Airliners-India

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TIMES OF INDIA
Check out the Gnat aircrafts at Chembur
Yogesh Naik
8 October 2009

MUMBAI: India is celebrating its 77th Air Force Day on October 8 and Mumbai does not even have a fighter aircraft permanently parked here. But the Diamond Garden in Chembur has a Gnat from the 1971 Indo-Pak war put up on a pedestal.

This aircraft came in from Number 2 squadron to Halwara forward air base in Western Punjab. Interestingly, two Air Force pilots who flew the same aircraft. Flight Lt Suhas Godse (63) and Group Captain O P Sharma (64) stay in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai respectively.

Speaking about the Indo-Pak, Godse said, "Around the 3rd week of Jan 1971, one small single engine propeller aircraft, allegedly from the Lahore Flying Club, had flown into the Indian territory. Two Hunter Aircrafts were scrambled from the nearest Indian fighter base to intercept this small alien aircraft. This Aircraft was shot down as it did not respond to the messages that were sent to it over the radio, neither did it heed to the visual signal given to it by the pilots of our intercepting aircraft. This set out a high alert in the western sector.''

Around that time, two Gnat aircrafts were flown into the forward fighter base and one of these was the Folland Gnat MK1 aircraft bearing the Air Force serial no E-325. This aircraft was flown in this forward fighter base during the 1971 conflict with Pakistan. It is now parked in the civic garden, he added. Group Captain O P Sharma who flew the same Gnat said, "I was in the 9th squadron in the 1971 war. We had escorted the other fighter aircrafts during the bombings of Changamanga and Khudian areas in Pakistan.''

It's a rare coincidence, that the Squadron, from which this aircraft flew from the forward fighter base, was commanded by Squadron Leader Azgar Khan before the partition and by Squadron Leader I H Latif. Both of them rose to the rank off Chief of Air Staff in the

Pakistan Air Force and the Indian Air Force, respectively. Latif was also the Governor of Maharashtra after his retirement.
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