Chandigarh’s Indian Air Force Heritage Centre to open for public on January 31

The Indian Air Force Heritage Centre being set up at the government press building in Sector 18 will finally be opened for the public on January 31. Union defence minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the centre at an event, which will also be attended by the chief of air staff Vivek Ram Chaudhari.

The centre is set to have eight attractions in total, including five aircraft and weapon displays. The centrepiece, however, will be the centre’s very own flight simulator. In addition, informative exhibits including aero engines, aircraft, kiosks, and other air force artefacts, including machines/fixtures, films on achievements and personalities, and guides, will also be set up. A souvenir shop will also be set up at the museum.

A senior Air Force officer said the centre will be handed over to the UT administration on January 31. “On Friday, air marshal Pankaj Mohan Sinha, air office commanding in chief, Western Command, will visit the centre and will submit a status report to UT administrator Bhanwarilal Purohit,” the officer added.

He said the centre will help motivate the youth to join the armed forces

On August 27 last year, the UT administration and the Indian Air Force (IAF) had signed an agreement in principle to set up the heritage centre in the presence of the then UT administrator VP Singh Badnore — following which in June this year, a memorandum of understanding was signed.

The government press building

Built in 1953, the building has seen the city grow and has several scars, strains, and moments to show for it. Designed by Edwin Maxwell Fry, an English architect, who was part of the Chandigarh Capital Project Team headed by Pierre Jeanneret, the building was in a sense, ahead of its time.

What’s on showcase?

The GNAT aircraft installed outside the centre near light points was at the centre of the December 1971 attack at the Srinagar airfield. Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon took off, alone, amid a wave of attack and engaged a pair of Pakistani Sabres in an unequal combat. In the fight that followed, at treetop height, he nearly held his own, only to be eventually overcome by the sheer weight of numbers. His GNAT aircraft was shot down. Sekhon was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra.

Air force Kanpur -1 aircraft, placed inside the centre, is the first aircraft that was built by India air vice marshal Harjinder Singh back in 1951.

Installed at the centre’s parking area, the MiG-21 fighter first entered the Indian Air Force service in 1963. Over the years, the aircraft has faced flak for its high accident rate, but its reputation received a boost in February 2019 when Indian Air Force said they have used the aircraft to shoot down a Pakistani F-16. The MiG-21 was flown by the Soviet Union for the first time in 1955.

The HPT-32 primary trainer aircraft, installed at the rear lawn, was manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and used for training young flight cadets.

A swing-wing interceptor capable of delivering an array of missiles, bombs and guided weapons, the MiG-23 anchors the rear side of the centre. The squadron became operational with its primary role as air defence, with ground attack being the secondary.