AFVOA Newletter August 2020

Section 4 – War Diary CV 2 No. 02 / 2020 Page 58 of 237 camouflage nets. With Ambala as the mother base the Gnat squadrons were operating detachments at Pathankot, Srinagar and Halwara. I used to keep few critical spares like fuel tank seals, tuning crystals in my flying over all. I lived in a tented accommodation at the aircraft dispersal to ensure that the Gnats were fighting fit for battle. We worked day and night on the Gnat aircraft amidst sporadic bombing by Pakistani aircraft. Bombs fell nearby at the Military Hospital, Philomena Church and the Sirhind Club. Air raid sirens were frequent that sent us rushing to improvised trenches. My colleague in the trench usually was Pilot Officer Razaqui. “What are our prospects of survival in this trench?” he asked. I said if a bomb fell on our trench both will be buried together as monument of Hindu-Muslim unity. Air Force Station Ambala stood up with remarkable resilience despite the continuous air raids. War ended with the ceasefire. Soon, on 26 January 1966, our Unit moved to Delhi to take part in the Republic Day fly-past. While I was supervising the Gnat aircraft for the fly-past one of the pilot’s tapped me on the shoulder and said “Congratulations you have been awarded the Vayu Sena Medal” On the same evening the Squadron was invited by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Arjan Singh where I was introduced to the Chief as the only Pilot Officer to receive the Vayu Sena Medal. Shaking the hand of the Chief was one of the most momentous occasions in my life. War clouds gathered again in 1971 when I was posted at Bangalore. We received orders to mobilize immediately and to be airlifted by a Dakota aircraft to Delhi. I hurriedly picked up few items and while rushing out saw the silhouette of