Warbird Sightings
2002
Hans Van Herk's report on the
Oldest Warbird in India
Hans van Herk had recently returned
to Netherlands from a Sight Seeing trip to Rajasthan. He has some delightful sightings to
report.
1. To start with , Bikaner
(Visited on 08-Dec-2002) still shows the DH-9 inside the Junagarh Fort (no serial
visible). According to the guide the second DH-9 was still stored but access was not
allowed.
2. The HF-24 Marut at Jaisalmer (09-Dec-2002) has moved since a year from the market place
Hanuman Chowk to the Government Museum where it is displayed outside. Although the
aircraft has been overpainted in a light silver dope the serial is still readable (D1237).
3. On our way to the Taj Mahal we came along one of the entrances of Agra AFS
(19-Dec-2002). Displayed at this gate was a Mil Mi-4 in a two-tone brown desert colour
scheme. No serial was visible. 4. Close behind the Mi-4 was the bare fuselage (no wings)
of I think a C-47 Dakota. The entrance was on the north side of the base along the
road Jaipur - Agra.
So finally we have a visual
confirmation of the DH-9 at Bikaner! This is probably the Oldest Warbird in India as we
know it. The Mil-4 is also a rarity. The individual details have now been entered in the
other pages.
(29/12/2002)
MiGs galore in the North East.
Noted photographers Phil Camp and
Simon Watson were the guest of the IAF recently in the North east. They visited Tezpur,
Chabua, Mohanbari and other places in the north east and have a bunch of Warbird sightings
to report. Click here to read about the various Birds they
visited
(29/12/2002)
Preserved C-47 Dakota at
Kohima?
It came to be known that the AOC of
Jorhat at one time, Air Cmde Kanagat VM, presented a Dakota aircraft to the 8th Mountain
Division of the Indian Army, which was based at Kohima in Manipur and whose air support
was the task of the Wing at Jorhat. The Dakota was transported to Kohima and assembled by
the Air base personnel in the army cantonment area. Is it still there? (23/12/2002)
Curtiss C-46 Commando at
Charbatia?
The Aviation Research Center at
Charbatia (Cuttack) used C-46s in the 60s and 70s for its ELINT work. Rumour has it that
one of the C-46s is left on the airfield at Charbatia - Any confirmation about it? (04/12/2002)
Hunter BA-237 at Jaisalmer
The Hunter is synonymous with
aircraft in the small town of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. On display at Jaisalmer was a Hawker
Hunter serialled BA-237 at the War memorial known as 'Vijay Stambh' within the technical
area of Jaisalmer airbase. A Pakistani Sherman Tank which used to share the space at the
memorial has now been moved to some distance away.(15/11/2002)
Polly Singh's reports on
Hunters.
Polly had sent us pictures of
Hunters at Chabua and at Kalaikunda. The Kalaikunda picture now proves that the Hunter
displayed at 18 Sqn hangar is BA-207. Polly also reports a Hunter at Jorhat town with the
special Orange and Yellow tail colors of the Banners. (05/10/2002)
Aditya Gupta's link in Kiran
U-328
Aditya has sent us a link from the
net http://www.highgallery.com/india3.html
which shows the Protoype Kiran trainer on display at an unidentifiable place. Now this
aircraft is the same one that is now in Dundigal . Unlike
its current condition, the aircraft is in plain metal finish and is on its undercarraige.(27/09/2002)
Aditya Gupta from New Delhi
reports a MiG-21 and Gnat at the Pragathi Maidan grounds.
There is a Gnat E254 ,a MiG-21 C1168 and SA-2 at New Delhi in the Pragathi Maidan grounds.
All 3 are at the permanent defence exhibition at Pragati Madian. All 3 are placed
near to each other. The Gnat/Ajeet and SA-2 are in a vertical position with the SA-2
mounted on what looks like the original missile launcher itself. The MiG-21 is horizontal.
All are painted in a silver colour. The MiG even has one launch rail. (21/09/2002)
Piper Cub at IIT Kanpur
Vijay Simha Reddy, a regular
contributor here mentions the presence of an airworthy Piper Cub at IIT Kanpur. Vijay
promised to send us photographs in due course of time.(22/08/2002)
Clue on the indentity of
Dassault Ouragan from Lucknow.
The Ouragan at Lucknow in the Sainik
School is identifed as IC-867 in an old book published in the UK in the 70s. Since IC-867
did not exist, the only closest matches are IC-567 and IC-667. The latter being written
off in a crash.(22/08/2002)
A MiG-23 at Maintanance
Command, Nagpur.
It has been confirmed that the
Outgoing AOC in C of Maint Command had inagurated a MiG-23 aircraft at the Maintanance
command building in Nagpur.(13/08/2002)
A Kiran in Coimbatore?
Sanjay Simha reports that the
TRaining Command in Bangalore has recently presented a Kiran to the Hindustan Engineering
College in Coimbatore.Comfirmation is awaited. (13/08/2002)
The Missing Ouragan
rediscovered in NDA.
Kapil recently visited the National
Defence Academy at Khadakvasla. The Ouragan that was reported earlier by Rahul M has been
found again. It is now at the the Academy airstrip from where the Motorised Gliders fly.
The Ouragan is in pristine condition and bears the markings of No.4 Squadorn the Oorials.
(13/08/2002)
Warbirds of Bangalore - An
Update.
Recent trip to Bangalore has
revealed several things.
The HT-2 at the Bangalore Military
School was marked 'X-752' Possibly IX-752.
There is a Gnat airframe with NAL Bangalore that was disposed there after
fatigue testing.
The VSM Institute's Devon seem to have been moved somewhere else.
(13/08/2002)
A Warbird under our very noses
(In Hyderabad)!
I had thought I had covered all the
warbirds in Hyderabad, but I was to be mistaken. I met Mrs Anu Reddy , who is an
Author on aviation books. She bought to my notice to an Aircraft at Hyderabad Public
School. I know that top schools in every city have warbirds on thier premises, but somehow
i missed this one, even though I must have passed thousands of time in front of the school
Sure enough, it is a De Havilland
Canada DHC-2 Chipmunk. It was supposedly donated by the Hyderabad Flying Club. But
strangely the aircraft sports Indian Air Force Roundels and markings. (02/08/2002)
HAL Pragathi Museum in Nasik -
MiGs Galore! - From Sandeep Unnithan
"HAL Ozar is a goldmine. I went
to the township to see the museum. It was closed, but what i saw on display was stunning:
1 MiG-27 and 2 MiG-21s on display. Mind you, these were not your regular static displays--
the 27 appeared to be in flight, mottled yellow-brown-green camo pattern,
undercarriage retracted (serial number TS-539) and floodlit in one corner of
the ground.
Two MiG-21s were displayed back to back in front of the building at nearly 80 degrees to
the ground, in fact they appeared to burst out of the ground and the pine tree
backdrop made it all the more spectacular. It was dark and couldn't make out which
variants of the 21s they were, but one had 3 drop tanks and another had rocket pods.
" (31/07/02)
Indore Tigermoth now in
Australia, HAL Derelict Canberra might be restored - Plus The "Mother of all
surprises" coming up -- From A A Laxman
Laxman of Bangalore reports that the
Tigermoth from the Sanghi Collection in Indore has made its way to Australia sometime
back. An enthusiast had bought and restored the aircraft. The derelict Canberra at the HAL
airport is also not reported to be there now. presumably it was restored by the Air force
and put back into service. There are reports on the Canberra being flown out of HAL
Laxman has with him news and photos
on what we call a "Mother of all suprises".. he definitely takes the prize for
the Warbird Discovery of the Year! -- Wish we could give him for the decade..but who knows
what will come up? More in our future updates! (01/07/02)
Another Alize! Plus a surprise
coming up -- From Sandeep Unnithan.
Sandeep has informed us that an
Alize has been restored to be the Gate Guardian at INAS Garuda at Cochin. This is the
fifth Alize in existance that has come to our notice, out of a total of Nine or Ten Alizes
that the Navy probably had when the Alize's were decommissioned.
There is another aircraft being
restored at Garuda, but whose type we will keep you guessing about till we get some
pictures of it.. and it will be a surprise. and the Warbird Discovery of the Year! (27/05/02)
Alize IN-212 on INS Vikrant
Reports of a second Alize that would
arrive at the Vikrant has turned out to be true. IN-212 is now displayed along with IN-209
on the Vikrant by the ski-ramp of the Carrier turned museum ship. Sandeep Unnithan wrote
an article on Military Museums in India Today newsmagazine. The article carries a
photograph of the Alize. (21/05/02)
Varun Chakrapani reports on a
Gnat at DSSC, Wellington.
Varun says that there is a Gnat on
display at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, in the Niligiris. He will be
sending us photographs in due course. (28/04/02)
Vijay Kumar Natarajan writes on
some rare Mysteres in Agra.
Mysteres are quite rare to come by
and this email from Mr. Natarajan has taken us by surprise.
"In Agra you can find 3 Nos.
Mystere A/C (French Origin) at - 1. K.V.No.1 A.F.Stn Agra -
2. Officers' Mess No.2 (Good Condition) 3. Station Stadium (Bad Condition)
- I saw these last in 1996 when I was residing at Agra."
Can anyone confirm the aircraft?
(28/04/02)
Simon Watson, Aviation
Journalist sends us pictures of HT-2 at Bidar and Devon derelict at Bangalore.
Simon, who is one of the top
contributors of our website has sent us photographs of the Derelict Devon present in
Yelahanka. Another picture of the unmarked HT-2 from Bidar is also added in our Warbirds
of Karnataka collection. (28/04/02)
Harvard at Hindustan
Engineering College in Chennai
We have recieved two confirmations
on the Harvard at Hindustan Engineering College in Chennai. Mr. Vijay Kumar Natarajan had
earlier written us on its presence which was followed up by another email by Mr.
Krishnan Sudharshan writes : "I have seen a harvard preserved at Hindustan College of
Engineering, Padur ( near Chennai ). It is on the lawn just near the gate.
(28/04/02)
Capt Gireesh Kumar writes on a
Gnat at Kerala Science and Technology Museum.
Girish reports that a Gnat can be
seen in the Trivandrum Science and Technology Museum. (06/04/02)
Another undiscovered warbird in
Nagpur- Gnat "IE-1205" (Again!!)
Kapil Chandni on his recent visit to
Nagpur also discovered a new Gnat IE-1205 on display in Nagpur. The Serial number
conflicts with the one displayed at the IAF HQ in New Delhi. But we have positive proof on
the aircraft's identity. (01/04/02)
Harvard preserved in Bijapur
A Harvard is preserved at the Sainik
School in Bijapur town. Bijapur is located in Karnatak state. The aircraft appeared to be
in good condition according to initial reports reaching us. (01/04/02)
Shantanu Sen on Beech-18 at
Mumbai.
Shantanu Sen from the middle-east
observed the reference to a Beech aircraft on the Mumbai Page. He reports that the
aircraft in question is VT-CKV which was operated by Cama airways based at the Juhu
airfield in Mumbai.
The aircraft is current on the Civil
Aircraft Register available from DGCA and we believe that it may be still be in airworthy
condition, as it was last seen making ground runs in the mid 90s (03/03/02)
Iskra W-1748 in Netherlands
FLYPAST reports that Ex-Indian Air
Force Iskra W-1748 is currently in Netherlands for restoration to flying status. The
aircraft was one of those replaced at the end of its airframe lifespan. (03/03/02)
Dakota at Thane
As our news item shows, there is a
Dakota preserved at the Singhania Hospital Premises at Thane near Mumbai. The aircraft was
damaged in a local riot an year back. (03/03/02)
Sea Hawk IN-252 Correction
Sea Hawk IN-252 is actually at
Madras Institute of Technology in Chrompet and not the Indian Insitute of Technology as
reported earlier. The information came up in our old records. There was a publication in
Hindu showing the students being instructed on the Sea Hawk (03/03/02)
The MiGs from Border
We asked a question onto the
identity of the MiG Squadron in our "Warbirds in Films : Border" feature.
Anandeep Pannu informs us that the Squadron was No.32 Thunderbirds based in Bhuj. The
filming took place at Bhuj in Gujarat. . (04/02/02)
Unidentified Ajeet in Delhi?
The Hindustan Times has started a
new website for Possible POWs still incarcerated in Pakistan. They have the following
picture of a Ajeet that was displayed during Vijay Diwas celebrations in New Delhi in
1996. It is quite possible that this same aircraft might have made it to some other
location within India. (31/01/02)
New warbird in Pune - Gnat
Kapil Chandni , our Pune
correspondent has visited and photographed a new Gnat E-1973 on display in Pune. The
aircraft is on display in a park opposite St Mary's school. (31/01/02)
Phil Hawk's photo of Gnat at
Dharamsala and sighting of a Hunter at Leh
Phil Hawk launched his excellent
website on Aviation Photography. He had a photograph
of Folland Gnat IE-1062, which he generously contributed to our Punjab-Haryana-Himachal
Pradesh Page.
Phil also confirms the presence of a
Hawker Hunter at Leh Air Force Station. he had first noticed the aircraft in 1987 and
later in 1995. (19/01/02)
Harry B's "Liberator"
wreck and Alize's at INS Garuda
Harry reports two Alize's near the
Main Building in INS Garuda. This was some years ago. He also said he noticed what could
have been the wreckage of a large four engined aircraft. This could have been either a
Liberator or a Constellation.(24/01/02)
George Joseph's sightings in
Kerala and Pune.
A chance meeting with George Joseph,
an old internet acquaintance on a flight to Chicago bought up his sightings of two new
warbirds.
1. Gnat at Trivandrum: A
Gnat was displayed opposite the Tennis club as recently as 1999/2000. However the aircraft
was not there in December 2001. Has it been moved somewhere?
2. Hunter at Pune: A
Hunter was seen on display in the corner of a ground at a college in the Pimpri Chinchwad
area. Any further information on the aircraft? (21/01/02)
Sukhoi-7 Wreckage [B-910]
at Samungli Airbase, Pakistan at Usman Shabbir's site.
The tail wreckage of an IAF Sukhoi-7
[B-910] is on display in Pakistan at Samungli airbase. B-910 was flown by Flt Lt R G Kadam
of No.27 Squadron. He was attached to the TACDE and was shot down over Risalawala.
The aircraft blew up and destroyed another PAF F-6 which was flying too close to it. The
picture can be seen at PakDef
1971 Section maintained by Usman Shabbir.
Ralph Lunt of UK on the
Canberra at SSPMS, Pune
I can confirm that the Canberra in
the School in Pune is indeed IF908. However, the wings were marked F1188 when I saw the
aircraft in 1994 . This serial does not fit any of the known batches of IAF Canberras -
the nearest was the B.66 batch F1021-F1030. I attach a photograph taken at this time which
just about shows the underwing serial. Congratulations on an excellent site - keep up the
good work! (14/01/02) <Webmaster's Note: The picture
can be seen in our Pune Page.>
Hans van Herk from Netherlands
on Hunter S-571, the last Hunter in IAF Service.
Hunter T66D
with serial S571 is indeed a former Dutch Hunter, serialled N-208 and construction number
8810.(11/01/02)
Aditya Varadaraj confirms Devon
at Bangalore, more on Sulur
As I study in Bangalore and pass by
Ring Road quite often, I can confirm the presence of a De Havilland Devon in the VSM Air
Mechanics and Engineers (AME) grounds. It is a tiny ground, and the Devon is crammed into
it. It appears to be in average condition, it was painted in a IAF livery and insignia
until about 6 months ago. Now it is painted in a yellow livery with a red cheatline. I
have noticed it, and can confirm it. I will also try to send a picture.
I was passing by Sulur, and can
confirm for sure that there is NO B24 Liberator anywhere to be seen. This was about 7
months ago, and I think it extremely unlikely that they moved it there since. It is
possible that there may be a C47 there. But there was a An32 lying derelict for some
reason near a hangar within the Airbase. (10/01/02)
<Jattbahman@aol.....>
wrote the following on 30th Nov.
Just visited ur excellent site on
Indian warbirds .I think i know of one which is on display in a chowk in city of Guraspur
in Punjab.It is near bus-stand on Gurdaspur -Pathankot road.I'm not sure about the type of
aircraft or whether it is actually an Indian aircraft(local legend has it that it was a
Pakistani Plane which was shot down!!!!!!).It is in reasonably good condition,though last
time i saw it was about 7-8 yrs ago.Thought it might interest u to investigate . Hope u'll
be able to confirm about it soon. Best of luck & keep up the good work. Jai Hind. (30/11/01)
<Webmaster's Note: My
apologies for losing this email and publishing it so late.>
Aditya Varadaraj of Coimbatore
confirms the Canberra at HAL Airport.
"I have noticed this BAe
Canberra lying derelict at HAL Airport in the Military section near a taxiway and a
parking bay, as the Jet Airways aircraft I travel in taxies past this aircraft on
the way to the runway. This aircraft is clearly derelict, but the IAF emblem is
clearly visible and it is in a common light and dark green camouflage commonly seen
on Reconissance IAF Canberras. It's cockpit is covered in a kind of dust cover. It
is under a large tree at a corner of the apron and seperated from the taxiway of the
airport by a thick hedge. I saw it last in September 18th or so, and it was not visible
after that as a screen kind of small temporary wall was erected. "(06/01/02)
Kapil Chandni on a
"Bird" outside Coimbatore/Sulur
Kapil's friend has informed that
there is some large aircraft on display outside Sulur. No details on the type or make
available.(03/01/02)
Ashit Chakraborty from
Bangladesh reports on a MiG-21
Ashit visited Bashar AFB, Bangladesh
recently. There is a MiG-21 (009) on display in a traffic platform outside the Bangladesh
Air Force Head Quarters. (03/01/02)
Lloyd Robinson from UK reports
on the SSPMS Pune's Canberra
According to Lloyd, the Canberra at
SSPMS had the faded numbers "08" on its fin. Among B(I)58s the only Canberra
with the numbers 08 at the end of its serial number is IF-908. Hence it is assumed that it
is the same aircraft. (03/01/02)
Sanjay Simha from Bangalore
confirms the HF-24 at ASTE
Sanjay, a known aviation
photographer had confirmed the presence of the HF-24 Marut aircraft at ASTE first reported
by Laxman. (03/01/02)
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