View source for Dilbagh Singh

{{short description|Indian air marshal}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2018}}
{{for|the singer|Dilbagh Singh (singer)}}
{{for|the Olympic athlete|Dilbagh Singh Kler}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix    = [[Air Chief Marshal (India)|Air Chief Marshal]]
| name                = Dilbagh Singh
| honorific_suffix    = [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal|PVSM]], [[Ati Vishisht Seva Medal|AVSM]], [[Vayu Sena Medal|VM]]
| image               = Dilbag singh.jpg
| caption             = 
| birth_date          = 10 March 1926
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|2001|02|09|1926|3|10|df=yes}}
| birth_place         = [[Rahon]], [[Jalandhar district]], [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]]
| death_place         = [[Dehradun]], [[Uttarakhand]], [[India]]
| nickname            =
| office              = 12th Indian [[Ambassador]] to [[Brazil]]
| term_start          = August 1985
| term_end            = August 1987
| appointer           = [[President of India]] {{small|(then, [[Zail Singh]])}}
| predecessor         = S.S. Nath
| successor           = A.R. Kakodar
| office1             = 25th [[Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee]]
| term_start1         = 31 July 1983
| term_end1           = 3 September 1984
| president1          = [[Zail Singh]]
| primeminister1      = [[Indira Gandhi]]
| predecessor1        = [[K. V. Krishna Rao]]
| successor1          = [[Oscar Stanley Dawson]]
| office2             = 11th [[Chief of the Air Staff (India)]]
| term_start2         = 1 September 1981
| term_end2           = 3 September 1984	
| president2          = [[Neelam Sanjiva Reddy]] <br /> Zail Singh
| primeminister2      = Indira Gandhi
| predecessor2        = [[Idris Hasan Latif]]
| successor2          = [[Lakshman Madhav Katre]]
| allegiance          = {{flag|British India}} (1945–1947)<br/>{{flag|India}} (from 1947)
| branch              = {{air force|British India}} (1945–1947)<br/>{{air force|India}} (1947–1984)
| serviceyears        = 1945-1984
| rank                = [[File: Indian IAF OF-9.svg|30px]] [[Air Chief Marshal (India)|Air Chief Marshal]]
| unit                = [[No. 1 Squadron IAF|No. 1 Squadron]]
| commands            = [[Eastern Air Command, Indian Air Force|Eastern Air Command]]<br />[[Ambala Air Force Station]]<br />[[No. 28 Squadron IAF|28 Squadron]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Air Marshal Kumaria Visits Air Force Station Chandigarh To Felicitate its 50 Golden Years|url=https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=70401|date=1 March 2011}}</ref>
| battles             = [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]]<br />[[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]]<br />[[Operation Lal Dora]]
| military_blank1     = Award(s)
| military_data1      = {{plainlist|
* [[File:Param_Vishisht_Seva_Medal_ribbon.svg|20px]] [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal]]
* [[File:Ati_Vishisht_Seva_Medal_ribbon.svg|20px]] [[Ati Vishisht Seva Medal]]
* [[File:Vayusena_Medal_ribbon.svg|20px]] [[Vayu Sena Medal]]
}}
| laterwork           =
}}
[[Air Chief Marshal (India)|Air Chief Marshal]] '''Dilbagh Singh''', [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal|PVSM]], [[Ati Vishisht Seva Medal|AVSM]], [[Vayu Sena Medal|VM]] (10 March 1926 – 9 February 2001) was the head of the [[Indian Air Force]] from 1981 to 1984,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Personnel/Chiefs/261-Dilbagh-Singh.html | title= Dilbagh Singh  | publisher=Bharat Rakshak | access-date=8 April 2018 }}</ref> as [[Chief of the Air Staff (India)|Chief of the Air Staff]]. He was the second [[Sikh]] to hold that position.{{cn|date=October 2021}}

Dilbagh Singh was commissioned as a pilot in 1944.<ref>{{Cite web|title=rediff.com: Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh no more|url=https://www.rediff.com/news/2001/feb/10air.htm|website=www.rediff.com|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> His operational flying career spanned the [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire]] to introducing the [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21|MiG-21]] into service in India. He had earlier made the first official [[Sonic boom|"Supersonic Bang"]] over India in [[New Delhi]] when the [[Dassault Mystère IV|Mystere IV-A]] was showcased in a public demonstration.

He was India's [[Ambassador]] to [[Brazil]] from 1985 to 1987. He was a student of pandit Buta Ram of Rahon. His visit to Rahon to visit his teacher when he was Air Marshal is still remembered. He inspired scores of youngsters from Rahon and Nawanshahar region to join defense forces

== References ==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010211/nation.htm#11 ''Ex-Air Chief Dilbagh Singh dead'', The Tribune, 11 Feb 2001]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070202204429/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/Air-Chiefs/Chiefs-Air-11.html Air Chiefs, www.bharat-rakshak.com]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070425105601/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1940s/Sikhs.html Sikh Pilots in the Indian Air Force in World War Two, www.bharat-rakshak.com]

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Idris Latif]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Chief of the Air Staff (India)]] 
|years=1981–1984}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Lakshman Katre]]}}
{{end}}
{{Chief of Defence Staff (India)}}
{{Chief_of_the_Air_Staff_(India)}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Dilbagh}}
[[Category:Indian aviators]]
[[Category:Chiefs of Air Staff (India)]]
[[Category:Indian Air Force air marshals]]
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian Sikhs]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to Brazil]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal]]
[[Category:Indian Air Force officers]]
[[Category:National Defence College, India alumni]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Vayu Sena Medal]]


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