AFOVA New Letter 2 of Year 2021

Section 5 – War Diary CV 2 No. 02 / 2021 Page 103 of 332 "We flew all missions in the first part of the war at low levels; that is at 300 to 500 feet above the ground. These sorties were no doubt stressful since the pilots and crew had to look out for birds and obstructions as well as enemy gunfire. "Later on, once the Pakistani Air Force was decimated in the east, we flew at 5,000 feet. This was less stressful, to say the least! We were clear of enemy ground fire and navigation was also easy," says the ace pilot. The Dakota carried all logistic support needed to keep the Kilo Flight aircraft fly-worthy as well as brought in the POL, rockets and ammunition for the guns. Air Commodore Karandikar also flew a few 'propaganda' missions, which involved dropping leaflets over enemy territory. Acknowledgement This article was earlier published in rediff.com and has been reproduced here with permission from them. About the Author Air Commodore Nitin Sathe is a helicopter pilot of the Indian Air Force with 35 years of commissioned service to his credit. During his career, he has been a part of many a live threatening and lifesaving mission, both in India and abroad. He has flown almost all the helicopters on the IAF inventory and has a total of 5500 hours of flying experience. During his career spanning 35 years, the officer has commanded many important units and large establishments in the IAF and has been responsible for these to be battle ready at all times. He has had a stint in the United Nations Peace Keeping Mission in Congo and as has been Director Training at the National Defence Academy and the Senior Instructor at the Defence Services Staff College. He is a MSc in Defence Studies, MPhil in Disaster Management and MBA in HR. He also is an interviewing specialist and has been the President of a premier Services Selection Board of our country.