Subroto Mukerjee

Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee OBE (Bengali: সুব্রত মুখোপাধ্যায়) (5 March 1911 – 8 November 1960) was an Indian military officer who was the first Indian Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Indian Air Force.

Mukerjee was born in Calcutta on 5 March 1911 in a well-known Bengali family.

His father was Satish Chandra Mukherjee of the Indian Civil Service, and his mother, Charulata Mukherjee, was a social worker.

His paternal grandfather, Nibaran Chandra Mukherjee, pioneered several social and educational reforms in India and was a member of the Brahmo Samaj.

His maternal grandfather Prasanna Kumar Roy of the Indian Education Service, was the first Indian Principal of Presidency College, Kolkata.

His maternal grandmother, Sarala Roy, was an educationist and social worker who founded the Gokhale Memorial Girls' School.

The youngest of four children, Mukherjee was taken to England when he was three months old.

However, he spent his childhood in Krishnanagar and Chinsura in Bengal.

As a boy, he displayed an aptitude for a military career, probably inherited from his uncle, Flight Lieutenant Indra Lal Roy, who had joined the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War.

Roy was the first Indian to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the only Indian flying ace.

Mukerjee's elder sister Renuka Ray was a prominent freedom fighter, who became a member of the Indian parliament, cabinet minister and ambassador.

She attended the University of Cambridge and the London School of Economics.

Mukerjee was educated at Nainital Diocesan Boys' High School in Nainital, at Loreto Convent in Calcutta, at Howrah Zilla School, and also at a school in Hampstead in England.

He completed his secondary education at Birbhum Zilla School in 1927.

He then attended Presidency College, Calcutta for year, before studying at the University of Cambridge.

In 1928, the British Government agreed to permit Indians to enter the Royal Air Force College Cranwell.

While initially only two vacancies were recommended, the number was later increased to six.

This was done so that a flight of a squadron could be completely Indian.

Mukerjee sat for the Cranwell entrance examination, becoming one of the first six Indians selected to undergo two years of flying training at the college.

With the Indian Air Force Act being passed by the Central Legislative Assembly, the IAF was established on 8 October 1932 as an auxiliary force of the Royal Air Force.

Mukerjee was commissioned as a pilot officer.

After completing their training at Cranwell, the Indian pilots received further training at the Army Cooperation School at Old Sarum Airfield in Wiltshire.

Mukerjee served with the No. 16 Squadron RAF for about a year before returning to India.

He joined the Royal Air Force and later was one of the first recruits of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 1933.

He flew with the No. 1 Squadron IAF from 1933 to 1941.

He saw extensive action in the North-West Frontier Province during this stint and was mentioned in dispatches.

On 1 April 1933, "A" Flight of the No. 1 Squadron IAF was formed at Drigh Road in Karachi, with Flight Lieutenant Cecil Bouchier in command.

He had many firsts to his credit: the first Indian to command a flight, in 1938, the first Indian to command a squadron, in 1939, the first to command a station, in 1943, and finally, the first Indian to command the Service itself, in 1954.

He attended the Staff College, Quetta in 1941 before returning to command No. 1 Squadron in 1942.

He commanded the RAF Station Kohat from 1943 to 1944 before moving to Air HQ as director of flying training.

He was awarded the OBE in 1945.

Following the Partition of India, he was appointed Deputy Air Commander, Royal Indian Air Force.

After completing the higher command course at the Imperial Defence College, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the IAF in 1954.

He oversaw the transformation of IAF into an all-jet force.

From 1955, he also served as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.

He was awarded several honours during the course of a three-decade-long career, ended by his untimely demise in 1960.

He has been called the Father of the Indian Air Force.

Born in a Bengali family of repute, he was educated both in India and in the United Kingdom.

He died while on a visit to Tokyo in 1960.

His accidental death came as a shock to the Air Force and the nation and he was cremated with full military honours in New Delhi.