Was it the Indian Air Force (IAF) or the Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF)? What difference did it even make? Well, it was both. But if you err, err as IAF and not RIAF as the mere presence of being under British control did not imply “Royal”. Read on (1/9)
As the Air Forces in the dominion countries of the United Kingdom began to be formed around 1920, the idea germinating a few years earlier, the Australian AF was formed in 1920, and Canada in 1921. They both were bestowed the title Royal in 1921 and 1924 respectively. 2/
The title was honorific and it implied allegiance to the Crown. The Indian Air Force though was not formed till 1932. It was not bestowed this title on formation, unlike Australia and Canada – Presumably for a slight nuance – “Royal Air Force” was already in India since 1919. 3/
Bestowing the Royal title and also awarding the Kings’ commission to IAF officers implied parity between the RAF/IAF and also potentially for the IAF officers to command RAF officers/men. Therefore IAF remained as such and officers received a commission from the Viceroy. 4/
This distinction is clearly noticed in minor details such as the naming of stations/bases. In 1942, “Air Force Station Peshwar” was renamed “Royal Air Force station Peshawar” when the IAF unit at the base moved to another location. 5/
As WWII appeared closer to India and Burma became an epic battlefront where IAF performed incredibly in support of the allied forces, the Crown bestowed the title of “Royal” on the IAF on 12 March 1945. The IAF continued to be paid for by the Indian Govt. 6/
As India became independent and adopted the constitution, the title Royal was dropped on 26 Jan 1950. It was considered that just dropping Royal was easier than introducing other words and was in line with practice by other dominion countries. 7/
All the IAF officers were issued new commissioning parchments that changed the allegiance from the Viceroy/ Governor General to the President of India. 8/
The ensign, Crest, flags, and rank braids and badges were also changed as follows. Other than a brief period of 5 years, IAF has retained its name as Indian Air Force for over 85 years. 9/
Originally published in Twitter
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