GeorgiannaN07 at 13:22, 23 January 2026

2026-01-23T13:22:16Z

New page

{{Short description|Indians selected for RAF pilot training in 1940}}
[[File:Indian pilots arrival in London, 1940.png|thumb|First group of Indian pilots arrive in London, 8 October 1940]]
In 1940, '''24 Indian pilots''', also known as the '''X-squad''', were chosen from 72 trainees of the Indian Airforce 4th Pilot's Course and sent to the UK for operational training and squadron service with the [[Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve]] (RAFVR).<ref name=Nair2019.2>{{cite book |last1=Nair |first1=K. S. |title=The Forgotten Few; The Indian Air Force in World War II |date=2019 |publisher=Harper Collins |location=Noida, UP |isbn=978-93-5357-067-5 |pages=42–70 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7SufDwAAQBAJ|chapter= 2. 1939-40: War in Europe |language=en}}</ref><ref name=Goodrum2019>{{cite book |last=Goodrum |first=Alastair |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ncGbDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT147 |title=School of Aces: The RAF Training School that Won the Battle of Britain |date=2019 |publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |isbn=978-1-4456-8618-9 |pages=130–150 |language=en |chapter=6. A foreign field and English sky}}</ref>

The pilots included [[Ranjan Dutt]], [[Erlic Pinto|Erlic W. Pinto]], [[Hari Chand Dewan|Hari C. Dewan]], [[Mohinder Singh Pujji|Mahinder Singh Pujji]] and [[Man Mohan Singh (pilot)|Man Mohan Singh]]. Of the 24, 16 qualified as pilots and six were posted to non-flying duties. Eight completed further training as fighter pilots and served in [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF) squadrons after the [[Battle of Britain]]. Others were selected for [[RAF Bomber Command|Bomber]]/[[RAF Coastal Command during World War II|Coastal Command]].

Eight were killed during training or in action. Some of those who survived became Air Marshalls in the [[Indian Air Force]] (IAF) after independence.

==Recruitment==
In 1940, the [[Air Ministry]] requested the [[British Raj|British Government in India]] to send Indian pilots for further training in England.<ref name=Brad1940>{{cite news |title=For the RAF: 24 Indian pilot officers |work= Bradford Observer
|date=14 August 1940|page=5|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003150/19400814/126/0005|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{efn|Calls to expand the [[Indian Air Force]] were made in early 1940.<ref name=Singh2013>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Jasjit |title=Defence from the Skies: 80 Years of the Indian Air Force: 80 Years of the Indian Air Force |date=2013 |publisher=KW Publishers Pvt Ltd |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-93-81904-53-4 |page=39 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mku6DQAAQBAJ&pg=PT39 |language=en |chapter=2. War from the east}}</ref>}} On 8 August 1940, 24 mostly newly qualified Indian pilots were recruited from Lahore and Ambala to join the RAFVR.<ref name=Goodrum2019/><ref name=Brad1940/> They left Lahore for Bombay (now Mumbai) on 3 September 1940.<ref name=BT1940>{{cite news |title=Departure of Indian pilots|work= Belfast Telegraph|date=3 September 1940|page=9|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002318/19400903/178/0009|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref> They departed India as one group at the end of September 1940.<ref name=Nair2019.2/><ref name=Goodrum2019/>{{efn|A twenty fifth pilot, [[Dattatreya Anant Samant]], not part of the group but travelled on the same liner to the UK and may have passed security as he appeared like the others.<ref name=Nair2019.2/> He gained a place at the RAFVR and later served No.263. Squadron RAF.<ref name=Nair2019.2/>}}

==UK==
The group arrived in England on the [[P&O]] liner SS ''Strathallan'' on 6 October 1940 and headed for [[RAF Uxbridge]] on 8 October.<ref name=Pass1940>{{cite web |title=UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960|date=9 October 1940|url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/27017940:1518?tid=&pid=&queryId=86e06a3f319f43300a1af8fca5647e7c&_phsrc=oHC18&_phstart=successSource|access-date=9 November 2022 |work=1940 Passenger list|via=ancestry.co.uk|url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{efn|The IAF Act was passed on 8 October 1932 and in the late 1970s the date became [[Air Force Day#India|Air Force Day]] in India.<ref name=Nair2019.2/>}} Their arrival was given widespread media coverage.<ref name=Nair2019.2/> When they reached a London train station, they were greeted by [[Louis Greig|Sir Louis Leisler Greig]] and the photographer [[William G. Vanderson]].<ref name=BL>{{cite web |title=Photograph of Indian pilots arriving in the UK|publisher=British Library |url=https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/photograph-of-indian-pilots-arriving-in-the-uk |website=www.bl.uk |access-date=16 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226145718/https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/photograph-of-indian-pilots-arriving-in-the-uk|archive-date=26 December 2022}}</ref><ref name=Sphere1940>{{cite news |title=Our defenders in the air and at sea|work= The Sphere
|date=19 October 1940|page=72|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001861/19401019/015/0010|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Each were individually welcomed by the Air Minister, [[Archibald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso|Sir Archibald Sinclair]], who handed each a note concluding "We shall be proud to have you fighting by our side".<ref name=Scot1940>{{cite news |title=Air Minister welcomes Indian pilots |work= The Scotsman
|date=9 October 1940|page=2|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000540/19401009/245/0009|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref> They were conducted by [[Jayapal Jayakar|J. M. R. Jayakar]].<ref name=WHSE1940>{{cite news |title=Indian pilot officers entertained by the King |work= West Ham and South Essex Mail
|date=15 November 1940|page=5|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004271/19401115/029/0001|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

After a month the group had tea with the [[George VI|King]] before being divided in two.<ref name=WHSE1940/><ref name=Chowdhry2018>{{cite book |last1=Chowdhry |first1=Mohindra S. |title=Defence of Europe by Sikh Soldiers in the World Wars |date=2018 |publisher=Troubador Publishing Ltd |location=Leicestershire |isbn=978-1788037-983 |pages=329–383 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=twFQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA365 |language=en |chapter=7. Sikhs in the Second World War}}</ref>{{efn|K.S. Nair cites the location as Windsor Castle, while newspapers of the time say it was at Buckingham Palace.<ref name=Nair2019.2/><ref name=WHSE1940/>}} Most were posted to No. 12 Elementary Flying Training School [[RAF Prestwick|RAF at Prestwick]] to train on [[de Havilland Tiger Moth|Tiger Moth]]s.<ref name=Nair2019.2/><ref name=Goodrum2019/> Advanced training was completed at No. 9 Service Flying Training School at [[RAF Hullavington]], Wiltshire, and they received their [[Wing (military unit)|wings]] on 16 April 1941.<ref name=Nair2019.2/> Of the 24, six were posted to non-flying duties.<ref name=Goodrum2019/> Eight had qualified for fighter training at No. 56 OTU at [[RAF Sutton Bridge]].<ref name=Nair2019.2/> They included Dutt, Pujji, Mehta, Gnanamuthu and Nazirullah.<ref name=Nair2019.2/> They mostly served in RAF squadrons after the [[Battle of Britain]] for around three months in 1941.<ref name=Nair2019.2/><ref name=RAFmus>{{cite web |date=15 August 2020 |title=Indian Air Force {{!}} Indian Air Force Aircraft |url=https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/blog/royal-indian-air-force/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113182431/https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/blog/royal-indian-air-force/ |archive-date=13 November 2022 |access-date=13 November 2022 |website=RAF Museum}}</ref><ref name=C&MGSept.1941>{{cite news |title=Indian pilots in Britain: Participation in raids over Germany|work= Civil & Military Gazette|location=Lahore|date=27 September 1941|page=5|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003221/19410927/065/0005|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Others were selected for [[RAF Bomber Command|Bomber]]/[[RAF Coastal Command during World War II|Coastal Command]].<ref name=Goodrum2019/>

At first they received 425 rupees per month and an annual oversees allowance of £25, which was raised to £100.<ref name=C&MG1941>{{cite news |title=Indian pilots in England|work= Civil & Military Gazette|location=Lahore
|date=30 October 1941|page=5|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003221/19411030/041/0003|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Deaths and legacy==
Eight of the 24 Indian pilots were killed during training or in action.<ref name=BR.IAFVR>{{cite web |title=Indian Air Force Gallery :: IAFVR pilots in UK |url=https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Galleries/History/WW2/RAF24/ |website=Bharat Rakshak |access-date=13 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113102638/https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Galleries/History/WW2/RAF24/|archive-date=13 November 2022}}</ref> Dewan, Pinto, Shivdev Singh and Dutt later became Air Marshalls in the Indian Air Force after independence.<ref name=Nair2019.2/>

In 2014 a statue of Pujji was erected in [[Gravesend]], Kent.<ref name=McGowan2019>{{cite book |last=McGowan |first=Susan |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=feV1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT149 |title=The Little History of Kent |date=2019 |publisher=The History Press |isbn=978-0-7509-9114-8 |location=Stroud, Gloucestershire |pages=149 |language=en |chapter=14. The House of Windsor, 1917-}}</ref><ref name=Sharma2014>{{cite news |last1=Sharma |first1=Manimugdha S. |title=World War II Indian pilot honoured with statue in UK|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/World-War-II-Indian-pilot-honoured-with-statue-in-UK/articleshow/45319912.cms |access-date=26 December 2022 |work=The Times of India |date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226134305/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/World-War-II-Indian-pilot-honoured-with-statue-in-UK/articleshow/45319912.cms |archive-date=26 December 2022 |language=en}}</ref> Man Mohan Singh's name is remembered on the [[Darwin Military Museum]] Memorial Wall, Australia.<ref name=Darwin>{{cite web |title=Remembering Flying Officer Manmohan Singh |url=http://www.australiansikhheritage.com/flying-officer-manmohan-singh/ |website=Australian Sikh Heritage |access-date=16 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116163438/http://www.australiansikhheritage.com/flying-officer-manmohan-singh/ |archive-date=16 November 2022 |language=en-AU}}</ref>

A retrospective on the 4th Pilot Course, highlighting the personal and professional journeys of these 24 officers, including their wartime service, command roles, and post-retirement contributions has been published by aviation historian Anchit Gupta.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gupta |first=Anchit |date=3 December 2022 |title=The Inspiring Journey of the 4th Pilot Course |url=https://iafhistory.in/2022/12/03/trailblazers-in-the-skies-the-inspiring-journey-of-the-4th-pilot-course/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250531061050/https://iafhistory.in/2022/12/03/trailblazers-in-the-skies-the-inspiring-journey-of-the-4th-pilot-course/ |archive-date=31 May 2025 |access-date=5 May 2025 |website=IAFHistory}}</ref>

==List of pilots==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ List of 24 Indian pilots seconded to UK 1940
|-
! Pilot !!Birth/death !!Comment !! Image !! References
|-
| [[Kenneth Joseph Bhore]] || Born 1912||Arrived in England at age 27 years. Later joined [[Pakistan Air Force]] (PAF).|| || <ref name=BR.IAFVR/>
|-
| Kali Prasad Chaudhury ||Died 18 June 1941 ||Born to K.N. Chaudhury of Ballinganj, Calcutta, India. Served in [[No. 10 Operational Training Unit RAF]]. Killed in action at age 26 years on 18 June 1941; aircraft lost. Memorial at [[Golders Green Jewish Cemetery]] . || || <ref>{{cite web |title=Pilot Officer Kali Prasad Chaudhury |url=http://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=62139 |website=RAFCommands |access-date=24 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240730113800/https://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=62139|archive-date=30 July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Pilot Officer Kali Prasad Chaudhury {{!}} War Casualty Details 2430784 {{!}} CWGC |url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2430784/kali-prasad-chaudhury/ |website=CWGC |access-date=23 January 2026 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| Kanwar Haveli Shah Chopra || 18 December 1915 - 6 October 1954|| || || <ref name=BR.Chopra>{{cite web |title=Service Record for Flight Lieutenant Kanwar Haveli Shah Chopra 1596 GD(P) at Bharat Rakshak.com |url=https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/1596 |website=Bharat Rakshak |access-date=13 November 2022 |language=en-gb}}</ref>
|-
| Rustom Nariman Dastur ||Died 31 August 1941 ||Born to Nariman Pestonji Dastur and Hoiabai Nariman Dastur, of Bandra, Bombay, India. Killed in action at age 22 years. He is buried at [[Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery]]. || || <ref name=CWGC.Dastur>{{cite web |title=Pilot Officer Rustom Nariman Dastur {{!}} War Casualty Details 2316987 |url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2316987/rustom-nariman-dastur/ |website=CWGC |access-date=13 November 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| [[Hari Chand Dewan]] || 1921 – 2017|| Arrived in England at age 18 years. Later became [[Air Marshal (India)|Air Marshal]] and head of the [[Eastern Air Command (India)|Eastern Air Command]] in the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]]. || || <ref name=BR.IAFVR/><ref name="Batabyal2020">{{cite book |last1=Batabyal |first1=Guru Saday |title=Politico-Military Strategy of the Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971 |date=2020 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-000-31766-4 |page=282 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3QsLEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT282 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| [[Ranjan Dutt]] ||1922 – 2009 || In England he flew [[Hawker Hurricane|Hurricanes]] with [[No. 32 Squadron RAF]], and upon return to India flew [[Westland Lysander|Lysanders]]. Died in 2009.||[[File:Ranjan Dutt.jpg|100px]] ||<ref name=Panther>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0k-6DQAAQBAJ&pg=PT129 |title=Panther Red One: Memoirs of a Fighter Pilot: Memoirs of a Fighter Pilot |date=2013 |publisher=KW Publishers Pvt Ltd |isbn=978-93-85714-91-7 |pages=129 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=Nair2009>{{cite web |last=Nair|first=K.S.|title=Air Vice Marshal Ranjan Dutt (1594) |date=19 November 2009 |url=https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/history/ww2/veterans/ranjan-dutt/ |access-date=28 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229135406/https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/history/ww2/veterans/ranjan-dutt/|archive-date=29 December 2022}}</ref>
|-
| Mohit Mohan Ghose || || Recruited at age 25 years. || || <ref name=BR.IAFVR/>
|-
| Anandaraj Samuel Gnanamuthu || || Born to Captain G. D. Gnanamuthu, Civil Assistant Surgeon, of Kollegat, Coimbatore District, India. Died 11 July 1941 at age 22 years. || || <ref name=CWGC.Gnan>{{cite web |title=Search Results |url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/search-results/?Regiment=Royal+Indian+Air+Force&WarFilter=2&CommemoratedInFilter=United+Kingdom&CemeteryFilter=null&Size=100&Page=1&Sort=cemeterymemorial |website=CWGC |access-date=13 November 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| Harbans Krishan Khanna || || Born 15 May 1919. Died 31 Aug 1941. || || <ref>{{cite web |title=Service Record for Wing Commander Harbans Krishan Khanna 1632 A&SD at Bharat Rakshak.com |url=https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/1632 |website=Bharat Rakshak |access-date=24 December 2022 |language=en-gb}}</ref>
|-
| Chander Parkash Khosla || || Killed in action. He is commemorated at [[Air Forces Memorial]].|| || <ref name=CWGC.Khosla>{{cite web |title=Pilot Officer Chander Parkash Khosla {{!}} War Casualty Details 1802690 |url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1802690/chander-parkash-khosla/ |website=CWGC |access-date=13 November 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| Mian Mohd Latif || || Arrived in England at age 21 years. || || <ref name=BR.IAFVR/>
|-
| Ali Raza Khan Pasha || ||Born 12 January 1917, died in service 18 June 1941. He is buried in the Muslim section of [[Brookwood Cemetery]], UK. || || <ref name=BR.Pasha>{{cite web |title=Service Record for Pilot Officer Ali Raza Khan Pasha Not Issued GD(P) at Bharat Rakshak.com |url=https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/82 |website=Bharat Rakshak |access-date=26 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226113921/https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/82 |archive-date=26 December 2022 |language=en-gb}}</ref><ref name=RAF.Pasha>{{cite web |title=Pilot Officer Ali Raza Khan Pasha |url=http://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=51581 |website=RAFCommands |access-date=26 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226114924/http://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=51581 |archive-date=26 December 2022}}</ref>
|-
| Hukum Chand Mehta || ||Died during an accident while training on 3 November 1941. He is commemorated at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne cemetery || || <ref name=Mohan2010/><ref name=CWGC.Mehta>{{cite web |title=Pilot Officer Hukum Chand Mehta {{!}} War Casualty Details 2810562 |url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2810562/hukum-chand-mehta/ |website=CWGC |access-date=13 November 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| [[Edwin Nazirullah]] || || For a while served [[No. 32 Squadron RAF]]. Later joined PAF. || || <ref name=Nair2019.2/><ref name=Mohan2010>{{cite book |last1=Mohan |first1=PVS Jagan |title=The Westland Lysander in Indian Air Force Service |date=2010 |publisher=Jagan Pillarisetti |location=Hydrabad |pages=21–32 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_bzOcg-Ke6wC&pg=PA31 |language=en |chapter=No.4 Squadron (Feb 1942-June 1943)}}</ref><ref name=Sapru2014>{{cite book |last=Sapru|first=Somnath|author-link=Somnath Sapru|title=Combat Lore: Indian Air Force 1930-1945: Indian Air Force 1930-1945 |date=15 July 2014 |publisher=KW Publishers Pvt Ltd |location=New Delhi|isbn=978-93-85714-34-4 |pages=130–133 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SEa6DQAAQBAJ&pg=PT130 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| [[Erlic Pinto|Erlic Wilmot Pinto]] || 1921 – 1963 ||Served in the UK from 1940 to 1942. Graduated from [[RAF Staff College, Andover|RAF Staff College]], Andover. In 1959, became [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air vice marshal]], India. || || <ref name=Pass1940/><ref name=PIB.Bio>{{cite web |title=Air Vice-Marshall E.W. Pinto|url=http://pibarchive.nic.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/DEFENCE/1963-OCT-DEC-MIN-OF-DEFENCE-/PDF/DEF-1963-11-22_150.pdf |website=pibarchive.nic.in |date=22 November 1963}}</ref><ref name=Pandey2017>{{cite book |last1=Pandey |first1=Hemant Kumar |last2=Singh |first2=Manish Raj |title=India's major military & rescue operations |date=2017 |publisher=Horizon Books |isbn=978-93-86369-39-0 |pages=30–31|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eqgsEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA30 |language=en |chapter=3. Operation Vijay: Annexation of Portuguese India (1961)}}</ref>
|-
| [[Mohinder Singh Pujji|Mahinder Singh Pujji]] ||1918 – 2010 || Born in 1918, died in 2010. || [[File:Mohinder Singh Pujji.jpg|100px]] || <ref name=Visram2014>{{cite ODNB |last1=Visram |first1=Rozina |title=Pujji, Mahinder Singh (1918–2010), fighter pilot |date=9 January 2014 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/103160 |isbn=978-0-19-861411-1 |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-103160 |language=en|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
|-
| Om Prakash Sanghi || ||Arrived in England age 25 years. || ||<ref name=BR.IAFVR/>
|-
| [[Satya Pal Shahi]] || || Retired in 1973. || || <ref name=BR.Shahi>{{cite web |title=Service Record for Air Vice Marshal Satya Pal Shahi 1601 GD(P) at Bharat Rakshak.com |url=https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/1601 |website=Bharat Rakshak |access-date=13 November 2022 |language=en-gb|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240730114611/https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/indianairforce/database/1601|archive-date=30 July 2024}}</ref><ref name=Reed>{{cite book |last1=Reed |first1=Sir Stanley |title=Indian and Pakistan Year Book and Who's who |date=1972 |publisher=Times of India Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z0QjAQAAMAAJ&q=Satya+Pal+Shahi |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| Gurbachan Singh || || Died in crash on 12 April 1941 after hitting telephone wires. || || <ref name=BR.Gur>{{cite web |title=Indian Air Force Aircraft Data [www.bharat-rakshak.com] |url=https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/Aircraft/T7959 |website=Bharat Rakshak |access-date=27 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702110837/https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/Aircraft/T7959 |archive-date=2 July 2022 |language=en-gb}}</ref>
|-
| [[Shivdev Singh]] || || Arrived in England at age 20 years. He made 22 operational flights over [[German-occupied Europe|Germany occupied territory]]. Later became Air Marshal and then Vice of Air Staff in post-independent India. Credited his fame to looking like Man Mohan Singh. || [[File:Shivdev Singh.jpg|100px]] || <ref name=Chowdhry2018/><ref name=BR.Dev>{{cite web |title=Service Record for Air Marshal Shivdev Singh 1595 F(P) at Bharat Rakshak.com |url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/1595 |website=Bharat Rakshak |access-date=13 November 2022 |language=en-gb|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226193637/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/1595|archive-date=26 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DdohlIUDakUC&pg=RA10-PA10 |title=Sainik Samachar |publisher=Director of Public Relations, Ministry of Defence |year=1970 |pages=10 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| Tarlochan Singh || || Born 28 July 1915. Killed whilst training. || || <ref name=Sapru2014/><ref name=BR.Tar>{{cite web |title=Service Record for Pilot Officer Tarlochan Singh 1631 GD(P) at Bharat Rakshak.com |url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/1631 |website=Bharat Rakshak |access-date=27 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227085040/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/1631 |archive-date=27 December 2022 |language=en-gb}}</ref>
|-
| [[Man Mohan Singh (pilot)|Man Mohan Singh]] || || Older than the others, they referred to him as "cha-cha". Killed in action. ||[[File:Man Mohan Singh (died 1942).jpg|100px]] || <ref name=Nair2019.2/><ref name=Chowdhry2018/>
|-
| Ganjam Subbaramaiah || || First to die. || || <ref name=BR.IAFVR/><ref name=Sapru2014/>
|-
| Chaman Lal Tandon || ||Arrived in England age 21 years. || || <ref name=BR.IAFVR/>
|}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Indian pilots arrival in UK (1940).png|Arrival in the UK<ref name=DGM1940>{{cite news |title=East meets west|work= Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough|date=9 November 1940|page=2|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000770/19401109/050/0002|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
File:Indian pilots (UK, 1940), tea.png|Tea time
File:Indian pilots (1940).png|19 of the pilots studying maps<ref name=ILN1940>{{cite news |title=The camera's eye in war time|work= Illustrated London News|date=23 November 1940|page=664|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001578/19401123/062/0019|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
</gallery>

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{YouTube|KQx_j5UkyAI|Arrival at London, 8 October 1940}} ([[Pathé News|British Pathé]])
*{{YouTube|QtLwn5sSmsI|Indian Air Force Volunteer Reserve Pilots at RAF Prestwick 1940}} (British Pathé)
*{{cite web |title=Indian Air Force Gallery :: The twenty four Indian pilots |url=https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Galleries/History/WW2/RAF24/IndPilotswithRAF.jpg.html |website=Bharat Rakshak |access-date=13 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113095458/https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Galleries/History/WW2/RAF24/IndPilotswithRAF.jpg.html|archive-date=13 November 2022}}

[[Category:Indian Air Force]]
[[Category:Indian World War II pilots]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:1940 in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:24 Indian pilots]]

24 Indian pilots - Revision history

GeorgiannaN07 at 13:22, 23 January 2026