The Indian Gift Squadrons
A look at RAF Squadrons gifted by Indian people
| WHO IS HACKING AND REMOVING BRITISH FIGHTERS DONATED BY INDIA DURING 2ND WORLD WAR?- MAY BE BRITISH HACKERS | Spitfire VB BM 252 “Bombay City” while serving with No 132 Bombay Gift Squadron RAF in 1942 |
NOW I AM AGAIN PUTTING BACK SOME OF THE PHOTOS
The presentation of aircraft as a means of supplementing public monies with private funds became commonplace in the first world war when hundreds were “presented”. In fact it was a purely public relations exercise, for the money went into the general funding of aircraft and a random production aircraft was chosen to bear the name of the donor. It was only in the second war when England stood alone and the gallant defense of the RAF inspired the world to give tangible aid. The Spitfire by its very name had caught the imagination of many during the second half of 1940 and hundreds of Spitfire funds were set up by public bodies, firms and clubs to raise money for more. There were door to door collections, boxes at displays of captured and shot down German aircraft. As public fervor rose, the PRO of the Ministry of Aircraft production (MAP) was made responsible for arranging public recognition for the donors. Undivided India was by far, the greatest supporter of aircraft and subsequently whole squadrons of the RAF during both the great wars, after all it was the “jewel in the crown” (the American ‘lend-lease’ system of the second war was off course the main contributor to the British war effort as a whole).
There was a precedent to follow of the earlier war in which by Aug 1917, funds for 437 aircraft had been presented. In that war a guide scale had been drawn up; £1,500 for a BE2c (70hp Renault), £2,250 for a Vickers Gunbus and £3,500 for a Short Floatplane.
NOW I AM AGAIN PUTTING BACK SOME OF THE PHOTOS
The above picture is of the Royal Ulster Rifles unloading from a Bombay on Salisbury Plain in August 1939.
| THESE PHOTOS HACKED AND REMOVED | |
 Bristol BombayThis night bomber entered service in 1935. Source: The Heyford Observer, May 13, 1967. |
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Caractéristiques du Bristol BombayMk.I | ||||||||
| Mission : | Transport | |||||||
| Équipage : | 4 hommes | |||||||
| Motorisation : | 2 Bristol Pegasus XXII à 9 cylindres en étoile refroidis par air de 1 010 CV | |||||||
| Dimensions : | Envergure : | 29.00 m | ||||||
| Longueur : | 21.00 m | |||||||
| Hauteur : | 5.00 m | |||||||
| Surface alaire : | m² | |||||||
| Masse : | À vide : | kg | ||||||
| En charge : | 9060 kg | |||||||
| Performance : | Vitesse de pointe : | 309 km/h | ||||||
| Plafond : | 7600 m | |||||||
| Taux de monté : | m/min | |||||||
| Rayon d'action : | 1415 km | |||||||
| Armement ou charges utiles : | 2 mitrailleuses de 7,7 mm 910 kg de bombes 24 passagers ou du fret | |||||||
The above picture is of the Royal Ulster Rifles unloading from a Bombay on Salisbury Plain in August 1939.
216 Squadron RAF Bristol Bombay at Crete 1941 IWM CM 172.jpg
From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
Spitfire VB BM 252 “Bombay City” while serving with No 132 Bombay Gift Squadron RAF in 1942
| Flt Lt HJL Hallowes at Turnhouse with “City of Bombay” another Indian gift Spitfire given to No. 122 Squadron, RAF. The aircraft is BM 252, MT-E. |
| No 122 (Bombay) SqnBadge: In front of a mullet a Leopard rampant Motto: “Victuri volamus” (We fly to victory) The mullet represents fighting in the heavens and the Leopard, a fierce fighter represents Bombay |
“Assam one” an Indian gift Spitfire Mk IIA P 8167 of No 266 Sqn RAF at Wittering in Jul 41
Royal Aircraft factory BE2c “Punjab 40 Lahore 3” was presented for £1,500 in the first war
Royal Aircraft factory FE2b Gunbus “Bhopal”
Messerschmit Bf 109 E (?) shot down by No 253 Hyderabad Gift squadron over Britain. The wreck (right) finally ended up in a Gulbarga Engineering College (now in Karnataka) and is embroiled in a legal battle over its dubious sale to a British collector.
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