List of historical aircraft of the Indian Air Force

From Bharatpedia, an open encyclopedia


Westland Wapiti, one of the first aircraft flown by the Royal Indian Air Force.
Consolidated-Vultee B-24 Liberator heavy bomber over the Deccan plateau in the early 1950s
Canberra medium bomber
Mystere IVA being armed with cannon rounds during September 1965

Aircraft[edit]

Name Origin Primary
role(s)		 Service
period		 #
used		 Notes
Aero Ae-45 Czechoslovakia transport 1955–1957 1
Airspeed Oxford UK transport 1946–1949 5
Antonov An-12 USSR transport 1961–1993 65
Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta UK transport 1941–1944 5
Auster AOP.6 UK army co-operation 1946–1970 20 ca.
Auster AOP.9 UK army co-operation 1955–1981 35
Avro Anson I UK trainer 1942–1945 7 [1]
Bell 47G-2 US helicopter 1957–1979 15
Boulton Paul Defiant TT.III UK target tug 1944–1945 small #
Bristol Blenheim I UK bomber 1941–1942 5
Consolidated B-24J Liberator US bomber 1948–1967 45 [note 1][2]
Dassault Ouragan (Toofani) France fighter 1953–1967 104 [note 2][3][4]
Dassault Mystère IV France fighter 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 [5]
de Havilland Devon UK transport 1947–1991 22
de Havilland D.H.86B UK transport 1940–1942 2
de Havilland Dragon Rapide UK transport 1941–1945 4
de Havilland Tiger Moth UK trainer 1939–1957 192
de Havilland Vampire F.3 UK day fighter 1948–1955 3
de Havilland Vampire FB.52 UK fighter-bomber 1950–1974 286 [note 3]
de Havilland Vampire NF.10 UK night fighter 1953–1955 30
de Havilland Vampire NF.54 UK night fighter 1953–1966 30
de Havilland Vampire PR.55 UK photo reconnaissance 1954–1965 5 [note 4]
de Havilland Vampire T.11 UK trainer 1963–? 7
de Havilland Vampire T.55 UK trainer 1953–1982 124 [note 5]
Douglas Dakota US transport 1946–1987 206
English Electric Canberra UK bomber/reconnaissance 1957–2007 150 [6]
Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar US transport 1953–1984 89
Fairchild PT-19 US trainer 1943–1946 40 [7][8]
Folland Gnat UK lightweight fighter 1958–1978 ? [note 6]
HAL Ajeet India lightweight fighter 1977–1991 89 [note 7]
HAL HF-24 Marut India bomber 1961–1985 147 [9]
HAL HT-2 India trainer 1953–1998 169
HAL Krishak India army co-operation 1965–1988 68
HAL Pushpak India trainer 1965–1967 25
Harlow PC-5A US transport 1941–1942 4
Hawker Audax UK army co-operation 1939–1945 7
Hawker Hart (India) UK bomber 1939–1942 7
Hawker Hind UK bomber 1939–1941 6
Hawker Hunter F.56 UK fighter 1966–1992 55
Hawker Hunter FGA.56 UK fighter-bomber 1957–1996 167
Hawker Hunter T.66 UK trainer 1959–1992 40
Hawker Hurricane UK fighter-bomber 1942–1945 ?
Hawker Tempest II UK fighter 1945–1955 235 [10]
Ilyushin Il-14 USSR transport 1955–1981 29
Lockheed Super Constellation US transport 1961–1981 9
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21FL USSR fighter 1964–2013 332 [note 8][11]
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23BN USSR fighter-bomber 1981–2009 95 [12]
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23MF USSR fighter 1982–2007 40
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25RBK & RU USSR reconnaissance 1981–2006 10 [note 9][13]
Mikoyan MiG-27 USSR fighter 1985–2019 165 [14]
Mil Mi-4 USSR helicopter 1960–1988 121
North American Harvard Mk.II and 4 Canada trainer 1942–1973 ?
North American T-6G Texan US trainer –1973 ?
Percival Prentice T.3 UK trainer 1947–1963 62 [note 10]
PZL TS-11 Iskra bis D Poland trainer 1975–2004 76 [note 11][15]
SEPECAT Jaguar GR.I UK/France ground attack 1979–1984 16 [note 12]
Sikorsky S-55 US helicopter 1954–1966 8 [note 13]
Sikorsky S-62B US helicopter 1960–1979 2
Sukhoi Su-7 Fitter USSR fighter-bomber 1968–1986 140 [16]
Supermarine Spitfire Vc & VIIIc UK fighter/reconnaissance 1943–1948 19 [17]
Supermarine Spitfire FR.XIVE & FR.XVIII UK fighter reconnaissance 1945–1957 120 [17]
Supermarine Spitfire PR.XI & XIX UK photo reconnaissance 1947–1959 15 [17]
Supermarine Spitfire T.IX UK trainer 1947–1955 10
Tupolev Tu-124 USSR transport 1966–1981 3
Tupolev Tu-142 USSR maritime patrol/anti-submarine warfare 1988-2017 8 [note 14][18]
Vickers Viscount UK transport 1955–1971 2
Vickers Valentia UK transport 1942–1944 1
Vultee Vengeance US dive bomber 1942–1945 35 ca. [19]
Westland Lysander II UK army co-operation 1941–1943 25 ca. [20]
Westland Lysander III.T UK target tug 1941–1942 48 ca. [20]
Westland Wapiti UK army co-operation 1933–1942 28 [21]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ↑ ex-RAF World War Two lend-lease bombers refurbished by HAL.
  2. ↑ Target tug from 1965, retired in 1967.
  3. ↑ 247 built under licence by HAL.
  4. ↑ PR.55 were T.55s converted to photo reconnaissance.
  5. ↑ 60 T.55s built under licence by HAL.
  6. ↑ licence built by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL)
  7. ↑ improved Folland Gnat, includes 10 upgraded Gnats.
  8. ↑ other variants remain operational.
  9. ↑ 6 MiG-25RBK and 2 MiG-25RU
  10. ↑ includes 42 built by HAL.
  11. ↑ 26 aircraft bought in the 1990s.
  12. ↑ Other variants still operational
  13. ↑ Some sources indicate that the S-55 was in use until 1968
  14. ↑ was used by Indian Navy, not IAF

Citations[edit]

  1. ↑ "No.1 Service Flying Training School (India)". Archived from the original on 3 August 2012.
  2. ↑ Consolidated B-24 Liberator [www.bharat-rakshak.com] Archived 2012-01-12 at the Wayback Machine. Bharat-rakshak.com (2007-01-18). Retrieved on 2010-09-08.
  3. ↑ Jackson 1988, pp. 76–77.
  4. ↑ Jackson 1988, pp. 78
  5. ↑ "De Havilland DHC-4 Caribou [www.bharat-rakshak.com]". Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  6. ↑ Canberra Farewell - Revell 1/72 B(I) 58 [www.bharat-rakshak.com]. Bharat-rakshak.com. Retrieved on 2010-09-08.
  7. ↑ Andrade 1979, p. 239
  8. ↑ "Indian Air Force Gallery :: Training in the IAF".
  9. ↑ Donald 1997, p.523.
  10. ↑ IAF-Tempest Archived 2014-08-24 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ "MiG-21 FL flies into history today after serving the IAF for 50 years". ibnlive.in.com. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  12. ↑ Last Flight of the MiG-23 BN [www.bharat-rakshak.com] Archived 2011-06-09 at the Wayback Machine. Bharat-rakshak.com. Retrieved on 2010-09-08.
  13. ↑ Pradhan & Chavan 2007, p. xiv
  14. ↑ "MiG-27 goes into history: Legacy of Indian Air Force's bahadur valiant". India Today. 27 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  15. ↑ Swansong of the Iskaras Archived 2007-11-18 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ A Whale Of A Fighter: The Su-7 In IAF Service Archived 2009-12-30 at the Wayback Machine. Bharat-rakshak.com (1971-12-12). Retrieved on 2010-09-08.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 IAF-Spitfire Archived 2007-12-06 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ↑ "Indian Navy to de-induct long-range patrol aircraft TU 142M after 29 years of service". The Economic Times. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  19. ↑ "History of IAF". Archived from the original on 9 April 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Westland Lysander in Indian Air Force Service Archived 2008-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ↑ The Westland Wapiti in Indian Air Force Archived 2013-07-28 at the Wayback Machine

Bibliography[edit]

  • Andrade, John, U.S.Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909 Midland Counties Publications, 1979, ISBN 0 904597 22 9.
  • Green, William, The Indian Air Force and its Aircraft Ducimus Books, London, 1982, ASIN B004YXNILM
  • 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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