Spitfire Singh

by Mike Edwards

  What do you do in a jungle clearing, with a collection of slow, obsolete reconnaissance aircraft?

  If you are Jumbo Majumdar, and it is the 2nd February 1942, you get Harjinder and his team together, and put forth an outrageous proposal…

  Jumbo hadn’t come all this way to float around the heads of the Japanese, offering them some additional target practice. He had decided that the IAF would become an offensive unit; a bomber squadron! He gave the order, or perhaps more of a firm request, to see if these lumbering beasts could be converted into bombers. He was keen to go into action, but not merely on a reconnaissance flight. It was more than just his desire to attack the Japanese, it was because he felt the IAF’s reputation would not grow if they tiptoed along the periphery, if they didn’t attack. The Lysanders were designed to carry six, tiny, 20 pound Cooper practice bombs, but he knew that Harjinder’s technicians could do better than this; he wanted a 250 pound bomb under each wing. Back at the Westland Aircraft Company, in Yeovil, Somerset, pencils would have been snapping on design tables had they heard this jungle conversation. Harjinder and his men went about their task and hung 250 pound bombs in place. They rigged a basic rope system to tug on, thereby releasing the bombs down on the Japanese, but hopefully not before, since as one AVG pilot wrote, they were ‘posing a serious risk of self-destruction as they clattered along the runway!’

  Jumbo decided not to ease into combat, not to settle into their bombing war role by carrying out some testing. No, he wanted to test out his obsolete reconnaissance Lysanders on a bombing mission against the most heavily-defended Japanese position; why waste precious bombs, was his stock answer to those who questioned him. He was determined to do his bit in the actual fighting, no matter the restrictions they faced with their slow, reconnaissance aircraft. Being of the same mind, Harjinder was thrilled to hear that the first mission in Burma would be a bombing one, and naturally, being the premier crew, with Jumbo, he would lead from the front.

  Harjinder had trained eagerly for this role, for this moment in time, for this, his moment in history.

  He had stepped away from the life of a civilian engineer, to further India’s struggle for Independence through the IAF, and this was the focus of all that effort. Jumbo could see the excitement in Harjinder’s demeanour, and so took him aside and asked him to listen carefully to what he had to say. He delivered the earth-shattering shock in a carefully-measured tone; Harjinder was to be replaced as Jumbo’s rear gunner.

  It took a few moments for Harjinder to register what he was being told; once he did, he sprang to attack – they had trained as team, they should stay together as a team. A fair point, but Jumbo soon dissuaded him. His argument was that the Squadron could not afford to lose both of them at one go in case his aircraft was shot down. It was the problem faced by squadron commanders before him, and squadron commanders right up to the present day. Do you pair up your best people, forming the best crews, to give them the best chance of success? Or do you dilute the experience over the squadron, reducing the chance of loss, but reducing the chance of a successful mission too? Jumbo had other concerns that influenced his decision as well; ‘You are as important to the Squadron as I am, perhaps more so, because you maintain the morale of the Airmen as well as the technical part of the Squadron. In my absence, a new Commanding Officer would need your guidance and advice.’ It also showed that Jumbo was under no illusion about the task ahead, there was a very reasonable chance he would not return.

  Harjinder was frustrated, of course. He viewed being Jumbo’s air gunner as a great privilege, but he had to yield to him because he knew that he was right; Harjinder could not help looking at Rustomjee with envy, as he took his place.

  Whether you were British, American, German or Japanese, the lessons from early aerial warfare was that you sent your bomber raids with a fighter escort. Jumbo was willing to, and planned to, go it alone. Also stationed in Toungoo was a group of New Zealand pilots flying in the RAF with 67 Squadron. One of these pilots, learning of Jumbo’s aggressive plan, insisted on flying as his escort into enemy territory. It seemed the New Zealanders were as mad as the Indians! As the bomb-loaded Lysander waddled out to take up its takeoff position, all the IAF, RAF and AVG pilots turned out to wave him off. How many did not expect to see him again? The Lysander accelerated slower than normal despite the engine giving the full throaty roar as usual. It was much further down the runway than normal when the wheels left the ground and Jumbo struggled to make height to clear the trees. The New Zealand pilot raced off after him looking deceptively agile. He was in a Brewster Buffalo fighter that looked like a barrel with wings stuck on as an afterthought. These fighters offered little real challenge in a proper dog fight against a Japanese fighter. However, the New Zealanders, and the AVG operating with them, had used their skill, more than better equipment, to give the Japanese a real bloody nose throughout January. Harjinder watched the two aircraft fade to dots and wrote; ‘The aircraft headed East and our hearts went with him. We prayed for him and kept a watch on the sky for his return.’

  Harjinder admitted that he had never known such a long and anxious wait. You can imagine the men trying to find something to do now that the boss, their talisman, had left.

  Jumbo settled the Lysander down into the now super-slow cruise speed lowering his aircraft towards the top of the jungle canopy. He skimmed the tops as close as he dared, flicking the occasional top most branches, both sets of eyes sweeping from horizon to horizon. About a mile away, slightly back and slightly higher was the barrel-like Buffalo zig-zagging above, and behind, to keep station at this unbearably slow speed. Low and slow being the worst conditions for a fighter. His presence probably made detection more likely and his usefulness in doubt against anything except a lone attacker, but it was still a comforting sight; they weren’t completely alone. Nobody likes the unknown, and this was the height of unknown.

  Waiting is harder than doing, and the two hours on the ground seemed to stretch into days. The hands of the clock seem to be playing games; the negative thoughts started to push themselves to the front. Distraction was no longer an option and, along with the others, Harjinder started to scan the Eastern horizon until suddenly the long-awaited shout went up. It was just a speck but surely it was an aircraft heading their way. When the speck in the sky soon became two specks they all jumped with joy. Briefly all military bearing evaporated. The Lysander landed; the wings were clean; the bombs had been dropped. It seemed to take an age until the propeller came to rest. The crowd stood back to let Jumbo step down. Jumbo Majumdar jumped down letting the details spill out to Harjinder and the gathered pilots. He had located the nearest Japanese airfield, Mae Haungsaun, climbing to gain some height, putting himself in full view. He pointed the nose down to dive at a higher speed (you couldn’t call any speed in a Lysander high!), through the expected machine gun fire. As he dragged the nose back onto the horizon, he pulled on the rope, and the aircraft leapt into the air like a scalded cat, as the weight of the bombs left the racks. One crashed through the roof of an aircraft hangar, the other into a wireless station before exploding, demolishing both. Jumbo held the Lysander down low, pleading for the aircraft to give him any possible additional speed as he expected the world to explode in machinegun fire around him.

  The pilot who escorted the Lysander was full of praise for Jumbo, he saw the hangar burning, and in his opinion Jumbo had struck a significant blow against the Japanese war effort. If perhaps a slight exaggeration, it was the first offensive strike against the Japanese for some time in that region. All the young IAF pilots now wanted to emulate Jumbo, and begged Harjinder to modify their aircraft. The news of Jumbo’s attack was flashed all over Burma, and his name became known overnight. The first day of operations was a resounding success, and a surprise to friend and foe alike.

  Night fell on their first day of combat. It had been only one aircraft and one bombing raid, but the IAF had achieved! In fact, they had achieved so well that the Japanese were not going t
o let it go without a fitting reply. At three o’clock in the morning, the Japanese engines could be heard in the area, and within seconds, the air raid warning started its wailing. The men ran and dived into the newly-prepared slit trenches. The Japanese gave them a real working over. The whistling of the bombs and the blast of their explosions were terrifying. Cabby took his mouth organ into the trenches and even while bombs were bursting around him, he kept on with his morale-raising music. Harjinder was annoyed with the troublesome Japanese. He thought when a man has been disturbed in his sleep it was bad enough, but when the cause is an air raid, he really had something to curse at! The silence after the bombers left was short lived. The drone of the second wave was close behind and soon the whistles and explosions created more havoc, and, one would assume, more cursing from Harjinder! Sleep was off the menu for that night. Harjinder wrote; ‘In the morning we were dead tired, partly due to lost sleep, but mostly due to the fear we had felt.’

  It was only the second day in the combat, only the 3rd February 1942, but the IAF were now part of fighting the Japanese, and they wanted to make more of a statement. Later in the day, another bombing attack was planned, this time with the majority of the aircraft, because after Jumbo’s exploit, no one would agree to be left out! Harjinder and team prepared all the Lysanders, and he supervised the loading of the bombs on the home-made bomb racks. One of the Indian armourers helping to load the bombs was Saigal. He had joined as a Sepoy just as Harjinder had, and it was clear that he had the same sort of drive like Harjinder; he was one to watch for the future.

  One of the Lysanders was going to miss the big show. The IAF were tasked to fly a Chinese General named Yun to Lashio. Ratnagar heaved a sigh of relief when Satyanarayana was selected to be the General’s personal chauffer. Ratnager wouldn’t miss the squadron attack.

  Before starting, Satyanarayana reluctantly went about his job, as the others were being briefed for the mission they all wanted to be on. With the General in the rear seat of Lysander P9131, he helped him with the web of straps. Having made sure his passenger was secured, Satyanarayana took the quick way down and jumped from the side of the rear cockpit to the ground. As he jumped, the ring on his right hand caught on the ammunition box stowage for the rear gun.

  Satyanarayana fell to the ground in pain, the ring having very nearly severed his finger completely. ‘It was hanging by just the flesh’, recalled Ratnagar. Satyanarayana briefly shouted in pain before passing out. It was pretty obvious that he was not going to do any flying. It was an awkward situation, Gen Yun was sitting in the rear seat of the Lysander, all strapped in and ready to go, and there was no pilot to fly him! Ratnagar’s blood turned cold as Joe Prasad approached him. He knew he was going to miss the chance of being a part of history!

  The early days at Karachi Air Force Base

  Harjinder (standing centre) on one of those early training exercises

  The bag and rope method to start a reluctant engine

  The IAF Army Cooperation Wapitis with the long hook underneath

  Sepoys arming a Wapiti

  Harjinder as a rear gunner in the leading Wapiti

  Bouchier sitting front and centre with 1 Sqn IAF

  Harjinder, in cap and webbing belt, looking at the camera, travels 3rd class by train

  Preparation for operations in the North-West Frontier

  Sergeant Harjinder Singh, with medal, stands in front of his Wapiti

  Harjinder and team working on a Wapiti propeller

  A signed picture of Harjinder, with his back to the camera, choosing a gramophone record

  Harjinder, wearing the tie, with his team and the ‘new’ Lysander

  Practicing for war

  Amit Saigal, pictured in Burma, would become Harjinder’s closest friends

  A brief moment of calm in Burma for Saigal and the men

  The propaganda poster confused many people into believing Harjinder was the pilot!

  Jumbo, front row second on the left, was a last minute addition to No. 263 Squadron RAF before D-Day

  The raw materials Harjinder had to work with to form IAF bomber squadrons

  Happier times ahead for Harjinder

  The Harvard aircraft unofficially flown by Harjinder

  The Tempest aircraft used by Moolgavkar in Kashmir, and kept flying by Harjinder

  Harjinder flies the Spitfire

  Harjinder stepping out of Asia’s first jet: The Vampire

  Another challenge for Harjinder. A sad looking Aero 45

  Harjinder shows Menon the Kanpur-I aircraft he designed and built

  Harjinder prepares to start production of the Avro 748. Is the Haig Whiskey crate by chance or design?

  Harjinder left with Subroto Mukerjee

  Nehru inaugurates the Avro 748 named “Subroto” by Harjinder

  Harjinder leaves the IAF in his Bonanza

  Air Vice-Marshal Harjinder Singh MBE

  Harjinder sporting his IAF pilot wings

  Harjinder’s coffin

  Found in a Hangar still showing the holes after the Mirage crash; The HT2 in front, a Vampire and Harjinder’s Spitfire

  As the secondhands on every pilot’s watch ticked away to the allocated time, all propellers started turning in unison, to be joined by the sound of the engines arriving from different corners of the airfield. The aircraft rattled, shook, and lurched from their individual jungle hideaways to the assembly point at the end of the runway. The desire to take the fight to the Japanese was infectious and two aircraft from No. 28 Squadron, RAF, also joined the party! Harjinder watched his pilot, Jumbo, once again taking to the air without him. This time he was like the mother goose, leading the unsteady fledglings into the air. Jumbo’s aircraft circled once overhead before turning East when the other aircraft formed up close enough around him to keep him in sight, but giving each other enough room to weave whilst scanning the horizon. Jumbo then took the formation down to tree-hopping height, introducing the others to the sudden snap of a random extra-long branch getting in the way. As they crawled up the side of a hill, approaching the crest, each one would skim over the shoulders of the hill trying to keep their silhouetted aircraft visible for as little time as possible. The many months of flying over the rough country of the North-West Frontier had taught them much, but now they closed in on a different enemy. They were relying on their camouflage to keep them out of sight of the fighters. All the information they had, was that the Japanese liked to stay high, therefore low, low, low, was how they would fly. Zig-zagging behind them were two of the New Zealand Buffalo fighters, and protecting their base was some of the American AVG pilots; a real multi-national attack.

  Each cockpit was its own little world of a pilot and his tail gunner. Some exchanged a few words but all had their total concentration focused outside the cockpit, scanning for fighters. Fighters meant death; it was that simple. Jumbo led them over the ragged, green, carpet of jungle towards Mae Haungsaun, the Japanese airfield. Staying a few feet, sometimes a few inches, above the trees, offered them some protection. Any engine malfunction now and that protection would only offer them death.

  The Lysanders closed in together. Then as one, the Squadron climbed into position, and prepared to unleash their loads. They faithfully followed Jumbo’s lead as he pushed the nose down to dive over the perimeter of the airfield. Each pilot picking out his target, checking left and right to ensure no comrades were drifting into the same bubble of space, before concentrating on exactly where his bombs would end up. The painful wait was at an end when the Lysanders accelerated into their dive, then one by one, after the sharp tug on the rope in the cockpit, they jumped heavenwards as the weight of the bombs was shed. They played merry hell with enemy installations causing the last few Lysander pilots to fling their mounts around in an attempt to avoid the plumes of smoke, dirt, rubble and shrapnel. Every pilot knew the routine – the second the bombs dropped from the aircraft; drag the aeroplane’s nose up until it rested on the horizon; keep the aircraft as close to
the ground as you dare until at the tree line, then pop up no more than absolutely necessary. They all headed for Jumbo’s machine, now able to coax more speed out of their machines with the bombs gone, and fuel used, but this was still a painfully slow return in this obsolete, reconnaissance-turned-bomber aircraft. There was no time for rejoicing, shouts of joy, or slaps on the back. All felt the thrill of completing their first raid, but they had to get home first, and with the fires burning behind them, it felt as if every Japanese fighter in Burma must be after them. Facing backwards, the rear gunners expected the hornets’ nest they had just kicked to explode, with swarms chasing them. All eyes were once again, endlessly, rotating in sockets, looking for fighters as the pilots pushed the aircraft even lower. The jungle canopy was their saviour, but a slight misjudgement, and it could also be their killer.