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Description
Despite their heroics during World War I, the British officers of the Royal Air Force did not believe that Indians were capable of waging war from the air. They were considered inferior, and the fledgling Indian Air Force (IAF) was equipped with outdated machines and forced to operate in impossible working conditions.
Harjinder Singh, a determined orphan, entered this military world in mid-1930s as a lowly sepoy, and yet thanks to his courage, determination and sheer skill, he enjoyed a meteoric rise over three decades of service, becoming one of the leading figures of the IAF – a thrilling career that spanned World War II, Indian independence and the carnage of Partition.
Using an extensive collection of personal diaries, notes and letters with a thread of humour throughout, Spitfire Singh unleashes this untold story – one of mutual respect forged and strengthened across lines of religion, caste, creed and race.
Table of Contents
Training to be a Sepoy
Eating off the floor
Death comes to visit. Death comes to stay
The North West Frontier Province
The World is at War
New Aircraft but old prejudices
Into Burma
The fighting retreat
To India: To England: To Jail?
Spreading Wings. Clipping Wings
Independence! But at what cost?
Command!
Kindred spirit or dangerous Liaison?
Reuniting old friends
Epilogue: The Greatest Disgrace?
Product details
| Published | 07 Sep 2017 |
|---|---|
| Format | Paperback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 434 |
| ISBN | 9789386141613 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury India |
| Dimensions | 234 x 153 mm |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing India Pvt. Ltd |
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