Talk:Kartar Singh Taunque

Taunque Reference from Bharat Rakshak
The infant, and tiny Indian Air Force first "cut its teeth' in operations on the North West Frontier in 1938 and then also gained its first gallantry award. A bombing attack was to be carried out by Flt.Lt. Peter Haynes, with Hawai Sepoy 1st Class Kartar Singh Tounque as air gunner / bombardier.

Coming from a farming family of Lyallpur, Kartar Singh had schooled at Ropar, had done mechanical & electrical engineering at the Victoria Diamond Jubilee Institute at Lahore, getting his diploma in 1933. Applying for the Indian Air Force, he had joined a batch of 80 apprentices in February 1934 and spent two years at Drigh Road (Karachi). As No.65 Hawai Sepoy 1st Class, Kartar Singh was given the trade "Fitter Armourer" but soon qualified as an air gunner as well, and went with 'A' Flight to Peshawar in 1936.

On this memorable day's single sortie, Peter Haynes flew level and steady as Kartar Singh switched on the Mk.IX bomb sight, calculated terminal velocity, fed in speed and heading on the compass, completed calculations and released the 112-lb RL bombs over the Pir of Ipi's fortress. Being in the rear cockpit, Kartar Singh could well observe the great accuracyÿÿÿthe bombing, which was pin point. He was the first in the IAF to be Mentioned-in-Despatches for "Operations in Waziristan 1937-38".

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1940s/Sikhs.html

--99.233.132.217 (talk) 02:44, 14 June 2009 (UTC)