings.
You can see the roundels of different countries not all of them have rings but mostly Airforces they have rings in their roundel.
The commands of the Indian Air force
The commands are categorized into operational and functional commands. There are five operational commands and two functional commands. The five operational commands are central Air command, eastern Air command, southern Air command, southwestern Air command and western Air command. These are located at allahbad, shillong, Thiruvananthapuram, Gandhinagar and New Delhi respectively the two functional commands are training command which is at Bengaluru and second is maintenance command which is at Nagpur.
Functional commands are mainly for maintenance purposes now you should note that each command is headed by an Air officer commanding in chief with the rank of Air Marshal.
Air force Ranks in India
Now we will talk about the ranks bank structure of Indian Air Force. First of all we will start from top and we will go in descending order.
First rank is Air Chief Marshal. The second rank is Air Marshal then Air Vice Marshal then Air Commodore then group captain. Sachin Tendulkar is awarded the rank *honored with the rank of Group Captain and this next is Wing Commander, squadron leader then flight left in and then flying officer and the IAF’s rank structure is based on that of Indian Air oh sorry Royal Air Force as I have already mentioned that most of the things are adopted from the Royal Air Force and one rank is the honorary wartime rank which is marshal of the Air Force which is a five-star rank and it is equal and this rank equals to the rank of Field Marshal in the Army marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh is the only person to have this rank since the Indian Air Force is formed and he was awarded this rank in 2002 for his distinguished service in commanding the Indian Air Force during the indo-Pakistani war of 1965. He was also awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1966 and he became the first IAF officer to be promoted to Air Chief Marshal after retiring from the Indian Air Force.
He served as diplomat, politician and adviser to the Indian government the fighter Aircraft base in Panagarh in West Bengal was named in his honor on his birthday but on 16th of September 2017 he died at the army research and referral hospital in Delhi after he suffered a cardiac arrest.
Now let’s talk about the Air Bases of Indian Air Force the Indian Air Force operates over 60 Air bases and it has an international Air command which is at farkhor Air base Tajikistan and the largest Air command of Indian Air Force is western Air command out of its five operational commands this western Air command operates 16 Air bases this is the first video of the Indian Air force details i will be making more videos in this series if you have any suggestions for me don’t forget to write it down in the comment sections down below subscribe to my channel and hit the bell icon to never miss an update thank you Jai Hind!