tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57619262012-01-16T00:12:45.192+05:30Just some ramblings on interesting indian defence and some personal stuff.Jagannoreply@blogger.comBlogger1211100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-23645056411783773822012-01-16T00:12:00.000+05:302012-01-16T00:12:45.200+05:30

Coming soon!

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-553415726232422582012-01-15T23:48:00.001+05:302012-01-15T23:50:38.013+05:30

Commonwealth Forces of WW2 was started by a friend a few years ago with much fan fare. The forum proved to be promising - trying to focus on personnel from countries in the commonwealth other than UK. The admin (Amrit) built it up into a large resource with thousands of posts over the couple of years since it started. Ably supported by hundreds of posts by Andy Wright, Adrian Roberts, Lyffe,

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-39232634367651666512011-06-21T21:44:00.008+05:302011-06-21T22:01:40.555+05:30

...or how your research benefits the (modeling) world at large ...(and in turn we benefit from it)A friend of mine sent me a link to modeling website which released a new decal sheet for a Spitfire Mk.VIII. This sheet contains specific decals for an RIAF aircraft from No.2 Squadron , "MT841" and features a pin-up model. An accompanying 'guide' sheet shows how the Spitfire looks (See below right)

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-88971756539086921752011-06-13T07:10:00.005+05:302011-06-13T08:00:39.859+05:30

...Pennsylvania edition....Watch in HDVisitor's to the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Museum's yearly "World War Two Weekend" event would never guess that one of the Star attractions - an airworthy Supermarine Spitfire Mk XVIII (S No SM969) is an ex-Indian Air Force aircraft. The aircraft was flown in by its owner Jim Beasley, and gave an splendid display of aerobatics. This Spitfire is local to

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-6975546037948984622011-06-13T00:43:00.000+05:302011-06-13T00:43:30.068+05:30

Air India's Website brings this up today - Sigh....

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-24828565647571584112011-04-04T02:13:00.005+05:302011-04-04T19:40:51.175+05:30

The Moment.. India won the Cricket World Cup 2011 from J Pillarisetti on Vimeo.Once in a while I have to make a non-defence related post - What best than to post one related to the spectacular match yesterday in which India won the World Cup playing against Sri Lanka? Colleagues from Work gathered at another colleaugue's house where he had a projector system showing the match live.. We had been

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-47572080572118309322011-02-25T10:30:00.006+05:302011-02-25T10:46:37.762+05:30

Amazon Kindle e-books opens up some great possibilities of 'publishing' ebooks to niche audiences. One can get to write and publish stuff that normally would not get done so by traditional publishing houses - yet at the same time may hold the interest of the audience out there. Kindle gives an opportunity to put these ebooks out for those who are interested. Now that they are not platform

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-79910293628142379012010-11-02T05:38:00.000+05:302010-11-02T05:38:27.434+05:30

An RAF group photo from India - pretty large group. Atleast ten Indian airmen in there, and one WAC(I) in the front row.No idea as to which unit, year or building it is. Seems to be on of the Delhi based palace type building..Can anyone identify the building in the background?

Jagannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-74401257129240044632010-10-26T09:39:00.004+05:302011-01-03T06:39:05.141+05:30

Normally I would go after any curio sold on ebay that has some connection to the Indian Air Force. Imagine my surprise when an item was listed - titled "Nostalgia / Ookjah Privy by Shamus Wade - Indian Air Force" was listed by an ebay seller hobo2150.Description given as follows:INDIAN AIR FORCE PERSONNEL - from the companion range "Oojah cum Pivy"5 Figures beautifully hand painted2 x Pilots3 x

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-17633179247350509392010-09-26T00:41:00.003+05:302010-09-26T03:04:44.237+05:30

Fighter Pilot Biographies are innumerable.. there are thousands of books out there dealing with the lives of World War Two era fliers. But try to locate anything specific to World War 2 pilots from India, and you will be hard pressed to locate one. In that context the availability of the biography of Squadron Leader Mahinder Singh Pujji DFC was welcome news. Sqn Ldr Pujji, till recently was one

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-8485042003514457412010-08-29T10:05:00.003+05:302010-08-29T23:30:36.861+05:30

We all know that the oldest officer at any point of time in the Indian Air Force is probably the Chief of Air Staff - who retires as soon as he reaches the age of 60. Additionally there could be a Master Warrant Officer who reaches his late 50s before he retires. There have been cases where personnel from the ranks were commissioned into the Officer stream - and some of them pretty late in their

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-25556363289209999872010-08-11T22:56:00.003+05:302010-08-11T23:02:46.282+05:30

The latest acquisition off eBay - a lovely wooden plaque with the badge of 8 Squadron fixed on it. Two metal plates with the inscription "The the Memory of" , "Jack Foster". The Seller was from UK and he apparently got some items from the Glouchestershire RAF Association. The origin of this plaque is a mystery - my guess is that this was made to honour an RAF WW2 veteran who served in SEAC

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-39490712023242105552010-07-30T20:24:00.000+05:302010-07-30T20:25:00.036+05:30

Khusro Manzil at AC Guards near Lakdi Ka Pul.. I went there today and to my surprise it was still there - I expected it to be knocked down completely and replaced by apartment blocks...The erstwhile residence of Nawab Khusro Jung Bahadur - the son of Major General Nawab Sir Afsur-ul-Mulk Bahadur, Chief Commander of Regular Forces in Hyderabad State during the period of the Nizam-VI. Khusro died

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-54859907621130834372010-06-16T18:35:00.005+05:302010-06-16T21:24:27.959+05:30

Its almost five years since the "India-Pakistan Air War of 1965" was published - At that time we had done our best to research most of the facts and stories of the 65 War. We interviewed veterans, procured official records and reports and squeezed whatever information we could to the best of our abilities. We tried meticulously to compare accounts from either side, and to resolve differences in

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-53462241836946744132010-05-10T02:07:00.000+05:302010-05-11T01:46:04.397+05:30

This is the story of another find on ebay a couple of months ago. I recognised the cover straight away . It was a booklet published for the 10th year anniversary of the Indian Air Force. Infact in a very famous photograph showing the three Engineer Brothers (Below) Aspy Engineer is shown carrying copies of the booklet when he flew down to Risalpur for a reunion with his brothers - Minoo and

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-6466114372338261902010-03-16T17:42:00.005+05:302010-03-25T08:38:51.987+05:30

Another Gem from the TIME-LIFE archives. Tank Bund Road at Hussain Sagar - with the Naubat Pahad in the center background at the distance. For the Hyderabadi challenged, Naubat Pahad is the hillock on which the Birla Mandir was constructed. To the right of the photo, one can see the chimney stacks of the "Mint" - at the Mint Compound location. And wonder of wonders! - no cars or automobiles on

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-77333250458964012872010-02-28T09:07:00.009+05:302010-03-03T20:39:52.941+05:30

Among the various photos of No.1 Squadron, Indian Air Force from the late 30s, early 40s is this gentlemen - always wearing a uniform that is of a slightly different colour than the rest of the squadron - my take is that he is one of the Indian Army deputed officers who were part of the Squadron at that time. But there weren't many - D A R Nanda, Burhan-ud-din of Chitral, M K Janjua, M S Verdi,

Jagannoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-64622095114524885982010-02-07T23:55:00.000+05:302010-02-07T23:55:09.434+05:30

RafCommands Forums - View Single Post - Medal Quotas?A fantastic post by Canadian Historian Hugh Halliday - on Award Quotas in the RAF during the Second World War.Worth Archiving.

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-34658673459246856172010-01-15T20:10:00.000+05:302010-01-15T20:10:34.792+05:30

With Republic Day approaching ahead, lets hope the Government does not repeat the charade from last year where the Ashok Chakra was given out by the ton

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-72846663742248993802009-12-17T00:47:00.006+05:302009-12-18T03:08:26.142+05:30

The photo on the left shows an old frontier tribesman, who formed part of the marauding forces in the Invasion of Kashmir, captured after Indian troops routed the tribals at the Battle of Shelatang. It was said that this old man was captured after Baramula town was taken - around November 8th, 1947.This old man was the star of many news . I remember seeing him in quite a few places. Now another

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-49431280124126585922009-12-07T07:55:00.006+05:302009-12-14T05:28:12.119+05:30

On the outside it looked like a regular old family photo album. The pages inside reflected a tour of duty of some Royal Air Force airman in the hostile and dusty North West Frontier Province area of Undivided India. I stumbled onto the Album in an auction on eBay.The contents of the album were mostly the sights of the NWFP - places like Peshawar, Kohat, Lower Topa find mention. Some are Aerial

Jagannoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-36498371524450989412009-10-21T20:09:00.003+05:302009-10-21T20:16:55.252+05:30

Recently, I stumbled onto SPs Aviation Magazine website. SP's Aviation is a magazine published out of Delhi . They have made their archives available online in PDF format on their website http://spsaviation.net/archive.asp?year=2009 After downloading two years worth of issues and going through them, some interesting nuggets turned up. Being in Delhi they have access to all the Air Force events

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-25871662722628025902009-10-06T08:52:00.000+05:302009-10-06T08:52:31.125+05:30

Detailed lists of the BSF Killed in Action. A very commendable effort by the BSF to put the information online. Each year has a PDF file with photo, personal details etc.

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-4464265381181414782009-09-08T23:07:00.004+05:302009-10-13T21:43:00.626+05:30

This has to be the most expensive book that I ever bought, atleast in terms of Rupees per Cubic cm of volume!. But well worth it. Published in 1946 by the Directorate of Public Relations, the book is a pinbound volume with about 120 pages of text and photos. Colour plates showcase water color paintings by Henry Sheldon.Among my collector friends (some of them with very deep pockets) , no one has

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-75669182317973008892009-07-14T07:29:00.001+05:302009-07-14T07:30:02.184+05:30

Yep - 87 of em - I counted ! (couple of them might be open ones)

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-23939401290171552832009-06-12T07:17:00.001+05:302009-06-12T07:33:10.883+05:30

Flight of the Falcon is the autobiography of Air Commodore S Sajad Haider, PAF. The copy I bought was delivered today. Wow what a book! - long overdue and something that definitely needed to be written from the Pakistani side for decades. The book's 65 air war chapter quotes extensively from our own air war book on 65, and it is almost inevitable for me that I have to read it side by side with

Jagannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-28267512251268798782009-06-08T07:11:00.000+05:302009-06-08T07:11:44.584+05:30

Valiant to the last - the history of No.221 Squadron "The Valiants". While the book may be good at other aspects - I have read a chapter about the 90s which was quite good. It was quite disappointing as far as the 71 War History was concerned. There wasnt much - most of it borrowed from Air Chief Marshal Lal's book.At the risk of being accused of blowing my own trumpet, my forthcoming book on the

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-81266246856656126612009-06-07T00:51:00.002+05:302009-06-07T23:16:13.057+05:30

Not the whole collection - There are a few more books to be bought and procured. This is from last year. The earlier post which is similar is two years old. Will update a photo from this year shortly as I got yet another half a dozen new books including the elusive "Touching the Sky" Coffee table book.

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-10677350406209245512009-05-28T00:22:00.001+05:302009-05-28T18:40:55.447+05:30

This book has been described elsewhere as "a Lively first person account of B-57 operations by a PAF officer" and I tend to agree with that statement.First about the scope of this book - Contrary to the title, which tends to raise expectations among history buffs like me, the book is about the personal experiences of Air Cmde Rais Rafi (Retd-PAF). who has been in the thick of action in both wars

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-46987610286977918002009-05-02T02:12:00.002+05:302009-05-02T02:16:42.974+05:30

A pretty rare colour photograph of a Sukhoi-7BMK in IAF Markings, in natural metal finish without an ounce of camoflage paint on it!Six and a half squadrons flew this aircraft during the 1971 War, and more than a Squadron's worth were lost in the operations - Aerial Combat, Ground Fire, Accidents.What is unusual in this photograph is the lack of tail number on the aircraft. The roundel on the

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-67225583520861749522009-02-08T11:36:00.003+05:302009-02-08T11:42:39.739+05:30

Years ago,I read suggestions that Brewster Buffalos may have served with the IAF (Dan Ford's Warbird Forum) and one example was transferred to the IAF (Joe Baugher) etc. I used to laugh at that suggestion. I was pretty damn sure that the Buffalo never served with the Indian Air Force. But if you ask me today, I am not laughing! The reason, I was emailed some a couple of scans of late Squadron

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-14974342262178577862009-01-13T23:39:00.003+05:302009-01-13T23:50:45.536+05:30

I always appreciate a book that I enjoyed reading . And after every good book I read, I promise myself that I will write a few words or even review it on my website - but usually never ever came around to doing so.I wrote some basic reviews on Amazon for a few - including Mansoor Shah's Gold Bird, Peter Smith's Vultee Vengeance, Roopinder Singh's Arjan Singh, but there are still a lot more great

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-39894200785417255982009-01-04T08:34:00.001+05:302009-01-04T08:34:51.597+05:30

The above photo was taken from Defence Journal Magazine from Pakistan. The original article dealt with the 1959 incident where an IAF Canberra was shot down on a recce mission into Pakistan. It took a letter or two before some reader wrote in saying that the photo doesnt look like a Canberra. Infact it looks quite suspiciously like a Bristol Brigand , a type which the PAF had a lone example of.

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-18951843261524949222008-12-12T08:05:00.002+05:302008-12-13T00:02:46.704+05:30

This photograph is from the TIME-LIFE archives on Google. I had to rack my brains to id the building - because this style of architecture is usually found in the Osmania University - and I was not able to place this. Then I realised that it was a Library - it was the State Central Library in Afzal Gunj (or Afzalgunj), near the Osmania General Hospital.I was a regular to the library in the 90s,

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-45768158558653271962008-11-29T19:12:00.001+05:302008-12-10T07:45:45.816+05:30

'Armed police would not fire back. – I wish I'd had a gun, not a camera' - Asia, World - The IndependentYou have to appreciate the photographer Stephen D'Souza for keeping his cool and taking those pictures. I am certainly glad to see that he has got the attention finally.There is however one point that needs to be clarified - despite his experience with some of those cops who didnt fire back,

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-76806131715662181572008-11-26T09:58:00.002+05:302009-02-08T11:41:25.821+05:30

Department of Plant Protection - Now Pakistan Army Aviation - a rare colour photograph of a DHC-2 Beaver impressed into service by the Pakistani Army Aviation Wing. Beavers were used extensively for recce and utility duties during the 1971 OperationsOne of these aircraft probably had a near encounter with an IAF MiG-21 in the air. I say probably because this happened in the night and one cant be

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-77430394790334752062008-10-08T08:53:00.000+05:302008-10-08T08:53:03.869+05:30

GoaBooks2: Remembering the Fall of Portuguese India in 1961A review by Teotonio R. de Souza of a book by a Portugese Veteran. Offers very interesting insights into the Operations. Seems to be sympathetic to the Indian viewpoint and is pretty damning about the portugese treatment of veterans who returned from Indian captivity .

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-16699229656050048222008-09-01T17:34:00.002+05:302008-09-01T17:44:08.640+05:30

I fired a handgun for the first time ever (in my life) and it turns out that I was pretty okay with my firing skills. Shot about 75 rounds - 50 on a Berretta M92 and 25 on a Springfield M1911 . It was an "awesome" experience. The 1911 had more gun flash, bang and recoil and was slightly more difficult to handle, but the extra weight helps steady aim I would think.The Results on the left the

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-64595151503703083772008-07-29T05:42:00.008+05:302008-08-04T06:47:58.963+05:30

IAI 1125 Astra- L3467Gulfstream Aerospace G-1159A Gulfstream III - K2961Gulfstream VT-ENR

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-55523118411005494072008-07-21T02:04:00.000+05:302008-11-13T22:57:38.057+05:30

Ex-Indian Air Force Consolidated B-24J Liberator HE-773 at the National Aviation Museum, Rockville, Canada.The aircraft is in a climate controlled storage hangar and it is verrrry difficult to fit it in one photo without a wide angle lens - instead - this is a photo stitch from three different images.The aircraft is surrounded by numerous other aircraft in storage and it is not even possible

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-74368358502987294052008-06-25T05:54:00.001+05:302008-06-25T05:54:53.396+05:30

(Tour) Gilgit-Indian Army HelicopterOriginally uploaded by Shah KhanFollowing up on my earlier posts one and two, a third picture has recently been uploaded on flickr. This one has a better shot of the plaque but it is not clear enough to read.

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-32189312171413970402008-06-16T04:44:00.003+05:302008-06-16T04:48:39.954+05:30

While going through a free newspaper about local news - i picked up at the groceries store, I was surprised to find an ad about an "Air Show!" . What?? an airshow close to home?? turns out that the New Garden Airport at Toughkenemon, PA has an annual airshow. a small affair, but a regular one.Having an airshow close to home - I just had to haul my ass off to watch it - and i did. the airport was

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-58422463753462707782008-06-12T03:14:00.001+05:302008-06-12T03:14:30.070+05:30

P40 TomahawkOriginally uploaded by Super ZagAttended the World War II Weekend last Saturday at Reading airport in Pennsylvania. An incredibly hot day that resulted in several people passing out due to the heat.A number of warbirds were there - though the Hurricane and Yak were missing from last year. The Weather was glorious for flying and so was the lighting and angles. Took 450+ photos - some

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-49793751265780760122008-04-11T21:45:00.001+05:302008-11-13T22:57:38.236+05:30

I have added some books that I recommend to the widget on the right. The goal is to identify one book per conflict which is the 'master reference' document. Keep checking the updates!

Jagannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-24626151663521742842008-04-04T15:00:00.000+05:302008-11-13T22:57:38.833+05:30

View Larger MapSeen above in the Google Maps view is the ARC tarmac area at the New Delhi International Airport in Palam. The aircraft to the right in the above frame is a Boeing 707 maintained by the Aviation Research Center. Around 2002, there was only one Boeing 707 in the ARC area - which looked like it was gathering dust and like it hadnt taken to the air in years. However in recent years, a

Jagannoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-12813274669031084342008-02-29T07:42:00.007+05:302008-11-13T22:57:39.016+05:30

Following up on my earlier post , found this interesting photo by Nadine on Picasaweb - showing another view of the same helicopter - from a slightly higher viewpoint. There apparently is a plaque at the base of the platform - wish someone took a shot of it.Apparently the place is called "Helicopter Chowk" - and is located right along the main road that runs through Gilgit Town. Heres the

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-49510695644399092782008-02-24T07:15:00.001+05:302008-02-24T07:15:01.987+05:30

"Go Army".. Originally uploaded by Mark D. Martin India I have to get one of these trucks for my house at hyderabad.

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-20998348661831876382008-02-23T01:10:00.001+05:302008-02-23T01:10:26.764+05:30

seaharrier Originally uploaded by fostermadscientist A sea harrier being transported by road from NAS Garuda (cochin) up north along the highway. I would suspect that it is delegated to warbird duties ?

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-62915737991865321362008-02-23T00:41:00.002+05:302008-02-23T01:11:07.851+05:30

Surprise to find it here Originally uploaded by karanmerchant The Sea Harrier was formerly on stilts and trestles - looks like they fixed up some wheels for it. Good going!

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-27229420291863362542008-02-21T07:28:00.000+05:302008-02-21T07:28:20.201+05:30

Thanks to the recommendation of one of the readers, a search on Amazon.com for "Indian Air Force" brings up "The India-Pakistan Air War of 1965" as the No.1 Result. Amazon.com: "Indian Air Force"

Jagannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-58702493692645973632008-02-20T05:56:00.000+05:302008-02-20T05:56:27.816+05:30

Piet Kruizinga: Geweld in Hyderabad- India.A nicely authored article on Hyderabad and the Police Action - as well as interesting notes in the end analysing the works of Omar Khalidi, Narendra Luther, V K Bawa etc who have written books on Hyderabad.

Jagannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-24024786665494070962008-01-10T20:46:00.000+05:302008-01-10T21:04:39.490+05:30

One of my favourite passtimes on the Internet is to search for previously unreported 'Warbirds' and disused Airframes in India. Usually these would be put up again on my website Warbirds of India . In the seven years of the Website, having tracked the census from a paltry 60-70 ac in the first year to nearly 400 today, i didnt have too many expectations when I decided to spend some time last

Jagannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-49372955646223542252007-12-06T06:08:00.000+05:302007-12-06T06:17:36.464+05:30

Col Ajai Shukla, the correspondent of NDTV , Business Standard, author of Broadsword blog etc had done a news report on 'Official histories' of the India's Post47 Wars and mentions that Bharat-Rakshak hosts the pdfs for everyone to download. The report can be viewed at herehttp://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/videopod/default.aspx?id=20338Report - History or MysteryThere is also a follow up

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-70839641500660810512007-12-04T23:26:00.000+05:302007-12-06T20:57:06.700+05:30

For years, I have been hearing and reading stories of a captured Indian Army Helicopter on public display in Gilgit, Baltistan (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir). PakDef reported it as an Alouette III. But no pictures had emerged of it - till today when I stumbled on this photo by Ali Hameed on Webshots.Ah .. the wonders of the Internet (for the umpteenth time).It certainly is an Alouette - or a Chetak

Jagannoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-91016464566767937582007-11-11T06:21:00.000+05:302008-11-13T22:57:39.472+05:30

Coming into landing at Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad, the above structure used to catch my attention - double wall, security towers, some sort of control tower in the middle - must have been a high security place. Indeed it is - The Cherlapalli State Jail - which I found out only today - thanks to Google Earth. The above photo was taken by me from the aircraft.A view in google maps :View Larger

Jagannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-44133096697366832042007-10-26T21:40:00.000+05:302008-11-13T22:57:39.639+05:30

I thought I got rid of a bunch of cables out of my life when I got my notebook computer. Instead it ended up with more and more cables that I now rarely move the notebook from where it is placed. At last count the following cables were hooked up-AC/DC Power Brick for the Vaio-Regular Headset plus Mic#USB1 -> 250GB back up externl HD - connected to USB - AC Power Brick###USB1A-Mini USB cable

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-9615596563938537662007-07-01T07:11:00.000+05:302008-11-13T22:57:39.905+05:30

Bharat Rakshak celebrates ten years today. The soft launch was done on 11 May 97, but the main site went online on 1st July 1997. The forum at that time was a different version. This image shows the first UBB type board . We switched over to PhpBB2.0 at some point of time later.

Jagannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-88664998517426374692007-06-30T07:45:00.000+05:302008-11-13T22:57:40.562+05:30

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-63205941915009304432007-05-19T07:58:00.003+05:302008-12-10T09:25:41.771+05:30

Raj HunsOriginally uploaded by cool_daimalu. Found this on Flickr, the last of the two remaining Tupolev 124s as seen at the Lucknow Museum. Photo from Flickr

Jagannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-84711389985747814012007-05-19T07:57:00.001+05:302007-05-19T07:57:07.345+05:30

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-39708526774297479132007-03-26T03:30:00.000+05:302008-11-13T22:57:40.737+05:30

Saw this today - a mailbox disguised as R2D2 (or is this the other way round?)

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-67702464208504174382007-03-06T23:26:00.000+05:302008-11-13T22:57:40.954+05:30

The two photos on the left show the 'Indian Aviation' books collection - a selection of Indian, Pakistani and British Aviation books related to India and the Indian Air Force. One of the recent books on Kashmir Air War is missing, but this is as best as it can get. A couple of IAF Coffee Table books are also missing from the shelves, they are tucked away in a drawer somewhere.

Jagannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-49762586552929527512007-03-03T00:45:00.002+05:302008-11-10T08:41:23.697+05:30

Click the Title above to go to the IBN site

Jagannoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-6029317275953955512007-02-28T00:49:00.000+05:302008-11-13T22:57:41.061+05:30

A new war relic in Hyderabad. A number of Vijayanta tanks have made their appearance in Hyderabad over the few years. This one has been installed at the EME War Memorial along with another tank.

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-35257981605005457102007-02-28T00:42:00.000+05:302008-11-13T22:57:41.174+05:30

A well preserved Centurion tank in some vivid Camo colours outside the main gate at Officers Training Academy in Madras. If you get down at the Airport and travel to the city, you will come across this just a few minutes from the airport. Taken from a taxicab.

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-53765878615079691782006-11-29T22:47:00.000+05:302006-11-29T22:49:11.567+05:30

Anil Warrier When Angels Troop Down B.S. Krishna Kumar, wing commander: Hero for his prompt reaction and brave risk-takingJOHN MARY on B.S. Krishna KumarWing Commander Krishna Kumar is sure he will be one of the very few pilots to ever have

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-59003449652823640712006-10-18T00:34:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:35:59.576+05:30

The Operation Vijay medal - given for being on the strength of the Armed Forces during the Kargil War

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1161010104664619992006-10-16T20:11:00.001+05:302006-10-18T00:27:51.103+05:30

☻- PARKING VOES - ☻ Originally uploaded by J I G I S H A. a picture of the tank destroyer - atleast the obscene graffiti has been removed! :)

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1159122024852405702006-09-24T23:44:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:50.907+05:30

The Suryakirans are a nine aircraft aerobatic team of the Indian Air Force operating the HAL HJT16 Kiran Jet Trainers. The team is based at Air Force Station Bidar and regularly undertakes aerobatics display at various events across India and other countries in Asia. This particular video was taken at the Combined Graduation Day parade at the Air Force Academy Dundigal in June 2005. The

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1158468357063986682006-09-17T10:15:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:50.843+05:30

"These resultscome after NAL's successful completion of Full-Scale Fatigue Testing (FSFT) onthe MiG 21 Bison Airframe C-2090. With this the IAF's TotalTechnical Life Enhancement (TTLE) project has come to an end.The AirForce's Bison fleet is of 150 aircraft which originally had 2400 hours of flyingas per the Russian certification, however the Air Force went for the LifeEnhancement Test at NAL."

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1154309196174861962006-07-31T06:54:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:50.777+05:30

Yesterday, 30th July 2006, Indian Express did a two page spread about our 65 Air War book - the first time that the main stream media devoted some space to us. And what a space - two whole pages is something I wouldnot have thought off! 

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1150298504105981982006-06-14T20:48:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:50.708+05:30

Tank Originally uploaded by rohit_markande. Rohit Markande's great photo on Flickr shows a M48 Patton at the ARmy HQ at Patiala.

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1146883136816131622006-05-06T08:06:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:50.636+05:30

A great photograph from World War II, A Boulton-Paul Defiant named "East Godavari III" of the Madras Presidency Squadron (I forget the number).Having travelled around East Godavari several times, I wonder if anyone in that district has any clue that a fighter took to the skies in Great Britain, with their Districts name emblazoned on it?My friend answers me - the poor sods probably had to pay

Jagannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1146686794977637532006-05-04T01:34:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:50.569+05:30

HF-24 "Marut" Originally uploaded by cell105. Vivek Patankars photograph of the HF-24 Mk1R from the Nehru Sc Center in Mumbai.The Science center gets full marks for providing the enclosure to protect the aircraft

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1141795572350110362006-03-08T10:56:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:50.502+05:30

The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - NCR storiesAn Old archived article on Wing Commander Trevor J oseph Keelor, cr edited with the first aircombat kill in the IAFA jolly good daredevil who shot down enemy planesParmindar SinghNoida, December 8Trevor Joseph Keelor, who had the distinction of being the first IAF pilot to have shot down an enemy aircraft in a dogfight, was a happy-go-lucky boy. He was

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1140038339068305102006-02-16T02:44:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:50.169+05:30

The above link to a blog gives a probable motive as to why a serving British Officer took things into his own hands and organised a mutiny in Gilgit against the governor - Brig Ghansara SinghThere is a story that Major Browne Commandant of the Gilgit Scouts was soincensed by the Brig Ghansara Singh’s act of trampling the Union Jack afterit was pulled down that he actually planned the revolt

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1140037832763675842006-02-16T02:40:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:50.104+05:30

DAWN - Letters; June 6, 2003From the above link, two quotes were of interest to me:Brig Ghansara Singh was the governor of the Gilgit province. He was also acousin of Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. Brig Ghansara Singh also wrote a bookunder the title of Last Days of Gilgit and Baltistan.I have heard of this book by Brig Singh. Apparently the papers of Maj Brown, the British officer who led the

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1139366370675022612006-02-08T08:08:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:50.040+05:30

Seen taxying one early morning in December 2005 at the Chatrapathi Shivaji International Airport.Its novel of them to have their Internet Website URL on the aircraft.. 

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1133361241961194492005-11-30T19:59:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:49.974+05:30

A very unusual and rare photograph of an Indian Air Force An-32 taking off .... one one engine only!. The aircraft is being tested in the one-engine regime by the pilots of Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) of Bangalore. 

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1133071759047468672005-11-27T11:36:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:49.911+05:30

One of my best "Hyderabad from the Air" shots - Getting the landmark Charminar edifice from the air. Thanks again to the ATR flight of Air Deccan to Bangalore.Look carefully and you will also notice the four kamans (gates) or the Char Kamans in front of the Charminar. 

Jagannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1130267538241432122005-10-26T00:42:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:49.848+05:30

AFA West Zone celebrated 25 years. and it felicitated three of its Octogeneraian members. I have had the pleasure of interviewing two of the three - Air Chief Marshal Moolgavkar and Air Marshal YV Malse.

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1130164436636745472005-10-24T20:03:00.000+05:302007-12-05T05:04:47.251+05:30

I made national TV on Sunday, 23rd October 2005. The program was on Google Earth and its threat potential to National Security. I gave a couple of sound bites to the story and was featured in the 9.00pm "India This Week" News story. The transcripts of my interview are on the links aboveVideo URL : http://www.youtube.com/v/fYG-qqXE724&rel=1

Jagannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1129721128462372442005-10-19T16:40:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:49.720+05:30

This is a photo of a magazine photo of a placard (figure that out!) displayed by HAL on its Jaguar Darin II Program.Considerable Avionics upgrade to the Darin II since the first Jag produced in the 70s! 

Jagannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1129646098363192562005-10-18T20:04:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:49.653+05:30

Read on..

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1129536535458987272005-10-17T13:35:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:49.576+05:30

This is the first ever Churchill I have ever seen, and this one is on display at the EME Center in Secunderabad. Its an incredible piece of History, and very few people know that the Indian Army operated these just after Independence.More of the tanks and relics from Hyderabad can be visited at http://relics.warbirdsofindia.com 

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1129413139469122012005-10-16T03:20:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:49.513+05:30

This is a photograph of our local "Bharat-Rakshak" Meet in Hyderabad. Seen left to right are the "Front Page Designer", "The CD Shop wallah", "The Administrator" and "The Whisky taster" respectively. The "Juice Drinking Expert" arrived late and that forms the subject of a completely another photo.The place is Outswinger Pub at Hotel Basera in Secunderabad. After downing three beers and three

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1129110095511664522005-10-12T15:10:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:49.444+05:30

 

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1129106759531155042005-10-12T14:13:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:49.374+05:30

Memorable War Stories is a reprint of an earlier book called "In the footprints of legends" by Gp Capt Ranbir Singh. Bought out by Ocean books , the book is quite low cost and enjoyable reading. 

Jagannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1129062348230644292005-10-12T01:55:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:49.311+05:30

The above PDF document is a chapter from some architecture related book. The Author S P Shorey writes in detail of an old map of Hyderabad that was discovered in the early 20th century. A fascinating study of the map follows, supported by actuall survey maps from the early 1920s. The map snippets showing old city from about a 100 years back and is just lovely for someone like me who likes Maps .

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1128545594895159862005-10-06T02:23:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:49.245+05:30

Among the various fringe hobbies I have is collecting Medals. I am basically a type collector - being happy with 'one of each'. However in the medal collecting world, only 'groups' are valued. I.e. a group of medals belonging to a single reciepent. This is my first ever group. It is also the group that I reunited, otherwise today the five medals shown would have been with five different

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1128544834005571262005-10-06T02:10:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:49.180+05:30

An email prompted me to look back at the mini-website I had made about four years back. I look back at it with amazement, because i remember those hectic two weeks, I was literally writing stuff half the time and designing HTML half the time - It was back breaking work for fifteen days plus. And just when I had one more issue to go, calamity struck with one of the biggest personal crisis i had

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1127402150325563622005-09-22T20:45:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:49.116+05:30

Under the Char Minar by William Dalrymple | Travel Reviews from Travel Intelligence: "Under the Char Minarby William Dalrymple"This link makes interesting reading - as it is one of the few accounts of an officer of the Nizam's army who fought against Indian forces coming in.William Dalrymple is a good writer, but he seems to be obssesed with finding fault with India's small wars. He has nothing

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1127401597241293522005-09-22T20:36:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:49.052+05:30

Remembering the Forgotten Genocide in Hyderabad By Mohammed Ayub Ali Khan Police Action Ki Bhooli Tareekh Ka Aik Janbaaz Shaheed (Urdu) Author: A.R. Yaf’ai Pages: 294 Price: Rs.200 Publisher: Darul Isha’at , All India Majlis-e-Tameer-e-Millat, Madina Mansion, Narayanguda, Hyderabad, 29, A..P. India very few books are there that chronicle the Nizam's side of the action on the Hyderabad

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1125425434696998072005-08-30T23:40:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:48.987+05:30

Village pays tributes to Flying Officer Johal Hmm.. Flying Officer K S Johal, Date of Crash August 21, 1970 Checked my DB - But cant figure out the aircraft type. this is a new one.

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1125423880472485582005-08-30T23:14:00.001+05:302006-10-18T00:27:48.925+05:30

IAF shifting MiG-29 school to Chandigarh :So the news is that the MiG29 TETTRA will be moved to Chandigarh. But does that mean they will split the Su30/MiG29 TETTRA ? and what will happen to the instructional airframe in Pune, will we see that being shipped to Chandigarh too?

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1124915600225089982005-08-25T02:03:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:48.728+05:30

BBC has an interview with Sqn Ldr Mahendra Singh Pujji, one of the 21 indian fliers from WW2 to have a DFC to his credit. MS Pujji is one of the rare indians to have an Air Crew Europe Star and an Africa Star in his medals. A photo of him wearing his medals appears below

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1121794684708781792005-07-19T23:08:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:48.592+05:30

The India-Pakistan Air War of 1965 by PVS Jagan Mohan and Samir ChopraThe above link takes you to something that was the result of more than six years of hard work on my part and my friend Samir Chopra. A work that took up interviews across four continents - Asia, Australia, Europe and America, and over 40 veterans of the IAF, this is the ONLY comprehensive work on the History of the Air Force in

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1121790044119961062005-07-19T21:42:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:48.526+05:30

OK, so I have gone missing in action for about a month.. But I have some great excuses to justify it. I was away to Delhi for about a week towards the end of the month. The trip was made to coincide with several objectives - 1. to interview a couple of WW2 Veterans, 2. to check out the publishing of my first ever book 'India Pakistan Air War' (More on this later).I had a great time interviewing

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1118946798804775642005-06-16T23:48:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:48.463+05:30

Once in a while I like to Google my name (talk about ego!) and see where my sites come up.. But this was unexpectedGoogle Search on "Jagan Pillarisetti"Neither my Warbirds of India website nor my Bharat Rakshak website is No.1 - instead my photos hosted on Airliners.net come up . Talk about my own sites losing out!! Result no.4 is even funnier, it is about some photographs of railway stations I

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761926.post-1112190716017203422005-03-30T19:21:00.000+05:302006-10-18T00:27:48.400+05:30

Interesting reports that we miss reading because they are published in regional news papers - 1 The above link is a report on the re-raising of No.30 Squadron "Rhinos" last April, an event that went totally unnoticed in the IndMilWorld - because it did not make the mainstream press. Now a search of ToI's regional archive brings up the news report on the event. The Public got its first

Jagannoreply@blogger.com0