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Vinod Bhatia

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Air Marshal

Vinod Bhatia

PVSM, AVSM, VrC**
Born (1942-10-05) October 5, 1942 (age 82)
Mardan, North-West Frontier Province, British Raj (now Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Pakistan)
Allegiance India
Service / branch Indian Air Force
RankAir Marshal
CommandsWestern Air Command
Awards

Air Marshal Vinod K Bhatia (born 1942), PVSM, AVSM, VrC and Bar is a retired Indian Air Force officer. He is also known as 'Jimmy'. He was awarded the Vir Chakra during both the 1965 and 1971 wars, and thus became one of only five Indian Air Force officers to receive this honor.[1]

Early life and education

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Vinod Bhatia was born on 5 October 1942 in Mardan, a city in the North-West Frontier Province of the British Raj. He had three elder sisters and three younger brothers. His father, Ram Chander Bhatia, was a police officer in Peshawar. The Partition of India in 1947 was traumatic for the family; Vinod’s mother and all his brothers died during the migration to India. His father was incorporated into the Indian Police Service in the state of Rajasthan. Vinod completed his Matriculation exams at the University of Rajasthan when he was 13.5 years old. After studying for one year at the Maharaja College, Jaipur; Vinod joined the National Defence Academy when he was 15 years old.[1]

Career

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Vinod was commissioned as an officer on 26 May 1962 and received a medal from the Chief of the Air Staff for being the best ranked student. Vinod was despatched to the Kalaikunda Air Force Station, home to the No. 47 Squadron which flew the Dassault Ouragan. From 1962 to 1969, Vinod totaled 250 hours of flying on the Ouragan, primarily during his deployments with No. 47 and No. 29 Squadrons at the Hasimara Air Force Station and Tezpur Airport.[1]

After completing just a year as an officer, Vinod was sent to train with the United States Air Force.[1] He was one of 82 officers chosen for this training course, as its eligibility was pilots with more than 200 and less than 300 hours of flying. The officers first went to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas for a month of training with the Royal Air Force. They then trained at the Randolph Air Force Base (also in Texas), and flew Lockheed T-33 trainer aircraft. The pilots flew a total of 14 hours each on the T-33, divided into 90-minute long sorties. The pilots then trained at the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, flying both the T-33s and the North American F-86 Sabres. Vinod was one of three Indian officers who received the Top Gun award at the end of the course, the other two being Dadoo Subaiya and V. Vidyadhar.[2]

A color photograph of a metallic silver-colored jet numbered 2-EY in a museum. Another similar aircraft can be seen on the bottom.
A Dassault Mystère IV on display at the Musée de l'air et de l'espace in France

Vinod returned to India and was assigned to No. 8 Squadron which flew the Dassault Mystère IV. No. 8 Squadron was based at the Adampur Airport and Ambala Air Force Station. Vinod served with No. 8 Squadron from April 1964 to August 1966, and he flew for almost 500 hours during this time. Vinod was also awarded his first Vir Chakra while serving with No. 8 Squadron during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965. He was awarded the Vir Chakra for the 18 sorties he flew, during which he hit targets around the crucial Lahore region. During his first combat mission, he targeted Pakistani armoured cavalry near Dera Baba Nanak with SNEB rockets on 6th September 1965. The next day, he targeted the Bhagtanwala airfield, located east of Sargodha.[1]

Eight pilots of No. 8 Squadron bombed Bhagtanwala airfield; Vinod Bhatia and Vinod Patney were part of the first squad of this formation. The formation reached Bhagtanwala without being detected by the radar at Sakesar. The formation met with low visibility but managed to destroy two F-86 Sabres. After flying over the airfield again and bombing it, they returned to India. However, the formation pilots thought they should have participated in a second attack on Sargodha to achieve more results.[3] From 1966 to 1967, Vinod became a Pilot Attack Instructor, the Indian equivalent of a US Top Gun instructor. From 1956 to 1970, fewer than 200 pilots became Pilot Attack Instructors. In 1968, he flew Hawker Hunter aircraft with No. 37 Squadron. In 1969, he switched to flying the Sukhoi Su-7 with No. 32 Squadron based in Ambala. He served with No. 32 Squadron till 1972. Before the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 had even started, Vinod had flown 5 sorties against targets in Pakistan. He flew these sorties on the 23rd and 31st of October, and on the 9th, 10th and 30th of November. During these sorties, he targeted Domeil bridge, the Mirpur region, Rahim Yar Khan and Fort Abbas; flying from Pathankot Airport, Adampur, Jaisalmer Airport (twice) and the Sirsa Air Force Station respectively.[1] On the evening of 3rd December, Vinod and wing commander MS Grewal were the only two pilots present at Amritsar Air Force Station when it was bombed by Pakistani Dassault Mirage aircraft. On 4th December, No. 32 Squadron arrived in Amritsar from Ambala and began operating.[4] On 4th and 5th December, Vinod commanded three air strikes on PAF Base Rafiqui in Shorkot.[1]

On the 5th December raid, Vinod was the wingman of Vijay Vasant Tambay. The two pilots started bombing Rafiqui base at 1345 hours (1:45 PM local time). An afternoon strike was chosen because it was believed the Pakistani air defences would be inactive during lunch. However, 100 anti-aircraft guns had been deployed at Rafiqui base after the destructive 4th December raid. Tambay was hit by these guns during the second round of bombing and his plane crashed on the runway, Vinod asked him to eject but received no response.[5] MS Grewal was also shot down in Pakistan but he was repatriated.[4] Tambay and 53 other Indian defence personnel who went missing in Pakistan were never officially found, they were reported missing in action but most probably died as prisoners of war in Pakistan.[6] Vinod put three F-86 Sabres out of service during these bombing raids. He was awarded the bar to his Vir Chakra for this action, and thus became one of just five IAF officers to have ever received this honor.[2] The four other Indian Air Force officers who have received the Vir Chakra Bar are BK Bishnoi, AIK Suares, PL Dhawan and Vinod Neb.[7]

A color photograph of a metallic silver-colored aircraft numbered B784 on display in an open space
A Sukhoi Su-7 on display at the Museum of the Air Force Academy (India) in Dundigal

Vinod also flew two risky single aircraft missions during the war, and managed to photograph PAF Base Chaklala and PAF Base Murid fully. From 1974 to 1976, he was deployed in Kut to train Iraqi Air Force pilots on the Su-7, even though he was not a Qualified Flying Instructor. Vinod clocked a total of 1290 hours on the Su-7, the most hours on a Su-7 by an Indian pilot. He completed his staff college studies at the Defence Services Staff College in 1977. In 1981, as a wing commander, he became the commander of the No. 220 Squadron, which primarily flew the HAL HF-24 Marut. No. 220 was the second squadron after No. 10 Squadron to induct the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23, and Vinod commanded the squadron during this time. He led No. 220 Squadron for 2.5 years. From 1984 to 1987, Vinod was the Chief Operations Officer of the Leh Air Base when fighter jets were being deployed to the base after Operation Meghdoot and the ensuing Indian capture of the Siachen Glacier.[1]

Vinod was promoted to the rank of air commodore in 1988 at the age of 46. Starting in 1990, he commanded Srinagar Airbase during the violent Kashmir insurgency. For keeping the base combat ready during such volatile conditions, he was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal. In 1992, he studied at the Royal College of Defence Studies in Britain. From December 1997 to April 2002, Vinod served as the Air Officer Commander-in-Chief (AoC-in-C) of three air commands. Vinod served as the AoC-in-C of Central Air Command (CAC) during the Kargil War.[1] Anil Yashwant Tipnis, who was the chief of air staff during the war, says Vinod motivated the pilots of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 to conduct the photographing and reconnaissance of enemy positions, during a time when the aircraft was considered very risky and not useful for those tasks. Vinod flew in the aircraft during the trials to encourage other pilots and crew to also do so.[8] Vinod also served as the AoC-in-C of South Western Air Command (SWAC) from 1 November 1999 to 31 July 2001.[9] On 1 August 2001, Vinod was appointed the AoC-in-C of Western Air Command (WAC).[10] On the same day, in his capacity as SWAC commander, he inaugurated the Phalodi Air Force Station, located approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) from Jodhpur.[11] On 27 November 2001, after two years of trials, WAC inducted the Mikoyan MiG-29 at Leh Airbase, located 3,350 metres (10,990 ft) above sea level. Vinod said the MiG-29s at the airbase would give India much more access to Central Asia.[12]

An-32 crash

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On 19 February 2002,[13] Vinod flew an Antonov An-32 into the airspace of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) for 11 minutes while flying the first Indian Air Force flight to Kargil Airport.[14] Vinod was the chief pilot, Wing Commander Suryakant Chintaman Chafekar was the co-pilot, and Flight lieutenant V. Awasthy was the navigator. While attempting a landing at Kargil, Vinod probably flew close to the Line of Control (LoC) and a Pakistani missile hit the An-32. To rebalance his aircraft and gain altitude, Vinod flew over the LoC. Vinod later blamed Awasthy and Chafekar for not warning him about the An-32 flying towards the LoC.[15] According to Chafekar, Vinod was not qualified to fly the An-32, but still wanted to pilot it to Kargil Airbase as its inaugural flight. The usual approach to Kargil involved flying over Leh and attempting a landing at Kargil only after spotting the runway. However, according to Chafekar, Vinod directly turned left from Leh and started descending to save time. Chafekar also says Vinod wanted to land at Kargil even after being hit by a Pakistani missile. Chafekar says the missile hit the aircraft at a fortunate angle; any lower and it would have struck the fuselage, any higher and it would have torn off the aircraft’s wings.[13]

Vinod would not have been rebuked, but he claimed he had been fired at from Indian territory. This claim moved the Indian Army to ask for an inquiry, which was chaired by Manjit Singh Sekhon, the AoC-in-C of Southern Air Command (SAC). Vinod was then transferred from command of WAC to the post of inspector general. This was considered a demotion since the commander of WAC was only junior to the chief of air staff (COAS) in rank and power.[14] In fact, Vinod was the second highest ranked officer in the Indian Air Force at the time, with the highest ranked officer being Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy, then the COAS.[16]

A color photograph of a metallic, silver colored aircraft flying while tilted to the left. It is numbered KA-2867, Indian Air Force
An Antonov An-32 of the Indian Air Force

In an interview, Sekhon claimed Indian Army personnel had seen the An-32 fly over the Indus River in Batalik. Sekhon says eight officers and 50 soldiers had then seen a Pakistani missile hit the right wing of the An-32, which did not crash and instead landed at Leh. Sekhon claims there was political pressure on him to say in his report that the An-32 had not strayed into POK airspace, and that it had been hit inside Indian airspace. Sekhon further claims that a controversy was manufactured against him in order to divert political and public attention away from the An-32.[17] According to Indian journalist Praveen Swami, Vinod hadn’t paid attention to the advice given by the other pilots on board the An-32, which was then hit by a Pakistani surface to air missile that burnt the engine of the aircraft. Swami claimed Vinod had tried to deflect blame by saying he had been targeted by Indian gunfire;[18] however, Tipnis says the incident was a pilot error.[15] Swami further says that, had the An-32 crashed, it could have led to a border conflict.[18] Operation Parakram, India’s military mobilization was ongoing at the time.[15] The report prepared during Sekhon’s inquiry was not published, and Vinod asked that his matter be investigated again.[18]

According to the Indian newspaper The Telegraph, Vinod shouldn’t have flown the An-32 for the first flight to Kargil, and instead should have flown fighter jets. This is because the An-32 is bulky and slow, and landing in Kargil is tough. The Pakistani government said the An-32 had been fired at when it entered POK airspace, and then fired at again when it returned to Indian airspace. According to The Telegraph, both Vinod and Sekhon were not being considered for promotion to the rank of COAS even before the incident. Vinod was scheduled to retire in October 2002.[19] In another article, The Telegraph claimed that the An-32 had been hit by a FIM-92 Stinger missile, which has a range of 3.5 to 4 kilometres (2.2 to 2.5 mi). Indian Air Force aircraft usually fly 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) away from the LoC when flying to Kargil, but Kargil itself is located just 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) away from the LoC. The Telegraph also questioned whether the An-32 did not have or did not release thermal rounds to divert the heat seeking Stinger missiles.[20] Arjun Ray, commander of XIV Corps, had said Vinod had crossed the LoC and was hit by Pakistani fire before the inquiry was completed. Ray was reprimanded for this by Sundararajan Padmanabhan, then the Chief of the Army Staff, on the orders of George Fernandes, then the Minister of Defence.[15]

As of 1 August 2001, he had clocked more than 4,000 hours of flying on 16 different aircraft platforms.[10] During his career, he clocked almost 5,000 flying hours and was one of the most decorated officers of the Indian Air Force.[1] Vinod also held the record for the oldest Indian to have performed a tandem skydive jump. He executed the jump at the age of 56 in 1999, jumping from an An-32 near Agra Airport.[21] As of 2020, Vinod was a member of the executive council of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.[22] After the death of Vinod Neb in 2024, Vinod Bhatia is the only living Indian Air Force officer to have received the Vir Chakra Bar.[7]

Awards and decorations

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Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Vir Chakra (Bar) General Service Medal Samar Seva Star Paschimi Star
Siachen Glacier Medal Special Service Medal Raksha Medal Sangram Medal
Sainya Seva Medal High Altitude Service Medal Videsh Seva Medal 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal
25th Anniversary of Independence Medal 30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gupta 2022a.
  2. ^ a b Gupta 2022b.
  3. ^ Joshi 2019.
  4. ^ a b Gupta 2017.
  5. ^ Bisht Rawat 2021.
  6. ^ Saini 2025.
  7. ^ a b Chhina 2024b.
  8. ^ Tipnis 2024.
  9. ^ "South Western Air Command". Indian Air Force: Touch The Sky With Glory. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Air Marshal S Krishnaswamy: New Vice Chief of Air Staff". Press Information Bureau. 1 August 2001.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "Air force station inaugurated at Phalodi, Jodhpur". Zee News. 1 August 2001. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  12. ^ "India on a high". Flight Global. 27 November 2001. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  13. ^ a b Chhina 2024a.
  14. ^ a b Dutta 2002.
  15. ^ a b c d Gupta 2002.
  16. ^ "Air Marshal Sekhon told to quit". The Tribune. 18 March 2002. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  17. ^ Singh 2002.
  18. ^ a b c Swami 2002.
  19. ^ "People / Manjit Singh Sekhon". The Telegraph. 23 March 2002. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  20. ^ "Untold Story Of A Pak Stinger Missile Strike". The Telegraph. 4 March 2002. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  21. ^ "World Records: Limca Record Holders". Indian Air Force.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ "Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh chairs 165th EC meeting of MP-IDSA". Press Information Bureau. 8 May 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

Bibliography

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