In a gesture to honour Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh, who turned 97 on Friday, the key airbase in Panagarh was renamed as ‘Air Force Station Arjan Singh’ IAF chief Arup Raha announced this decision at a function to felicitate Singh, who was the IAF chief in 1965, in New Delhi.
Addressing a ceremony in Panagarh, Eastern Command Chief Air Marshal C Hari Kumar said, “It is a proud moment for the Indian Air Force and the State of West Bengal. He is an icon and a role model. We have to work hard to ensure that the name is suitably looked after in terms of capability and performance. It is for the first time that we have taken a conscious decision to rename an airbase after an individual.”
An icon of the Indian military history, Singh, the first Indian to lead a young IAF into war in 1965, was hardly 44 years of age when made Chief. Singh was born on April 15, 1919, in lyalpur (now Faislabad, Pakistan), and completed his education at Montgomery (now Sahiwal, Pakistan). At the age of 19, he was selected to the Empire Pilot training course at Royal Air Force(RAF) Cranwell.
He took part in the Second World War and led his squadron against the Japanese during the Arakan Campaign and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in 1944 for his role in combat.
On August 15, 1947, Singh achieved the unique honour of leading a fly-past of over a hundred IAF aircraft over the Red Fort in Delhi.
On August 1, 1964, Singh took over reins of IAF, at a time when it was still rebuilding itself and was gearing up to meet new challenges. In 1965, when Pakistan launched its Operation Grand Slam, with an armoured thrust targeted at the vital town of Akhnoor, Singh led IAF through the war.
After retirement in 1969, he was appointed Ambassador to Switzerland. He was lieutenant Governor of New Delhi from December 1989 to December 1990. He was conferred with the rank of the Marshal of the Air Force on 2002.