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19 - Indian Contingent passing saluting dias, Victory Parade, London.jpg

HISTORY

What about the Air Force?

The Indian Air Force expanded from an October 1939 position of One Army Co-operation Squadron numbering 285 officers and airmen to a July 1945 strength (by which time it was the Royal Indian Air Force) of 3 Fighter Recce Squadrons, 2 Ground Attack Squadrons, 2 Light Bomber Squadrons and 2 Fighter Squadrons with a total of 43,750 officers, men, enrolled followers and technical non-combatants. By August 1947, when India and Pakistan gained their independence and by which time the 1945 wartime strengths had been considerably reduced, 224 officers, 2189 airmen and 407 technical non-combatants, all of whom were obviously Muslim, transferred to the fledgling Pakistan Air Force.

Sources

    Chhina. The Eagle Strikes. Appendix C, p.314

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sources
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