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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Infobox military person<br />
|honorific_prefix = [[Air commodore (India)|Air Commodore]]<br />
|name = Narendra<br />
|honorific_suffix = <br />
|birth_date ={{birth date|df=yes |1912|11|01}}<br />
|birth_place =[[Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh|Fatehpur]], [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh]], [[British India]]<br />
|death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1951|10|06|1912|11|01}}<br />
|death_place = [[Gülnar]], [[Turkey]]<br />
|image = <br />
|nickname = <br />
|allegiance ={{flag|British India}} (1933-1947)<br />{{flag|India}} (from 1947)<br />
|branch = {{air force|British India}} (1933-1947) <br> {{air force|India}} (1947-1951)<br />
|serviceyears = 1933 – 1951<br />
|rank = [[File:India-AirForce-OF-6-collected.svg|20px]] [[Air commodore (India)|Air Commodore]] <br />
|servicenumber = <!-- Do not use data from primary sources such as service records --><br />
|unit = [[No. 1 Squadron IAF]]<br />
|commands = [[Training Command (India)|No.2 Training Group]]<br/>[[PAF Base Kohat|RAF Base Kohat]]<br />
|battles_label = <br />
|battles = [[World War II]]<br/>[[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948]]<br />
|awards = <br />
}}<br />
[[Air commodore (India)|Air Commodore]] '''Narendra''' was an officer of the [[Indian Air Force]] (IAF). One of the pioneers of the IAF, he last served as the Air Officer-in-charge Technical and Equipment Services at Air HQ. He was killed when his [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|Dakota]] aircraft crashed near [[Gülnar]] in Southern Turkey. At the time of his death, he was the third senior-most officer of the IAF, after [[Air marshal (India)|Air Marshal]]s [[Subroto Mukerjee]] and [[Aspy Engineer]].<br />
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==Early life and education==<br />
Narendra was born in [[Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh|Fatehpur]] in the [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh]] on 1 November 1912. He attended the [[University of Allahabad]]. While he was a student, he received the 'A' flying license from the Karachi flying club. He entered the [[RAF College Cranwell]] in early 1932. This was the third batch of Indian pilots at Cranwell and he was one of three Indian pilots in the batch, which included [[Wing Commander]] [[Karun Krishna Majumdar]].<ref name="PIB Bio">{{cite web |title=AIR COMMODORE NARENDRA |url=https://archive.pib.gov.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/DEFENCE/1951-JAN-DEC-DEFENCE/PDF/DEF-1951-10-06_179.pdf |website=archive.pib.gov.in |access-date=19 December 2022}}</ref><br />
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==Military career==<br />
Narendra was commissioned on 16 December 1933 as a [[Pilot officer]]. After completing his training at Cranwell, he received further training at the [[School of Land/Air Warfare|Army Cooperation School]] at [[Old Sarum Airfield]] in [[Wiltshire]]. He returned to India and joined the [[No. 1 Squadron IAF]].<ref name="BR article">{{cite web |title=Air Commodore Narendra – Bharat Rakshak |url=https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/history/1930s/narendra/ |website=bharat-rakshak.com |access-date=19 December 2022}}</ref> In 1936, a rebellion erupted in [[North-West Frontier Province]] (NWFP), led by the [[Pukhtoon]] tribes. The Indian Air Force were forced to play a major role in containing the rebellion, due to the harsh terrains of the region. He served with the squadron during the air operations in [[North-West Frontier Province]].<br />
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In September 1941, Narendra was posted to the ''Initial Training Centre'' at [[Walton, Lahore]]. Later that year, he volunteered to join the [[50th Parachute Brigade (India)|50th Parachute Brigade]].<ref name="Gp Capt"/> He became the first Regular Air Force officer to qualify as a paratrooper. He subsequently served on the air staff of [[No. 224 Group RAF]]. The 224 Group was based out of Kolkata, and later at Chittagong. He was then posted to the Bengal Command, where he had aerodrome inspection duties and was responsible for the building of forward landing grounds in East Bengal and the [[Assam Province]].<ref name="PIB Bio" /><br />
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In October 1943, Narendra became the Air Force representative on the Directorate of Selection of personnel. On 12 May 1944, he was appointed the Officer-in-charge flying training and frontier air operations at [[PAF Base Kohat|RAF Base Kohat]]. He subsequently took command of the base later that year. In 1945, he was appointed Commandant of the Indian Air Training Corps. After the war, he took command of the Royal Indian Air Force Depot in Arakkonam.<ref name="PIB Bio" /><br />
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On 14 May 1947, he was promoted to the acting rank of [[Group captain (India)|Group Captain]] and was appointed Senior Officer-in-charge of Administration at No.2 Indian Group headquarters at Bangalore. He was promoted to the rank along with Wing Commander [[Mehar Singh (IAF officer)|Mehar Singh]].<ref name="Gp Capt">{{cite web |title=TWO NEW GROUP CAPTAINS FOR RIAF |url=https://archive.pib.gov.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/DEFENCE/1947-JULY-DEC-MIN-OF-DEFENCE/PDF/DEF-1947-05-15_235.pdf |website=archive.pib.gov.in |access-date=19 December 2022}}</ref><br />
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===Post-Independence===<br />
On 4 November 1947, Narendra was promoted to the acting rank of [[Air commodore (India)|Air Commodore]], the third Indian to hold the rank - after [[Subroto Mukerjee]] and [[Aspy Engineer]]. He was appointed the Air Officer Commanding No.2 Training Group, the precursor to the [[Training Command (India)|Training Command]]. The group comprised the majority of the ground training schools and all units of the RIAF in Southern India.<ref name="AOC">{{cite web |title=AIR COMMODORE NARENDRA TO COMMAND NO.2 GROUP RIAF |url=https://archive.pib.gov.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/DEFENCE/1947-JULY-DEC-MIN-OF-DEFENCE/PDF/DEF-1947-11-04_420.pdf |website=archive.pib.gov.in |access-date=19 December 2022}}</ref><br />
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After a year-long tenure, he was appointed Air Officer-in-Charge Technical and Supply services at Air headquarters. One of the three Principal staff officers (PSO) at Air HQ, he had the directorates of Equipment and Technical services under him. The directorates had responsibility of procurement, maintenance and servicing of all aircraft of the RIAF. On 1 February 1949, the appointment was renamed to Air Officer-in-Charge Technical and Equipment Services. On 1 October 1951, he was made substantive Air Commodore.<ref name="BR profile">{{cite web |title=Service Record for Air Commodore Narendra 1556 GD(P) at Bharat Rakshak.com |url=https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/1556 |website=Bharat Rakshak |access-date=19 December 2022 |language=en-gb}}</ref><br />
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==Death==<br />
Narendra was flying a [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|Dakota]] No. HJ-920 from England to India. While flying over the Mediterranean between Malta and Cyprus, the aircraft encountered adverse weather conditions over Cyprus. Emergency landing at [[Nicosia]] was not possible because of poor visibility. The aircraft lost its way in the fog and crashed near Gulnar in the Mersin province in Southern Turkey. The crash resulted in the death of all five crew. Along with Narendra were Flying Officer P. V. Phillipose, Flying Officer Sunil Kumar Ghosh, Sergeant B. S. Gill and Sergeant D'Souza.<ref name="PIB military funeral">{{cite web |title=AIRCRASH VICTIMS |url=https://archive.pib.gov.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/DEFENCE/1951-JAN-DEC-DEFENCE/PDF/DEF-1951-10-15_191.pdf |website=archive.pib.gov.in |access-date=19 December 2022}}</ref><br />
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The mortal remains of Narendra, Ghosh and Gill were cremated with full military honours by the [[Gendarmarie]] at Gulnar. Phillipose and D'Souza were buried at the cemetery in Mersin by the [[Turkish Army]].The Ambassador of India to Turkey, C. S. Jha, the Governor and Mayor of Mersin, the military attache and officials from the Embassy of India in Ankara, Foreign Consuls and officers and men of the [[Turkish Armed Forces]] paid tribute.<ref>{{cite web |title=NewspaperSG - Terms and Conditions |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/indiandailymail19511010-1.2.2 |website=eresources.nlb.gov.sg |access-date=19 December 2022 |language=en-SG}}</ref><br />
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==Personal life==<br />
Narendra was married to Devinderbir Kaur Sahiba, the daughter of [[Ranbir Singh Jind]], the [[Maharaja]] of [[Jind State]]. The couple had a daughter. A son was born a few months after Narendra's death. His brothers-in-law, husbands of his wife's sisters, were Air Commodores R. H. D. Singh and J. C. Verma. His wife's brother, Flying Officer Gajinder Bir Singh also was an officer in the RIAF.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}<br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1950–1954)]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist|30em}}<br />
<br />
{{s-start}}<br />
{{s-mil}}<br />
{{s-bef| before = Cyril Douglas Adams}}<br />
{{s-ttl| title = [[Air Officer Commanding]] [[Training Command (India)|No.2 Training Group]]| years = 1947–1948}}<br />
{{s-aft| after = R. H. D. Singh}}<br />
{{s-new| reason = First holder}}<br />
{{s-ttl| title = Air Officer-in-Charge Technical & Equipment Services| years = 1949–1951}}<br />
{{s-aft| after = [[Aspy Engineer]]}}<br />
{{s-end}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Narendra}}<br />
[[Category:1912 births]]<br />
[[Category:1951 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Indian Air Force officers]]<br />
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell]]<br />
[[Category:Indian aviators]]<br />
[[Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Turkey]]<br />
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1951]]</div>Bot