Arjan Singh served as the 3rd Chief of the Air Staff from 1964 to 1969, leading the Air Force through the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
37 Facts About Arjan Singh
2.
Arjan Singh assumed office as the Chief of the Air Staff, on 1 August 1964.
3.
Arjan Singh served as India's Ambassador to Switzerland, the Holy See and Liechtenstein from 1971 to 1974 and as the High Commissioner of India to Kenya from 1974 to 1977.
4.
Arjan Singh then served as the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi from 1989 to 1990.
5.
Arjan Singh was born on 15 April 1919 in Lyallpur, a town in the erstwhile Punjab Province of British India, into a Punjabi Jat Sikh family of Aulakh clan.
6.
Arjan Singh won the All-India One-mile swimming event in 1938.
7.
Arjan Singh was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in December 1939, after topping the Empire Pilot training course among his batch of Indian Cadets.
8.
In 1943, Arjan Singh was promoted to acting Squadron Leader and became the Commanding Officer of No 1 Squadron.
9.
Arjan Singh led No 1 Squadron into combat during the Arakan Campaign in 1944.
10.
Arjan Singh was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in June 1944.
11.
Arjan Singh relinquished command of No 1 Squadron in December 1944, handing over to Squadron Leader Ramaswamy Rajaram, who led the squadron for the rest of the Burma Campaign.
12.
Arjan Singh almost faced a court-martial in February 1945 when he tried to raise the morale of a trainee pilot by conducting a low level air pass over a house in Kerala.
13.
In February 1945, Arjan Singh was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander and in August, he was selected to attend the Staff course at the RAF Staff College, Bracknell in the United Kingdom.
14.
Arjan Singh subsequently moved to Air Headquarters in 1948 and tenanted the appointment of Director of Training.
15.
In 1949, Arjan Singh attended the Joint Service Defence College at Latimer, Buckinghamshire in the United Kingdom.
16.
On his return to India, in December 1950, Arjan Singh was promoted to acting Air Commodore and assumed command of the No 1 Operational Command.
17.
In late 1952, Arjan Singh moved to the Air Headquarters and was appointed Air Officer-in-Charge Personnel and Organisation.
18.
Arjan Singh served in this appointment for three years, until December 1955.
19.
In 1956, Arjan Singh led a squadron of Toofani jet fighters to Burma on a goodwill mission.
20.
Arjan Singh served as the Chef de Mission of the Indian Contingent for the 1956 Summer Olympics held at Melbourne, Australia.
21.
In May 1958, Arjan Singh was promoted to the rank of Air Vice Marshal and continued as the head of the Operational Command.
22.
Arjan Singh led the Operational Command until November 1959, handing over command to Air Vice Marshal Erlic Pinto.
23.
Arjan Singh led the Command for a total of six years in two stints - December 1950 to December 1952 and December 1955 to November 1959.
24.
Arjan Singh was selected to attend the Imperial Defence College and proceeded to United Kingdom in early 1960.
25.
On 1 August 1964, Arjan Singh was promoted to the rank of Air Marshal and took over as the 6th Chief of the Air Staff.
26.
On 7 June 1966, with the retirement of General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri, Arjan Singh took over as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, a post he held until he retired.
27.
In 1967, in a rare honour to a non-British Service Chief, Arjan Singh was invited to receive the salute as the reviewing officer of the passing out parade at his alma mater, the RAF College Cranwell.
28.
In 1971, after his retirement, Arjan Singh was appointed India's Ambassador to Switzerland, the Holy See and Liechtenstein.
29.
Arjan Singh presented his credentials to the President of the Swiss Confederation, Rudolf Gnagi on 2 April 1971.
30.
Arjan Singh spent three years heading the High Commission of India at Nairobi, till 1977.
31.
Arjan Singh served as the Chairman of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi from 1980 to 1983 and was a Director of the Grindlays Bank from 1981 to 1988.
32.
On 12 December 1989, Arjan Singh was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Delhi by the President of India.
33.
Arjan Singh served in the position for a year, till December 1990.
34.
Narayanan conferred the Five-star rank on Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh and handed the Marshal's baton in a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on 23 April 2002.
35.
In 1948, Arjan Singh married Teji Arjan Singh, a lady of his own community and similar family background, in a match arranged by their families.
36.
Arjan Singh suffered a cardiac arrest at his New Delhi residence in the early morning of 16 September 2017 and was rushed to the Army Hospital, Research and Referral, in New Delhi, where his condition was stated to be critical.
37.
The airbase was constructed in 1944 by the United States Air Force in the China Burma India Theater during World War II, the same theatre that Arjan Singh served in during the war.