Dalip Singh Majithia retired as a Squadron Leader within the Indian Air Force in August 1947.
New Delhi:
On August 5, 1940, a younger Sikh pilot took off on his first coaching flight in a Tiger Moth plane from the Walton airfield in Lahore together with his two British instructors.
17 days later, Dalip Singh Majithia, then simply 20, flew his first solo flight, a flight that paved the best way for a lifetime in aviation – first within the Air Force after which as a personal pilot.
Along the best way, Dalip Singh Majithia had his share of adventures as a fighter pilot flying the legendary Hawker Hurricane on the Burma entrance in the course of the Second World War to turning into the primary individual to land a aircraft within the Kathmandu Valley a number of a long time later.
Tomorrow, Dalip Singh Majithia, who retired as a Squadron Leader within the Indian Air Force in August 1947, the yr of our independence, turns 100.
He is India’s oldest residing fighter pilot.
“I still feel that I’m in it, when I meet [Indian Air Force] officers,” says Squadron Leader Majithia. “My batch people aren’t there anymore, we used to have our meetings on the first of August every year for some time.”
On 23 April, 1949, Dalip Singh Majithia landed in Kathmandu, Nepal. This was the primary touchdown of an plane within the Kathmandu Valley.
His story has been described as “a story of faith, courage and adventure” by Pushpinder Singh Chopra, India’s foremost aerospace historian. By the time he graduated as a pilot, he was adequate to be adjudged the most effective pilot of his course.
Squadron Leader Majithia (retd.) went on to fly a number of plane with the Indian Air Force in the course of the pre-independence interval together with the Westland Wapiti IIA, the Hawker Audax and Hart which geared up No. 1 Squadron, the IAF’s sole squadron on the time.
After initially being assigned to Coast Defence Flights the place he flew maritime patrols over the Bay of Bengal, he was re-assigned to No.6 Squadron, Indian Air Force, which was shortlisted to function one of the vital superior plane on the earth on the time, the legendary Hawker Hurricane.
“It was a lovely aircraft. The Hurricane is very well known as it won the Battle of Britain and we had great respect for them as it had a great engine,” says Dalip Singh Majithia. “I used to love this aircraft. It was very tough. They used to say, ‘you can hit a tree’ and still come back.”
The Hurricane was the primary fight plane to transcend 300 mph in degree flight and was extraordinarily versatile. More than 300 variants of the Hurricane have been provided to the IAF between 1942 and 1944. The fighter went on to turn out to be the spine of operations within the Assam and Burma campaigns.
Dalip Singh Majithia retired as a Squadron Leader within the Indian Air Force in August 1947, the yr of our independence.
Dalip Singh Majithia would go on to serve in East India and fly over the Burma entrance below the command of the legendary Baba Meher Singh, who was honoured with a Distinguished Service Order in the course of the Second World War and went on to get a Maha Vir Chakra for his position within the 1947-48 conflict with Pakistan.
“Every mission [on the Burma front] was very difficult but we just had to find the Japanese but their use of camouflage was very good.” Flying missions over among the densest jungles on Earth was an unbelievable problem for the Squadron. “The jungle was very thick and we had to locate where they were. The Japanese army was moving forward towards India and we had to detect them.”
The Hurricanes of No.6 Squadron have been assigned to take vertical and indirect pictures. They would fly in two plane formations. In every sortie, “the ‘Leader’ took photos and did the recce work and his No.2, the ‘Weaver’, protected the leader’s tail” from enemy interceptors and floor fireplace.
With the give up of the Japanese and the Second World War winding down, Dalip Singh Majithia was chosen to be part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces and moved to BCOF Headquarters in Melbourne, the place he met Joan Sanders (whose father was with the British Indian Army). On 18 February, 1947, Dalip Singh Majithia married Joan at his household house in Gorakhpur the place the household had appreciable land holdings and enterprise pursuits.
He was persuaded to depart the Indian Air Force however clearly, his love for flying by no means waned.
“Just before the end of the war, the Americans sold all their aircraft in India and my uncle bought these two L5 light aircraft.” But making these plane flight-worthy was no simple job. “We had no mechanic,” says Dalip Singh Majithia. “I had an auto mechanic looking after the garage. My uncle and he were in charge and he used to come and check the magnetos of the aircraft.” Miraculously, the plane have been repaired efficiently. “I flew these two aircrafts all over the place and luckily, I had a pilot’s license earlier, so I had no problem.”
On 18 February, 1947, Dalip Singh Majithia married Joan Sanders at his household house in Gorakhpur the place the household had appreciable land holdings and enterprise pursuits.
The household went on to amass two Beechcraft Bonanza plane. These have been four-seater plane, one in every of which went on to make aviation historical past with Dalip Singh Majithia on the controls.
On 23 April, 1949, Dalip Singh Majithia landed in Kathmandu, Nepal. This was the primary touchdown of an plane within the Kathmandu Valley and adopted a request from the Prime Minister, Mohan Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana. In a letter to the Indian Ambassador, the Prime Minister of Nepal requested, “I have been wondering if it would be possible to make use of small transport planes to carry paddy to Kathmandu Valley after the rains, knowing that Dakotas require a landing ground which would be difficult to get ready.”
“My uncle (Surjit Singh Majithia) was the Ambassador and he was very keen for me to meet the PM.” The dialog moved to flights into Nepal with permission being granted in fast time.
“I had a good look before [landing] and didn’t have any aid on the ground whatsoever,” says Dalip Singh Majithia, describing his first strategy into Kathmandu. “My uncle put a windsock for me. That is all I had.” Dalip Singh Majithia made two makes an attempt to land. “The first one was not so good because it was late April with a lot of clouds. But the second time, I circled around Kathmandu and made it.” This was an unprepared strip. “Luckily, there was nobody on the ground. My uncle came and picked me up.” Today, the realm the place Dalip Singh Majithia made his first touchdown is the positioning of the current Tribhuvan International Airport at Kathmandu.
Majithia’s ardour for aviation continued for a number of a long time. He made his final recorded flight on January 16, 1979, once more in a Beechcraft Bonanza. Over a time period, the household got here to amass a number of plane. Some of those nonetheless lively on air constitution duties with Saraya Air Charters, among the others are actually retired.
Asked what its like to attain a century in life, the Squadron Leader says, “Well God is great and I’m very thankful for every help I have gotten from my family.”
Fitness has been a key a part of Dalip Singh Majithia’s life, Golf a long-lasting ardour. “I’m very thankful to God for letting me play a lot of golf. I got a hole in one a number of times, and my last hole in one was last year in the golf course in Nainital.”