Marshal of IAF Arjan Singh passes away: Know all about exceptional pilot and distinguished war hero

The Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh passed away on Saturday at Delhi's Army Research and Referal Hospital. He was admitted to Army Hospital after he suffered a heart attack earlier on Saturday.

All you need to know about Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh

1. Arjan Singh was born on April 15, 1919 in Pakistan's Faisalabad to a military family. At the age of 19, he joined the Indian Air Force. A year later, he was commissioned from England's Royal Air Force College Cranwell.

2. He will be remembered for his remarkable operational tenures on the Burma Front during World War 2.

3. He was described as a fearless and exceptional pilot. He became the first Indian pilot to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) by the Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia.

4. Arjan Singh held the command of Indian Air Force's operational Group till December 1952, and then again from December 1955 to April 1959.

5. To take a number of courses in military academics, Singh was sent to RAF Staff College-Brackwell, Joint Services Staff College, and London's Imperial Defence College, after Independence.

6. On August 1964, Arjan Singh took charge as the IAF's third Indian Chief of Air staff at the age of 45. For his contributions in the 1965 Indo-Pak war, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1965.

7. He retired at the age of 50 and became one of the longest-serving chief of the Army services in India.

8. He was made India's Ambassador to Switzerland in 1971 and then the Indian High Commissioner in Kenya in 1974.

9. Arjan Singh became the only IAF officer to be promoted to five-star rank in 2002.

10. To pay tribute to him, West Bengal's Air Force base at Panagarh were named as Air Force Station Arjan Singh last year.