TheRoyal Indian Air Force (RIAF) was the aerial force ofBritish India and later theDominion of India. Along with theIndian Army, andRoyal Indian Navy, it was one of the Armed Forces of British Indian Empire.

Royal Indian Air Force
Badge
Active	1932–1950
Country	India  British India  Dominion of India
Type	Air Force
Size	25,000 personnel byVJ Day (1945)[1]
Command	RAF India
Nickname(s)	RIAF
Motto(s)	"Per Ardua ad Astra" (Latin) (Through Adversity to the Stars)
Engagements	Notable operations World War II Indo-Pakistani War of 1947
Commanders
Notable commanders	Sir John Miles Steel Sir Cecil Bouchier Sir Hugh Walmsley Sir Thomas Elmhirst
Insignia
Roundel
Fin flash
Ensign

The Indian Air Force was officially established on 8 October 1932. Its first flight came into being on 1 April 1933 with sixRAF-trained officers and 19Havai Sepoys (air soldiers). The aircraft inventory consisted of fourWestland Wapiti IIA army co-operation biplanes atDrigh Road,Karachi as the "A" Flight nucleus of the plannedNo.1 (Army Co-operation) Squadron.

The Indian Air Force was established in 1932 without the "Royal" prefix, unlike its counterparts in Australia and Canada. This was partly due to the existing presence of the Royal Air Force in India and concerns about command structures between RAF and IAF officers. The "Royal" title was conferred upon the IAF on 12 March 1945, recognising its service during World War II. Following India's transition to a republic on 26 January 1950, the prefix was dropped, and the force reverted to being the Indian Air Force.^[2]

During theFirst World War, four Indian volunteers – LieutenantsShri Krishna Chandra Welinkar,Hardit Singh Malik,Errol Suvo Chunder Sen andIndra Lal Roy – served as fighter pilots with theRoyal Flying Corps. In September 1917, Sen was shot down and became a prisoner-of-war; and over the next 10 months, Malik was wounded and Welinkar and Roy were killed. ‘Laddie’ Roy destroyed 10 enemy aircraft before he fell, and on 21 September 1918, he was posthumously awarded the RAF’s newDistinguished Flying Cross.

In theinter-war years, the idea ofself-determination gained widespread support inBritish India. In keeping with this, a committee chaired byGeneral Sir Andrew Skeen met atSimla, in August 1925, to investigate the ‘Indianisation’ of theIndian Army’s officer corps. The creation of a military academy equivalent toSandhurst was also examined. The Skeen Committee reported in April 1927, and one of its recommendations was that Indian cadets be accepted for officer training atRAF Cranwell. The bravery of theRFC’s South Asian pilots was referenced in support of this, and veteran Hardit Singh Malik’s impressive appearance before the committee lent added weight. Discussions between the British and Indian governments continued untilLord Birkenhead,Secretary of State for India, approved the creation of an Indian Air Force on 5 April 1928. The new service would be open to men of all faiths and castes drawn from every part of thesubcontinent.

The Indian Air Force was established inBritish India as an auxiliary air force^[3] of theRoyal Air Force with the enactment of the Indian Air Force Act 1932 on 8 October that year^[4][5] and adopted the Royal Air Force uniforms, badges, brevets and insignia.^[6] On 1 April 1933, the IAF commissioned its first squadron,No.1 Squadron, with fourWestland Wapiti biplanes and five Indian pilots. The Indian pilots were led byRAF Commanding officer Flight Lieutenant (later Air Vice Marshal)Cecil Bouchier.^[7]

The first five pilots commissioned into the IAF were Harish Chandra Sircar,Subroto Mukerjee, Bhupendra Singh, Aizad Baksh Awan and Amarjeet Singh. A sixth officer, J N Tandon had to revert to logistics duties as he was too short. All of them were commissioned asPilot Officers in 1932 fromRAF Cranwell.Subroto Mukerjee later went on to become the IAF's firstChief of the Air Staff. Subsequent batches inducted beforeWorld War II includedAspy Engineer, K K Majumdar, Narendra, Daljit Singh, Henry Runganadhan, R H D Singh, Baba Mehar Singh, S N Goyal, Prithpal Singh andArjan Singh.

Among the earliest fully Indian-trained flying batches was the 4th Pilot Course, commissioned in the 1940s. This group included several future leaders of the Indian Air Force and played a key role in operationalising squadrons during World War II and the immediate post-independence years.^[8]

DuringWorld War II, the IAF played an instrumental role in halting the advance of theJapanese army inBurma, where the first IAF air strike was executed. The target for this first mission was the Japanese military base inArakan, after which IAF strike missions continued against the Japanese airbases atMae Hong Son,Chiang Mai andChiang Rai in northernThailand.

The IAF was mainly involved instrike,close air support,aerial reconnaissance,bomber escort and pathfinding missions for RAF andUSAAF heavy bombers. RAF and IAF pilots would train by flying with their non-native air wings to gain combat experience and communication proficiency. Besides operations in theBurma Theatre IAF pilots participated in air operations inNorth Africa andEurope.^[1][9]

In addition to the IAF, many native Indians and some 200 Indians resident in Britain volunteered to join theRAF andWomen's Auxiliary Air Force. One such volunteer was Sergeant Shailendra Eknath Sukthankar, who served as a navigator with No. 83 Squadron. Sukthankar was commissioned as an officer, and on 14 September 1943, received theDFC. Squadron Leader Sukthankar eventually completed 45 operations, 14 of them on board theRAF Museum’s Avro Lancaster R5868. Another volunteer was Assistant Section OfficerNoor Inayat Khan a Muslim pacifist and Indian nationalist who joined the WAAF, in November 1940, to fight against Nazism. Noor Khan served bravely as a secret agent with theSpecial Operations Executive (SOE) in France, but was eventually betrayed and captured.^[1] Many of these Indian airmen were seconded or transferred to the expanding IAF such as Squadron LeaderMohinder Singh Pujji DFC who ledNo. 4 Squadron IAF in Burma.

During the war, the IAF experienced a phase of steady expansion. New aircraft added to the fleet included the US-builtVultee Vengeance,Douglas Dakota, the BritishHawker Hurricane,Supermarine Spitfire,Bristol Blenheim, andWestland Lysander.

Subhas Chandra Bose sentIndian National Armyyouth cadets to Japan to train as pilots. They went on to attend theImperial Japanese Army Air Force Academy in 1944.^[10]

In recognition of the valiant service by the IAF,King George VI conferred theprefix "Royal" on 12 March 1945. Thereafter the IAF was referred to as theRoyal Indian Air Force. In 1950, when India became a republic, the prefix was dropped and it reverted to being the Indian Air Force.^[11]

Post war,No. 4 Squadron IAF was sent toJapan as part of theAllied Occupation forces.^[12]

With thepartition of the Indian sub-continent into two separate nations—India andPakistan—the military forces were also partitioned. This gave a reduced Royal Indian Air Force and a newRoyal Pakistan Air Force in 1947.

After it became independent from theBritish Empire in 1947,British India waspartitioned into the new states of theDominion of India and theDominion of Pakistan. Along the lines of the geographical partition, the assets of the air force were divided between the new countries. India's air force retained the name of the Royal Indian Air Force, but three of the ten operational squadrons and facilities, located within the borders of Pakistan, were transferred to theRoyal Pakistan Air Force.^[13] The RIAF Roundel was changed to an interim 'Chakra' roundel derived from theAshoka Chakra.^[6]

Around the same time, conflict broke out between them over the control of theprincely state of Jammu & Kashmir. With Pakistani forces moving into the state, its Maharaja decided to accede to India in order to receive military help.^[14] The day after, theInstrument of Accession was signed, the RIAF was called upon to transport troops into the war zone. And this was when a good management of logistics came into help.^[14] This led to the eruption of full-scale war between India and Pakistan, though there was no formal declaration of war.^[15] During the war, the RIAF did not engage the Pakistan Air Force in air-to-air combat; however, it did provide effective transport and close air support to the Indian troops.^[16]

When India became a republic in 1950, the prefix 'Royal' was dropped from the Indian Air Force.^[17] At the same time, the current IAF roundel was adopted.^[6]

• 1933–1942: The RAF roundel was used from 1933 to 1942 as the IAF was first established as an auxiliary air force of the Royal Air Force.
• 1943–1945: This roundel was used from 1943–1945 in theBurma Sector duringWorld War II. The central red disc was removed to eliminate confusion with theJapanese Rising Sun Emblem.
• 1947–1950: TheAshoka Chakra was an interim roundel used fromIndian independence in 1947 till India became a republic in 1950.
• 1950: This roundel was adapted by the IAF in 1950 and kept it after India became a republic and is used to this day.

The ensign had a field ofair force blue with theUnion Jack in the canton and the roundel ofRoyal Air Force superimposed in centre of inside ofStar of India in the fly.

The badge hadTudor crown on top of ring with aneagle augmented in center. A ribbon in fly below with the force mottoPER ARDUA AD ASTRA.

At Independence, the head of the Air Force designated as the "Air Marshal Commanding, Royal Indian Air Force". On 1 March 1948, the title of "Chief of the Air Staff" was added,^[27] with a further re-designation to "Chief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Air Force" on 21 June to maintain uniformity across the three armed services.^[28]

The "Royal" designation was dropped when India became a republic on 26 January 1950. Thus re-designating the head of IAF to "Chief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Air Force".

(On 15 August 1947, the unified RIAF was separated into theRoyal Indian Air Force and theRoyal Pakistan Air Force)

(**Seconded from theRoyal Air Force)

• Royal Air Force
• Royal Canadian Air Force
• Royal Australian Air Force
• Royal New Zealand Air Force

• The Forgotten Few; The Indian Air Force in World War II – KS Nair
• The Eagle strikes : the Royal Indian Air Force, 1932–1950 – Rana Chhina
• History of the Indian Air Force, 1933–45 – SC Gupta
• The Royal Indian Air Force, 1932 – 1947 – RAF Museum