Warbirds of India

Home Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Tank Museum at AhmadnagarMaharashtra is not just a place for warbirds, but also for Tanks and Artillery guns. The Tank Museum is located in Ahmed Nagar and the Artillery Museum is in Deolali. Pic Courtesy : Nagarbazar.com

Maharashtra had a plethora of military installations prior to Independence. A large part of the state was part of the Hyderabad Nawab-dom and the British maintained many military bases and airfields in the area, most of them training establishments. Thus you have the Artillery Center at Deolali (near Nasik), the Armoured Corps center at Ahmednagar, the National Defence Academy at Khadakvasla,   airfields at Ozhar, Lohegaon, Santacruz, Sambre (Belgaum), Nagpur etc.

Today Maharastra houses a major Air Force base at Lohegaon, and a Naval airbase at Mumbai. This coupled with the fact there are a lot of training establishments and the MiG factory at HAL, makes the state rich in warbird heritage.

There are a fair number of good Military museums in the state. The Armoured Corps museum in Ahmadnagar has more than 40 Tanks on display. The Regiment of Artillery Museum at Deolali too as artillery guns and a couple of aircraft on display. HAL Ozhar opened a small museum of thier own (with one aircraft). Once the Ex-INS Vikrant is opened as a floating museum (with atleast six aircraft), Maharashtra is the place for the "Military tourist".
  • Bombay (Mumbai)   ( 5 Articles )
  • INS Vikrant   ( 2 Articles )

    Docked in Mumbai's harbour for over five years is the ship Vikrant, Indian Navy's first Aircraft Carrier which was acquired in 1961 and decommissioned in 1994. Vikrant was originally laid out as a Carrier during WW-2 as HMS Hercules, but was never completed during the war. It was in the fifties that India acquired it for the Navy and it was the flagship of the Navy for years to come. Having taken part in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, the ship saw a major refit in the eighties with the addition of a Ski-Jump and requipping of its fighter squadron with the Sea Harrier.

    When it became economically unfeasible to operate the ageing carrier, the Indian Navy decommissioned the Vikrant in 1994, and it has been resting in the harbour ever since. Due to the fame it acquired during the 71 War and also due to legendary status the ship has acquired during its lifetime, the Maharashtra State government proposed to convert the Vikrant into a Maritime Museum. The process of converting the Vikrant into a museum is said to take atleast an year.

  • Nasik   ( 2 Articles )

    Nasik is a district adjoining Thane and Ahemednagar in Maharastra. 12 km from Nasik, the IAF Maintainance Command has No.11  Base Repair Depot at an airfield called Ojhar , where MiGs are overhauled and Sukhoi fighters are built by HAL which shares this airfield. HAL was earlier manufacturing MiG-21s here.

     

  • Nagpur   ( 5 Articles )

    Nagpur is home to the Indian Air Force' Maintenance Command, which is based in Vayu sena nagar. Though Maintenance Command was originally formed in Kanpur, it moved to Nagpur in February 1964, when the then Defence Minister YB Chavan laid the foundation for the present HQ Building. The presence of Maintenance Command HQ in Nagpur ensures that there are several "Warbirds" in the city, not to mention within the Head Quarters itself.  The city can ideally be called a heaven of warbirds, not only in terms of numbers but also in types. No one can expect to  find a Mig-29 Fulcrum, mounted on a pole, anywhere in the india, but here.

    In December 2001, a Hawker Hunter T.66 [S-576] was unveiled at the Nagpur Municipal Corporation park by the then Air Chief, ACM Tipnis. The Hunter was presented to the Corporation more than an year back. It was one of the aircraft struck off charge at Kalaikunda.  Prior to that, a Gnat had made its way to be displayed in the famous "Gandhi Bagh" park in Nagpur.

    Nagpur is also served by the Sonegaon airport which has an airforce enclosure in the form of 44 Wing. Sonegaon is the permanent airfield for No.44 "Mighty Jets" Squadron operating the Illyushin 76 heavy transport aircraft. The Illyushins moved here from their former base in Agra in 2003.

    Click to EnlargeBoeing 720 [VT-ERS] lies derelict at Sonegaon airport in Nagpur.  Pic Courtesy: Rahul Devnath

    Sonegaon airport's history dates back to World War Two, when it was a major staging base. Over the years its major traffic was civilian aircraft till the recent formation of 44 Wing and the transfer of the Il-76s. The airport has its fair share of derelict aircraft in the form of a rusting hulk of a Boeing 707 airliner.

    The aircraft is originally a 720 version. Its registration is VT-ERS and is in the name of Continental Aviation since 1991. Though rumoured to have been scrapped over the years, Rahul Devnath's recent photo (Feb 2006) confirms that the airframe is still extant.

  • National Defence Academy   ( 4 Articles )
    Click to Enlarge
    The Folland Gnat E247 fighter at Salaria Square at the National Defence Academy Building at Khadakvasla, Pune. Photos Courtesy :  Kapil Chandni.
    Download the Google Earth Placemark file for National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla

    The National Defence Academy at Khadakvasla , at the outskirts of a Pune is the alma mater of the officers of the defence forces. Here Officer Cadets undergo training for three years before they are allocated to the defence arms for further training. perhaps to create a motivating environs, the NDA Campus is dotted with War Relics - both aircraft as well as tanks.
  • Pune   ( 6 Articles )

    Pune is one of the largest cities in Southern India and one of the major Airbases, that the Indian Air Force inherited after the second world war. Originally called Poona, it saw sights of Tempests, Vampires, Canberras, MiG-21s and currently is a base for the Sukhoi-30 fighter.

Random Image

Kanpur04_Small.jpg