On May 24, 1948, seventy-five years ago, Air Commodore Mehar Singh, known popularly by his nickname Baba, flew a Douglas DC-3, aka Dakota aircraft, to Leh on an unchartered route up to 25,000 ft and landed on a totally unprepared surface at 11540 ft. His passenger on this flight was then Major General (later General and Army Chief) K.S. Thimayya, GOC, 19 Infantry Division and. By achieving this task, Mehar Singh created history because by landing at Leh, the capital of Ladakh, the region thereafter became connected to mainland India. And General Thimayya being Mehar Singh’s passenger on a vital mission with challenges/uncertainties of flying in that region, was a testimony of the confidence he had in this aviator.

This was in a period when there was very little experience of flying and landing aircraft in high altitude. For the Western world high altitude meant 8000 ft, the height of the Alps. High altitude and mountain warfare was redefined very shortly after India’s independence in 1947 by the Indian Army, fighting  the first India-Pakistan war at altitudes of up to 14,000 ft and the Indian Air Force, which pioneered to set up new records of high-altitude aviation. Mehar Singh’s feat was also historic and commendable as the flight had been undertaken without de-icing equipment, cabin pressurisation or route maps.

Earlier in October 1947, Mehar Singh, as AOC (Air Officer Commanding) No. 1 Operational Group was the first pilot to land at Srinagar with the first contingent of troops to protect Kashmir against Kabailis (tribal raiders) mustered, supported and participated in by the newly constituted Pakistan Army. And then, he inducted a brigade strength of troops in just five days. Lord Mountbatten, the then Governor-General of India, lauded this feat, saying he did not know of an instance of an airlift being successfully implemented in such a short time.

In November 1947, one of Mehar Singh’s priorities as the AOC heading all air ops was the relief of Poonch, an isolated garrison in Jammu and Kashmir,  cut off from motorable roads due to enemy incursions.  Initially, Mehar Singh personally flew a Harvard aircraft landing it at the Poonch airstrip which was newly constructed, but without landing aids which were substituted by oil-lit lamps and to top it, surrounded by streams on three sides and with a steep approach. The very next day, he repeated this feat, flying a Dakota, laden with supplies and reinforcements. Within six days, mountain artillery guns and  over 200 tons of supplies were delivered and Poonch was saved from certain capture.

Of indomitable spirit 

Born on 20 March 1915 at Lyallpur (now Faisalabad in Pakistan), Mehar Singh was selected for the Royal Air Force College Cranwell (RAFC), England in 1933 while he was in the final year of Bachelor of Science and joined in 1934. He performed exceedingly well at Cranwell, which impressed the college authorities. Mehar Baba, as he was popularly known,  was one pilot who aroused instant admiration and respect from his subordinates. 

Air Marshal Asghar Khan, who later went on to become the Chief of   Pakistan Air Force, said, “With the solitary exception of Sqn Ldr Mehar Singh, a pilot of outstanding ability, no one was able to inspire confidence among us.” Air Vice Marshall H. M. Grave, commandant, RAFC, wrote of Singh: “Keen, cheerful, hardworking and popular. His work compares favourably with that of English cadets. A creditable effort! An exceptionally good pilot, keen on games and has represented the college at hockey of which he is an excellent player”.

His reputation was aptly and amusingly summed up by Field Marshal William Slim, the 14th Army Commander in his memoirs, recounting an impromptu visit to No 6 Squadron in the Arakans (Burma):

“The last air patrol had run into a bunch of Zeros (Japanese fighter aircraft) and had been shot down. The Sikh Squadron Leader, an old friend of mine, at once took out the next patrol himself and completed the mission. His methods, rumour had it, were a little unorthodox. It was said that if any of his young officers made a bad landing, he would take them behind a basha (temporary hutment) and beat them. Whatever he did, it was effective; they were a happy, efficient and gallant squadron."
 
One pre –Independence incident was that his Wapiti aircraft was shot down when he was raiding the positions of a force of tribesmen. When his fuel tank got punctured by rifle fire and the Wapiti’s engine cut out, he force landed the flimsy biplane into a valley. Due to the rocky ground, the aircraft’s undercarriage sheared off and the biplane got stalled. However, Mehar Singh and his gunner extricated themselves from the wreckage and gave the tribesmen the slip as darkness fell. They traversed hostile territory all night without maps till they stumbled onto a post manned by the Tochi Scouts. Mehar was back in his squadron the very next day and flying again.

While the British conferred the DSO (Distinguished Service Order) on Meher Singh, the Indian Air Force awarded him the MVC (Maha Vir Chakra). The citation for the MVC awarded to Mehar Singh read “Throughout his tenure as overall Commander of air operations in Jammu and Kashmir, Air Commodore Mehar Singh showed great devotion to duty at great personal risk and set an example to those serving under him”. The citation added “Many tasks were not part of his duty, but in view of the fact that they were hazardous, he carried them out to infuse confidence in his junior pilots. The leadership shown by Air Commodore Mehar Singh in the early days of the Kashmir operations was invaluable to the IAF”.

He died flying 

Mehar Singh also undertook the conversion of Dakotas into bombers. The Dakotas were modified to carry 500 lb bombs in their cargo bay and the cargo handlers were trained to roll the bombs out of the door onto targets below.

It is not unusual that highly competent men do not always get their due or make it to the top. This happened in Mehar Singh’s case. Resentment began building up inside him as he felt that the recognition due to him in the IAF was not given to him and added to the fact that he did not get along with some of his senior officers in the air force, Mehar decided to put in his papers in August 1948. Then Defence Minister Baldev Singh relieved Mehar Singh of his duties in September.

But he still carried on the profession he loved, flying. Mehar Singh moved intocivilian life flying Dakotas and other transport aircraft and also became the personal pilot of Yadvindra Singh, former Maharaja of Patiala.

Indian Aviation suffered one of its most tragic losses on 11 March 1952, when Air Commodore (retd) Mehar Singh, MVC, DSO was killed in a civilian aircrash.

(The author is a former spokesperson, Defence Ministry and Indian Army. He can be contacted at wordsword02@gmail.com)