By Gp Capt PM Velankar
After the 1971 war, the squadrons were recovering from the effects of operating for almost 6 to 8 months from wartime locations away from theirr peacetime locations. In our case we operated from Dumdum and our peacetime location was Kalaiknda.
As Squadron Adjutant, I was busy in returning the “mobile furniture, clothing items, blankets etc and the tentage and sorting out “The DWO Inventory “.
The EO and Flight Commanders were also busy sorting out their inventories. One major item being the establishment and the strength of the aircraft on its inventory.
Due to the war, aircraft were given permissible extensions to enable the squadrons to keep flying them. A lot of aircraft were given extensions beyond the airframe life and so were overdue for a major overhaul.
The early months of the year 1972 saw a lot of Gnats being ferried to 5 BRD Sulur for a major overhaul. In this, the EO had an unenviable job.
All aircraft on life extension had to be ferried, So which aircraft had to be ferried for a major overhaul was no problem. What was not simple was the decision as to which major and minor components fitted on the aircraft that was to be ferried out were still left with a lot of ” life ” and would be needed in the squadron to maintain good serviceability as the spares were not easily forthcoming. Once that was decided, the EO had to “cannibalise” these with those components that were left with just sufficient ” life ” to ferry from Kalaikunda to Sulur with a landing in Nagpur. Examples which come readily to mind are, Engine which was left with just 2 to 3 hours of life, the Stand-by R/T set which could not be repaired, the Tail chute which could be deployed only one time, the main wheel tyres good enough only for 2/3 landings etc .
This was always done in consultation with the Flight Commander and the decision was taken keeping in mind the seniority and experience of the ferry pilot who was thoroughly briefed about what was being done! So in this way, two aircraft had been made ready for the ferry with components that had life for only for ferry flight from Kalaikunda to Sulur with one landing and one takeoff from Nagpur. I do not know how things are in the Squadrons nowadays, but these were considered totally acceptable practices. If today’s pilots & engineers consider that we were taking chances with flight safety, I would say that those were calculated risks. Life and Air Force in those days were different. You see those days Gnats still ruled the skies !!!
Those were also the days Armed forces were held in very high esteem and Officers and Men in uniform were looked at with respect by the public . Gnat had become known to almost all the populace as Sabre Slayers. Air Force Melas were drawing enthusiastic crowds. General interest in the services was at its peak. Gnats were in great demand for public displays in Air Foce melas.
The Squadron received instructions that the two aircraft being ferried to Sulur should land in Nagpur on the 28th of March to be put on static display for the Air Force Day mela being organised as part of the Air Force Anniversary celebrations by Hq Maintenance Command on 01 April 1972. The pilots could continue with the ferry after completing the static display requirements of MC. I was detailed for the ferry with Pahupathi as no 2. The Flight Commander explained the situation to me and the need to stay in Nagpur till the static display was over. We took off on the due date and landed in Nagpur.
On getting out of the aircraft after switching off, I saw a lot of light vehicles, even one odd staff car standing by the tarmac and a few officers ready to receive us. This came as a great surprise as the general experience in the past was that the only persons to receive us were a party of Gnat technicians belonging to one of the Gnat squadrons on T/D to Nagpur specifically to give turn around servicing facilities to Gnats being ferried to/from Bangalore/ Sulur. After landing one had to ring up a few times for transport to be taken to the Mess and wait some considerable time before any type of vehicle turned up. Anyway, if the transport was already there and officers were to receive us, who was I to complain !!! One of the officers of the Air Branch received us and on the way to the Mess, about 15 to 20 odd km from the airfield, Brought us up to date and also explained the grand reception, this is what he told us: -
The request by Hq Maintenance Command to Air Hq for positioning two Gnats for static display on 01 April 1972 was agreed upon. MC had therefore organised a grand Air Force Mela with wide publicity, that two of the Mighty Sabre Slayers, The Gnats, would be on display. The news had taken Nagpur city by storm. Considering the interest generated in the civil population, no one wanted to take chances with the vagaries of nature and the aircraft serviceability so it was decided to position the aircraft in Nagpur on 28 March. The Pilots were to be looked after properly and given VIP treatment. On 30 / 31 March, a press conference was also organised so that the local press could meet the ” Gnat pilots ” and gain first-hand information about the war and the role played by the Gnats! The mystery of the grand reception was thus solved.
However, the surprises were still not over. We were told that the Air Force Mela was to be held in a place called Kasturchand Park right in the middle of the city, about 20 odd kilometres from the airfield and of course the static display was also in Kasturchand Park and NOT on the airfield. The aircraft would be lifted by crane, placed on a flatbed and driven on these flatbeds to KC Park from the airfield. I do not think even our flight commander knew about this. We had presumed that the static display would be at the airfield itself! I tried to reason that these were fully serviceable aircraft and were being ferried to Sulur. To lift them by crane, manhandle them on the flatbed, cart them 20 odd kilometres by road to Kasturchand Park and 20 KM back to the airfield, and lift them down from the flatbed did not seem the right thing to do. However, the decisions were taken at higher levels. So the next night traffic on the road from the airfield to the Kasturchand Park was stopped and both the Gnats were loaded on the flatbeds and taken to the Mela site. So we had two gnats with their armament loads laid out on the static display for Air Force Day celebrations at Kasturchand Park Nagpur.
Thanks to the Gnats, the Air Force mela was a HUGE success and had to be extended by one more day on public demand !! We also had our press conference and had news items published in the local newspapers of Nagpur. First and last time I made it to the newspaper !!!!.
Aircraft were back on the tarmac by the 3rd of April. After our landing on the 28th of March, the aircraft had been manhandled and taken on a flatbed for a journey of 40-odd km by road and were exposed to crowded civil environments for as many as five days.
As we did not have the luxury of carrying out an air test due to the non-availability of life on the engine, tyres etc, I told Pashu to be very very thorough with externals and check all the parameters thoroughly after start-up and take-off run and to continue if all was well. And that is what we did, continued with the ferry for Sulur on the 3rd April. Short of Hyderabad, Pash reported that maybe his drop tanks were not feeding and he wanted to land at Dundigul, however, I knew the aircraft he was flying and so knew that the fuel transfer was ok so we continued and finally landed at Sulur.
I do not think that what we did on that ferry was possible with any aircraft other than the Gnat.
After a few months, I did another ferry. On landing at Nagpur I was received by the ground party of Gnat squadron boys. There was no transport, had to ring up a few times for the transport and while waiting for it under the wing, thought to myself, War memories are dimmed there are no more meals and things are back to normal “
I did the first landing of a Gnat at Sulur ferrying from Pathankot(IE 1109 an illustrious a/c flown by Pathania - shot down an F-86 and had bullet hole repairs). The usual as you said, “cannibalised” and fit for one-ferry! I had total hyd failure at Agra and serious brake trouble. Next leg, I had inverter failure, lost instruments forutuately on descent to Pune. On way to Sulur Gene warning kept blinking, instrument becoming unreliable when I was overhead. Surprisingly for Sulur, wind speed was low. Tail Chute did’nt work. Managed but how! Yes, there was that spirit that got us to do things and take things for granted as “the only way to keep flying”. I must say, the “Old habit” continued. A MIG-29 pilot collapsed in air on a ferry (inoxia) followed by fatal crash. Cause - leaking oxygen system ‘fit for one ferry’! Pilot was to keep it off on ground and at low altitudes. Inadequate briefing, also possibly he forgot the briefed drill or the leak got worse in air. “cannibalisation” as a way of life is regrettably continued till i hung my uniform. Reasons.. many.
Groupie Velenkar’s lucid account evokes some old memories.i remember as a 7 year old(accompanied by parents!)visiting one such post 71war”mela” held near Janpath,at Delhi,on the vacant lot on which the LIC building stands today.Still remember the wreckage of a shot down PAF fighter amongst the many exciting exhibits!Interesting to note that the IAF till 72 was celbrating 1st April(the RAF aniv)as Air Force Day.
AOG(a/c on ground)is bad news in commercial aviation also,hence the pressure to ferry a “Substandard”a/c to maintainance base still exits,though these machines ofcourse have much more redundant systems than their military cousins.The perils of manhandling servicable a/c to remote static displays and flying them out shortly thereafter is still a hazard(perhaps the tragic Mig 21 crash at Palam after a post kargil display at India Gate is a case in point)And of course waiting for aircrew transport is something all aircrew,civil or military can relate to!
No comments:
Post a Comment