AFOVA New Letter 2 of Year 2021

Section 7 – Panorama CV 2 No. 02 / 2021 Page 308 of 332 service in the IAF for the Bangladesh air force. But Air Chief Marshal Lal was not in favour of arming the fledgling Bangladesh air force with fighters just then. With one armed Chetak, one armed Otter and one Dakota, 9 officers and 57 men, the Bangladesh air force came into being on September 28, 1971, a day it celebrated as its Air Force Day. It was on this day that training commenced in Dimapur under the IAF for the Kilo flight. After the December 16, 1971 surrender and the borth of Bangladesh, the Kilo flight aircraft -- riddled with bullets but still fly-worthy -- were handed over to the Bangladeshis at Dacca. More about the Kilo Flight next time! Acknowledgement This article was earlier published in rediff.com and has been reproduced here with permission from them.