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Corps of Army Air Defence raising day to change to 15 September to recognise WW-II origin

Corps of Army Air Defence has until now celebrated its raising day on 10 January. But the Army’s first air defence battery was raised in Sept 1940, and the change of date will mark this.

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New Delhi: Beginning this year, the Corps of Army Air Defence (AAD), an aerial combat support arm of the Army, will celebrate its raising day on 15 September instead of 10 January, in recognition of its role in World War II, ThePrint has learnt.

Senior Army officers privy to the matter said there was a growing demand within serving officers and veterans in the Army to change the raising day of the corps given the role it played in World War II.

The Army’s first air defence battery was raised in Mumbai on 15 September 1940, according to official records.

“For many soldiers, it was an emotional issue. The deliberations on this began two years ago. The final approval, however, came through this year,” a senior Army officer told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.

Incidentally, the Corps of AAD did not celebrate the raising day on 10 January this year.

The day had been celebrated on 10 January since 1994 to mark the corps’ bifurcation from the Regiment of Artillery as an independent corps. It was earlier known as the Corps of Air Defence (AD) Artillery.

The officer quoted above added that many of those who served in the AAD, including the ones before 1994, felt that the raising day should be marked to honour its true valour embedded in history.

“It was decided that instead of celebrating bifurcation from an existing arm, it was more prudent to celebrate this date, as anti-aircraft batteries existed during World War II,” said a second Army officer, who too did not wish to be named.

The raising day of a unit holds significance to military personnel as it marks the unit’s operationalisation by integrating troops from all across.

This year, 15 September will mark the 81st raising day of the Corps of AAD.

This corps is tasked with defending India’s air space from low flying aerial strikes or attacks by enemy aircrafts and missiles, especially those below 5,000 feet, and protecting strategically located military installations like airfields, dams and ammunition depots.


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‘Became a truncated history’

Lt. Gen. Ram Pratap (Retd.), former director general of the Corps of AAD, said the move will be of huge significance to the Army, especially soldiers of the unit, as it would correct the impression of the unit’s age.

“It was increasingly felt that celebrating 10 January as the raising day of the corps was like truncating the illustrious history of AAD, since the first Air Defence battery was raised on 15 September 1940 and in October next year, the 26 Air Defence regiment (the oldest) was raised,” the Army veteran said.

While the Army website says the unit was raised on 14 September, Army officers maintained the correct date is 15 September.

Pratap said even when the AAD was bifurcated from the Regiment of Artillery in 1994, it was felt that a wrong message was going to the masses about the raising year and a correction was pertinent. He was commanding an AD unit at that time.

Maj. Gen. P.K. Saighal, who retired as the commandant of the Army Air Defence College, said another reason in consideration to make the change was the practical difficulties officers and veterans incurred due to its proximity to the Army Day celebrations on 15 January.


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The origin of the corps

According to the corps’ official records, the history of air defence artillery in India began in 1939, when the British Indian government felt the need to have an anti-aircraft defence in India.

In July 1940, at the behest of Sir Claude Auchinleck, the commander-in-chief of British Indian Armed Forces, the Anti Aircraft and Coastal Defence Wing was set up at Karachi for training of officers in anti-aircraft techniques.

In August 1940, the British War Office decided to create an anti-aircraft branch of Indian Artillery. The anti-aircraft units and training establishments began to be raised. Indian soldiers were posted to these establishments from the Regiment of Artillery and Infantry Units and later through fresh commission and enrollment.

On 15 September 1940, 1 Indian Anti Aircraft Technical Training Battery was raised at Colaba in Bombay (now Mumbai). It also included the nucleus of the first anti-aircraft unit of Indian Artillery – the ‘R’ (Royal) Heavy Anti Aircraft (HAA) Regiment.

With this nucleus, the ‘R’ HAA Regiment commenced its raising on 1 October 1940 at Colaba. The 1 Technical Training Battery moved from Colaba to Drigh Road, Karachi in December 1940, which was later expanded and renamed as Anti Aircraft Training Centre (AATC).

After the establishment of AATC and raising of the HAA Regiment, the 1st & 2nd Light Anti Aircraft (LAA) Regiments were raised and named ‘U’ Light Anti Aircraft Regiment and ‘S’ Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment.

The ‘R’ HAA Regiment later came to be known as 1 Indian Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment, ‘U’ Light Anti Aircraft Regiment became the 1 Indian Light Anti Aircraft Regiment and ‘S’ Light Anti Aircraft Regiment was renamed as 2 Indian Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment.

By 1943, there were a total of 33 anti-aircraft regiments, seven anti-aircraft brigade headquarters and three AATCs.

World War II role

The Indian anti-aircraft regiments served in various theatres during World War II, from Singapore in the Far East to Iraq in the Middle East. They played a crucial role in Hong Kong, Singapore-Malaya, Burma and in the Indian subcontinent during WW-II, the records show.

On 7 December 1941, when the Japanese landed its troops in Singapore, supported by air and naval power, the 1 Indian HAA Regiment that was deployed there was overwhelmed. It suffered heavy casualties but after downing several Japanese aircraft.

A total of 320 personnel of the regiment lost their lives in defending Malaya-Singapore. They were honoured with a memorial in Singapore, which stands as a testimony to the sacrifice of India’s first anti-aircraft unit.

“These names are all that remain of the Regiment as the 1st Indian Heavy Anti-Aircraft regiment was never raised again; dying as it were with the surrender on 15 February 1942; never to be resurrected,” Col. Mandeep Singh (Retd) wrote in Force magazine.

While 1 Indian HAA Regiment and 1 and 5 Light Anti Aircraft Batteries were defending the skies in Singapore-Malaya, the balance of Indian anti-aircraft regiments was employed in India and Burma against the Japanese onslaught.

These regiments defended allied forces in India and Burma from 1942 to 1945, and contributed immensely in the victory of allied forces in Burma while defending the subcontinent.

However, immediately after World War II ended, a large number of these units were disbanded. At the time of Partition, only two air defence artillery units — 2 LAA (Now 26 Air Defence Regiment) and 3 LAA (Now 27 Air Defence Missile Regiment) — were left with India, along with the Anti Aircraft Training School, show records.

After 1971, the erstwhile AD Artillery saw rapid modernisation with the induction of several latest weapon systems. It later participated in numerous operations in Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir, among others.


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