Coimbatore is a major town
and district in the eastern part of Tamil Nadu. It adjoins the border with Kerala and is
an important place as far as Air Force installations in Tamil Nadu are concerned. The Air
Force Administrative College, No.5 Base Repair Depot, Air Force Station Sulur are all
located in and around Coimbatore.
Aditya Varadaraj of Coimbatore had sent
an email about a HT-2 preserved at the Air Force Administrative College situated in
Coimbatore. The HT-2 was painted in a dull grey color and had a yellow stripe painted
before the tail fin. This was freshly painted in 1998. Some of the Canopy glass frames
were broken and there are dents and scratches on the tail portion. But overall it is
reported to be in a relatively ok condition.
What is not known widely was that
Coimbatore once had a Spitfire VIII as a gate guardian in the air force premises. The
Initial Training Wing was located in Coimbatore in the late 40s, after it moved to here
from Poona. The ITW was responsible for initial basic training to IAF flight cadets. The
Spitfire was preserved on the premises to motivate the flight cadets, and going by the
number of photographs it has appeared in, it has done its job well. However the final fate
of the aircraft is a mystery, and it is believed to have been scrapped in the 50s.
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A Harvard is preserved near the
entrance of Sainik School, Amaravathinagar in Coimbatore District. The Pic was contributed
by Manoj Nair |
There is a Sainik School at Amaravathi
nagar which is in the Coimbatore district. The School has a Harvard preserved on its
premises. This is at near the entrance of the School. Manoj, who sent the photograph had
taken it in 1987. The aircraft may still be there as it was in a good condition.
There are two airstrips commissioned during
World War 2, Peelamedu and Sulur, Both providing facilities for
the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm Squadrons flying aircraft as diverse as the Barracuda,
Hellcats, Hurricanes and Seafires. Peelamedu was decommissioned in 1946 along
with Sulur. Today it acts as the Civlian airport of Coimbatore.
After Independence, The Indian Navy
established INAS Hansa at Sulur to operate the Sea Hawks. After the Liberation of
Goa, INAS Hansa shifted to Dabolim there and Sulur was taken over by the Air Force . No.
5 Base Repair Depot was established which was under the Maintenance Command. 5 BRD
operated aircraft maintenance and provided test flying facilities too. It is believed that
there are a good number of retired aircraft at 5 BRD. In the late eighties some Canberra
and Dakota airframes were auctioned off as scrap at Sulur. No details are available.
Sulur had a fair share of crashes in its
area. One of the B-24 Liberators put into the air by HAL crashed here in the 50s. In the
eighties some trainer aircraft operating out of Sulur had crashed on test flights. Kapil
Chandni reports that a "large aircraft" was reportedly on display outside the
BRD at Sulur. guesses on the type have ranged from B-24 Liberators (wishful thinking) to
C-47 Dakota. A Senior IAF Officer had confirmed that a few Dakotas could still be
available stored at the BRD in Sulur.
| Aircraft |
S.No |
Remarks |
| HAL HT-2 |
-NA- |
Air Force
Administrative College |
| NA Harvard |
-NA- |
Sainik School
Amaravathi nagar |

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