Aspy Engineer

In 1931, Engineer entered the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. At Cranwell, he was awarded the Grove's Memorial Flying prize for the best all-round pilot during his term. He was commissioned as a pilot and joined the newly-formed No. 1 Squadron IAF. The No. 1 Squadron had only one flight and was then stationed in Drigh Road, Karachi. The flight was equipped with four Westland Wapiti biplanes. As part of the 'A' flight of the squadron, Engineer flew a Westland Wapiti and saw action in the Waziristan campaign (1936–1939).[4][11] In 1938, for action against the tribals, he became the first IAF Officer to be Mentioned in Dispatches.[12] In July 1938, three flights of the No. 1 Squadron IAF were formed and Engineer took command of the flight. He was one of the three flying officers of the three flights of No. 1 Squadron, the other two being Subroto Mukerjee and Karun Krishna Majumdar.[12]

In 1941, the No. 2 Squadron IAF was formed at Peshawar under the command of Squadron Leader A B Awan.[13] Engineer was one among seven pilots to be deputed to form the squadron and served as the Squadron Adjutant.[12] In June 1941, he was promoted to the acting rank of Squadron Leader and took over as the Commanding Officer of No. 2 Squadron. The squadron converted from Wapitis to the Hawker Audax in September, and later to Westland Lysander, under him.[14] Engineer led the squadron in operations in the Tochi Valley. In December 1942, Engineer was mentioned in dispatches for the second time and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for distinguished services in Waziristan.[15][16][17] In late 1942, he relinquished command of No. 2 Squadron, handing over to Squadron Leader Habib Ullah Khan. He subsequently tenanted staff appointments at Air Headquarters.

In December 1944, he was promoted to the acting rank of Wing Commander and took command of Air Force Station Kohat from Subroto Mukerjee. After commanding the airbase for over a year, Engineer was selected to attend the RAF Staff College, Bracknell. On his return to India in November 1946, he was promoted to the acting rank of Group Captain and then moved to Air HQ as the Air Officer-in-charge Administration (AOA).[18]

On 15 August 1947, with the partition of India, a new Air Headquarters of the Dominion of India was formed. Engineer was promoted to the acting rank of Air Commodore and continued in his appointment as AOA. After Mukerjee, he was the second Air Commodore to be appointed in the RIAF.[18] The assets of the Indian Air Force (like other branches of the military) had to be divided between the Dominions of India and Pakistan. Subroto Mukerjee and Engineer led the air force part of this committee.[19]

In September 1948, he assumed command of the No.1 Operational Group (later rechristened Western Air Command) from Air Commodore Mehar Singh.[20][21][22] As the Air Officer Commanding (AOC), he led the Group to support the troops in Jammu and Kashmir during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.[23] In July 1949, the Group was renamed Operational Command.[20] He was selected to attend the Imperial Defence College and embarked for the United Kingdom in late 1950. After the year-long course, he returned to India and was appointed Air Officer-in-Charge Technical & Equipment Service at Air HQ.

In 1952, Engineer took over as the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff and Deputy Air Commander, IAF.[24] He was promoted to the rank of Air Vice Marshal on 1 October 1954. In November 1954, he led the Air Force in a goodwill mission to Indonesia.[25] Engineer was deputed to the Hindustan Aircraft Limited (HAL) for a period of three years in 1958. On 28 May, he took over as the General Manager of HAL. On 23 May 1959, he became the second Indian to be promoted to the rank of Air Marshal.[26]

In November 1960, Air India inaugurated its service to Tokyo, Japan. Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee, CAS and Air Commodore (later ACM) Pratap Chandra Lal, then General Manager of the Indian Airlines Corporation were passengers on this flight. After landing in Tokyo, on 8 November 1960, Mukerjee was having a meal in a restaurant with a friend, an officer in the Indian Navy. A piece of food got lodged in his windpipe, choking him to death. Before a Doctor was called for and could attend, Mukerjee had passed away. The next day, his body was flown to Palam Airport, New Delhi.[27]

After Mukerjee's untimely demise, Engineer was appointed the next Air Chief in late November. On 1 December 1960, he took over as the second Indian Chief of the Air Staff.[7][28]