No. 1 Squadron (The Tigers), the oldest squadron of the Indian Air Force operates as a multirole (air superiority and electronic warfare) unit. Part of 40 Wing of the Indian Air Force under Central Air Command, it is based at Maharajpur in Gwalior.[1]
| No. 1 Squadron | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active |
|
| Role | Air superiority Interdiction |
| Base | AFS Gwalior |
| Nickname(s) | Tigers |
| Motto(s) | Ekta Mein Shakti (Hindi: "Strength in Unity") |
| Engagements | Hur's Operations NWFP Burma Campaign Operation Polo Western Air War, 1965 Liberation War, 1971 Kargil War, 1999, Operation Parakram |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Group Captain Hemant Kumar |
| Notable commanders | Subroto Mukerjee Arjan Singh Dilbagh Singh |
| Insignia | |
| Identification symbol | A Royal Bengal Tiger |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | Dassault Mirage 2000 |
History edit
The squadron was established at Drigh Road, Karachi on 1 April 1933, with four Westland Wapitis and five pilots: the sixth was deemed too short.[1][2][3] The pilots included Subroto Mukerjee.[2]
The squadron successfully test fired a BVR MICA missile from a Mirage-2000 aircraft on 24 September 2016.[4]
Aircraft edit
| Aircraft | From | To | Air Base |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Independence (1933–47) | |||
| Westland Wapiti IIA | May 1933 | October 1941 | Karachi[5][6] |
| Hawker Audax | September 1939 | December 1941 | Peshawar |
| Harvard IIB | October 1945 | September 1947 | |
| Westland Lysander | September 1941 | July 1942 | |
| Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 | October 1942 | May 1943 | Trichy |
| Hawker Hurricane Mk IIB | May 1943 | August 1944 | |
| Hawker Hurricane Mk IIC | July 1944 | May 1946 | Imphal |
| Harvard IIB | October 1945 | May 1947 | Peshawar |
| Spitfire VIII | December 1945 | May 1947 | |
| Post-Independence (1953–Present) | |||
| Spitfire XVIII | February 1953 | September 1953 | AFS Halwara |
| Vampire FB52 | March 1953 | March 1957 | AFS Palam |
| Dassault Mystère IVa | July 1957 | 1963 | AFS Kalaikunda |
| 1963 | June 1966 | AFS Adampur | |
| MiG-21 FL | July 1966 | February 1986 | |
| Dassault Mirage 2000 | February 1986 | Present | AFS Gwalior |
Commemorative Postal Stamp edit
Commemorative stamp was released by India Post in 1993.
References edit
- ^ a b Singh, Pushpindar. "No.1 Squadron". Retrieved 2 November 2017.
- ^ a b "Home". www.oldcranwellians.info. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ "The Royal Indian Air Force, 1932 – 1947". RAF Museum. 15 August 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ "MICA Missile Firing by 'TIGER' Squadron of IAF". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
- ^ "No.1 Squadron Winged Daggers". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- ^ Singh, Pushpinder (14 June 2017). "No.1 Squadron". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 21 June 2021.