Resurrection of No.45 Squadron, Indian Air Force
As Indian tradition has it, and before No.45 Squadron, the ‘Flying Daggers’ was officially resurrected in the Indian Air Force, there was a multireligious ceremony at HAL’s airfield in Bangalore when a Pandit, Granthi, Maulvi and Priest chanted prayers for the success of this unit and its new fighter aircraft type inducted by the IAF. Thus, on 1 July 2016, No.45 Squadron officially returned to the IAF’s order-of-battle, albeit still in nascent stage with only a handful of ADA-designed, HAL-built Tejas Mk.1 light combat aircraft in its inventory. These were Series Production (SP) 1 and 2, which have followed the production of seventeen earlier LCAs built since the programme began in late 1983. Of these, two had been ‘Technology Demonstrators’, five were ‘Prototype Vehicles’, eight ‘Limited Series Production’ LCAs while two were ‘Naval Prototypes’.
The first Commanding Officer of No.45 Squadron in its new avataar is Gp Capt Madhav Rangachari, an experimental test pilot but also having considerable operational experience on the Mirage 2000 and MiG-21 variants. It is interesting that the last fighter type that No.45 Squadron operationally flew some 14 years earlier was the MiG-21bis with which it was equipped before being number plated in 2002.
Going back six decades, the first fighter type which equipped No.45 Squadron on raising at Palam on 20 November 1959 was the Vampire FB Mk.52 twin-boomed fighter-bomber and the rapidity with which it was ‘operationalised’ under the command of Sqn Ldr MS Grewal was demonstrated when within two monthsof raising, its entire strength of sixteen Vampires flew in four boxes of four aircraft each over Rajpath during Republic Day on 26 January 1960. No.45 Squadron continued to be based at Palam and also provided an aerial escort to President Nasser of Egypt when he visited India that winter.
Multi-faith prayers for the Squadron
In October 1962, on eve of the frontier war with China, the Squadron moved to Adampur in the Punjab and thereafter Sarsawa before being moved to Poona in February 1964, entrusted with the task of operational training. It was No.45 Squadron’s fate to be located at Pathankot on the Punjab. Kashmir border on the eve of the Indo-Pakistan War of September 1965 and in fact they were first into action on 1 September 1965, launched at very short notice to blunt the massive Pakistani armoured thrust in the Chhamb-Jaurian sector.
The first formation of four Vampires was led by the CO Sqn Ldr SK Dahar, which targeted invading enemy armour with rockets and cannon even while a second formation followed them. However, by this time PAF Sabres had been vectored into the area and the obsolescent Vampires were no match, four of them being shot down. The mantle was thereafter assumed by the more modern Hunters and Mysteres of the IAF, and the Vampires were withdrawn to Hindon for secondary tasks.
Painting of IAF Vampires in action over Chhamb, September 1965 (by Deb Gohain)
In October 1962, on eve of the frontier war with China, the Squadron moved to Adampur in the Punjab and thereafter Sarsawa before being moved to Poona in February 1964, entrusted with the task of operational training. It was No.45 Squadron’s fate to be located at Pathankot on the Punjab. Kashmir border on the eve of the Indo-Pakistan War of September 1965 and in fact they were first into action on 1 September 1965, launched at very short notice to blunt the massive Pakistani armoured thrust in the Chhamb-Jaurian sector.
The first formation of four Vampires was led by the CO Sqn Ldr SK Dahar, which targeted invading enemy armour with rockets and cannon even while a second formation followed them. However, by this time PAF Sabres had been vectored into the area and the obsolescent Vampires were no match, four of them being shot down. The mantle was thereafter assumed by the more modern Hunters and Mysteres of the IAF, and the Vampires were withdrawn to Hindon for secondary tasks.
After the war, No.45 Squadron was re-equipped with the supersonic MiG-21FL in February 1966 and based at Chandigarh where it remained for the next seven years even while it was tasked for operational conversion training even as the IAF was receiving increasing numbers of this tailed-delta supersonic fighter. During the December 1971 Indo-Pak war, the squadron now commanded by Wg Cdr SK Anand, was assigned the task of air defence of Chandigarh with detachments at Amritsar and Pathankot. MiG-21FLs provided top cover to IAF Sukhoi Su-7s on offensive air missions, including those against the major PAF base at Sargodha. Towards the end of the war, on 17 December 1971 a pair of MiG-21s intercepted enemy Sabres but unfortunately one MiG-21 was hit during combat, the pilot ejecting and being captured as a POW.
Gp Capt Madhav Rangachari in cockpit of Tejas LCA
In July 1973, No.45 Squadron moved to Bareilly to continue its role as an operational conversion unit before moving east to Hashimara in the Dooars in May 1978 and then back across the country to Jamnagar on the Gulf of Kutch where it was re-equipped with the MiG-21bis in April 1982. The Squadron remained at this western extreme of India for the next decade, completing its tour at Naliya when two of its MiG-21s intercepted and shot down an intruding Pakistan Navy Atlantic over the disputed Sir Creek on 10 August 1999 (see official map representation).
Owing to increasing obsolescence of the type, the MiG-21bis squadrons were gradually phased out and No.45 Squadron too was affected, being number plated in 2002, and so remaining in suspended animation till its resurrection fourteen years later.
Production of Tejas LCA Mk.1s at HAL Bangalore is being stepped up
Air Marshal Jasbir Singh Walia, Air Marshal RKS Bhaduria with Gp Capt Madhav Rangchari at Bangalore
Following the religious ceremony at Bangalore’s HAL airfield on 1 July 2016, Gp Capt Madhav Rangachari, CO No.45 Squadron met with Air Marshal Jasbir Singh Walia, AOC-in-C Southern Air Command, Air Marshal RKS Bhaduria, DCAS, T Suvarna Raju Chairman, HAL and Dr S Christopher, head of the DRDO. According to Chairman HAL, production of the Tejas LCA Mk.1 is being ramped up at two dedicated production lines at Bangalore even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that this is a matter of “unparalleled pride and happiness … this illustrates our skills and strengths to enhance indigenous defence manufacturing”.
Over the next 12 months HAL produced and delivered five LCA Mk.1s to the Indian Air Force at Bangalore and it is projected that by end-March 2018, a total of 10-12 LCAs would have been handed over, all single-seaters and in the following F.Y., the remaining 4-6 single-seaters and four twin-seaters would be produced. Thus it would only be by end 2018, that No.45 Squadron could conceivably move to its permanent base at Sulur (near Coimbatore) with its full unit establishment.
Line up of Tejas LCA Mk.1s (photo by Deb Rana)