List of historical aircraft of the Indian Air Force

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Created by Bogdanrfw
Last edited November 15, 2025


The Indian Air Force is one of the three constituents of the Indian Armed Forces.[1] It was established in 1932.[2]

The Air Force operates a combination of combat, reconnaissance, transport aircraft, and helicopters.[3] The early fleet consisted majorly of imported planes while HAL designed and built some aircraft locally. HAL was involved in license production of some of the foreign aircraft in India.[4]

Aircraft

Template:Multiple image

Name Origin Primary
role(s) 		Introduced Retired Count Notes
Introduced into service before 1947
Westland Wapiti United Kingdom Liaison 1933 1942 28 [5]
Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta United Kingdom Transport 1941 1944 5
Avro Anson I United Kingdom Basic trainer 1942 1945 7 [6]
Boulton Paul Defiant TT.III United Kingdom Target tug 1944 1945 ?
Bristol Blenheim I United Kingdom Bomber 1941 1942 5
de Havilland D.H.86B United Kingdom Transport 1940 1942 2
de Havilland Dragon Rapide United Kingdom Transport 1941 1945 4
de Havilland Tiger Moth United Kingdom Basic trainer 1939 1957 192
Douglas Dakota United States Transport 1944 1987 206
Fairchild PT-19 United States Basic trainer 1943 1946 40 Template:Sfn[7]
Harlow PC-5A United States Transport 1941 1942 4
Hawker Audax United Kingdom Liaison 1939 1945 7
Hawker Hart United Kingdom Bomber 1939 1942 7
Hawker Hind United Kingdom Bomber 1939 1941 6
Hawker Hurricane United Kingdom Fighter-bomber 1942 1945 ?
North American Harvard Mk.II and 4 Canada Basic trainer 1942 1973 ?
Supermarine Spitfire Vc & VIIIc United Kingdom Fighter/Reconnaissance 1943 1948 19 [8]
Vickers Valentia United Kingdom Transport 1942 1944 1
Vultee Vengeance United States Bomber 1942 1945 35 [9]
Westland Lysander II United Kingdom Liaison 1941 1943 25 [10]
Westland Lysander III.T United Kingdom Target tug 1941 1942 48 [10]
Airspeed Oxford United Kingdom Transport 1946 1949 5
Auster AOP.6 United Kingdom Liaison 1946 1970 20
Hawker Tempest II United Kingdom Fighter 1945 1955 235 [11]
Supermarine Spitfire FR.XIVE & FR.XVIII United Kingdom Fighter/Reconnaissance 1945 1957 120 [8]
Introduced into service between 1947 and 1970
Aero Ae-45 Czechoslovakia Transport 1955 1957 1
Antonov An-12 Soviet Union Transport 1961 1993 65
Auster AOP.9 United Kingdom Liaison 1955 1981 35
Bell 47G-2 United States Helicopter 1957 1979 15
Consolidated B-24J Liberator United States Bomber 1948 1967 45 Template:Efn[12]
Dassault MD. 450B Ouragan France Fighter-bomber 1953 1967 104 Template:EfnTemplate:Sfn
Dassault Mystère MD.454 IVA France Fighter-bomber 1957 1973 104
de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter Canada Transport 1956 1998 36
de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou Canada Transport 1963 1991 26 [13]
de Havilland Devon United Kingdom Transport 1947 1991 22
de Havilland Vampire F.3 United Kingdom Fighter 1948 1955 3
de Havilland Vampire FB.52 United Kingdom Fighter-bomber 1950 1974 286 Template:Efn
de Havilland Vampire NF.10 United Kingdom Fighter 1953 1955 30
de Havilland Vampire NF.54 United Kingdom Fighter 1953 1966 30
de Havilland Vampire PR.55 United Kingdom Reconnaissance 1954 1965 5 Template:Efn
de Havilland Vampire T.11 United Kingdom Basic trainer 1963 ? 7
de Havilland Vampire T.55 United Kingdom Basic trainer 1953 1982 124 Template:Efn
English Electric Canberra B(I).58/B(I).66 United Kingdom Bomber/Reconnaissance 1957 2007 150 [14]
Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar United States Transport 1953 1984 89
Folland Fo.141 Gnat F.1 United Kingdom Fighter 1958 1978 ? Template:Efn
HAL HF-24 Marut Mk.1 India Fighter-bomber 1961 1985 147 Template:Sfn
HAL HT-2 India Basic trainer 1953 1998 169
Hawker Hunter FGA.56A United Kingdom Fighter-bomber 1957 1996 167
Hawker Hunter T.66 United Kingdom Basic trainer 1959 1992 40
Ilyushin Il-14 Soviet Union Transport 1955 1981 29
Lockheed Super Constellation United States Transport 1961 1981 9
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21F-13/FL/PFM/M/bis/Bison Soviet Union Fighter 1964 2025 872 [15][16][17][18]
Mil Mi-4 Soviet Union Helicopter 1960 1988 121
North American T-6G Texan United States Basic trainer 1973 ?
Percival Prentice T.3 United Kingdom Basic trainer 1947 1963 62 Template:Efn
Sikorsky S-55 United States Helicopter 1954 1966 8 Template:Efn
Sikorsky S-62B United States Helicopter 1960 1979 2
Supermarine Spitfire PR.XI & XIX United Kingdom Reconnaissance 1947 1959 15 [8]
Supermarine Spitfire T.IX United Kingdom Basic trainer 1947 1955 10
Vickers Viscount United Kingdom Transport 1955 1971 2
HAL Krishak India Liaison 1965 1988 68
HAL Pushpak India Basic trainer 1965 1967 25
Hawker Hunter F. Mk.56 United Kingdom Fighter 1966 1992 55
Sukhoi Su-7BMK/BKL Soviet Union Fighter-bomber 1968 1986 140 [19]
Tupolev Tu-124 Soviet Union Transport 1966 1981 3
Introduced into service after 1971
HAL Ajeet Mk.1 India Fighter 1977 1991 89 Template:Efn
HAL HPT-32 Deepak India Primary trainer 1984 2009 144 [20]
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23BN Soviet Union Fighter-bomber 1981 2009 95 [21]
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23MF Soviet Union Fighter 1982 2007 40
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25RBK/RU Soviet Union Reconnaissance 1981 2006 10 Template:EfnTemplate:Sfn
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-27ML Soviet Union Fighter 1985 2019 165 [22]
PZL TS-11 Iskra bis-D Poland Basic trainer 1975 2004 76 Template:Efn[23]
SEPECAT Jaguar IS GR.1 United Kingdom/France Ground attack 1979 1984 16 Template:Efn

See also

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

  1. ↑ Indian Armed Forces. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  2. ↑ HC Deb 3 April 1933 vol 276 cc1473-501(3 April 1933). Retrieved 8 April 2009.
  3. ↑ The Military Balance 2024{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. International Institute of Strategic Studies(2024). ISBN 978-1-032-78004-7
  4. ↑ Template:Cite press release
  5. ↑ The Westland Wapiti in Indian Air Force.
  6. ↑ No. 1 Service Flying Training School (India).
  7. ↑ Indian Air Force Gallery :: Training in the IAF. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 IAF-Spitfire.
  9. ↑ History of IAF. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Westland Lysander in Indian Air Force Service.
  11. ↑ IAF-Tempest.
  12. ↑ Consolidated B-24 Liberator.
  13. ↑ De Havilland DHC-4 Caribou. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  14. ↑ Canberra Farewell - Revell 1/72 B(I) 58. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  15. ↑ MiG-21 FL flies into history today after serving the IAF for 50 years. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  16. ↑ From warhorse to legend: MiG-21 to bow out after 62 years in Indian skies(22 July 2025). Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  17. ↑ A sentinel of the skies: After 62 years in service, IAF bids farewell to MiG-21; iconic fighter jet takes final bow(26 September 2025). Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  18. ↑ https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/mig21-fighter-jet-iaf-indian-air-force-trainer-aircraft-turned-war-machine-into-flying-coffin-kargil-war-operation-sindoor-2793467-2025-09-26
  19. ↑ A Whale Of A Fighter: The Su-7 In IAF Service.
  20. ↑ HAL HPT-32 Deepak. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  21. ↑ Last Flight of the MiG-23 BN.
  22. ↑ MiG-27 goes into history: Legacy of Indian Air Force's bahadur valiant. India Today(27 December 2019). Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  23. ↑ Swansong of the Iskaras.

Bibliography

Template:Refbegin

  • U.S. military Aircraft Designations and serials since 1909{{#if:Andrade|, Andrade}. Midland Counties Publ.(1979). ISBN 0 904597 22 9
  • The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Aerospace(1997). ISBN 1-85605-375-X
  • Green, William, The Indian Air Force and its Aircraft Ducimus Books, London, 1982, ASIN B004YXNILM
  • Template:Cite magazine
  • 1965 War, the Inside Story: Defence Minister Y.B. Chavan's Diary of India-Pakistan War{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors(2007). ISBN 978-81-269-0762-5
  • Sapru, Somanth, Combat Lore: Indian Air Force 1930-1945 K W Publishers, 2014, 978-9383649259
  • Singh, Pushpindar, Aircraft of the Indian Air Force 1933-1973 English Book Store, New Delhi, 1974, ASIN B00K0Q8MX6

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