HAL relives first fighter’s maiden flight 50 years ago
June 17th, 2011 - 7:48 pm ICT by IANSBangalore, June 17 (IANS) State-run defence behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) celebrated the maiden flight of its first fighter bomber here Friday. It was on this day five decades ago - June 17, 1961 - that Marut (HF-24) took to the skies in this aerospace hub.
To mark the golden jubilee celebrations of the first indigenous jet, the $2.9-billion company roped in its prime customer the Indian Air Force (IAF) to relive the trials and tribulations of its designers, engineers, technicians and test pilots who worked together to roll out the mock-up wooden glider in 1959 and Marut aircraft two years later.
“The first generation pilots of the air force just loved flying Marut with a sense of pride as it was our own and stood the test of time for over two decades, with a stellar performance during the Indo-Pak war in 1971,” Air Marshal K.J. Mathews said on the occasion.
Admitting that Marut, which means ‘Spirit of the Tempest’ in Sanksrit, did not perform the way the air force pilots wanted to fly due to problems its engines faced, Mathews said there was something special about it as it was the first fighter-bomber aircraft that was designed, developed and assembled by a developing country.
“Notwithstanding the teething troubles they faced from the imported (Orpheus) engines and flight controls, we nurtured it and got to love it eventually. Though I have flown almost the whole range of aircraft over the years, flying Marut was different as the experience was unique,” Mathews recalled.
As part of the IAF frontline fleet, the single-seater Marut played an active role in the India-Pakistan 1965 war and not a single aircraft was lost in any aerial combat.
IAF test pilot Group Captain Suranjan Das had the honour of flying the prototype of HF-24 with tail number BR 462 in the presence of then defence minister V.K. Krishna Menon and then HAL managing director Air Vice Marshal Aspy Merwan Engineer.
After Marut was certified for initial and final operational clearances, HAL built 129 single seaters and 18 twin-seater trainers from 1964 to 1977.
- First Marut's maiden flight remembered at HAL (Lead) - Jun 17, 2011
- India test flies naval variant of LCA (Lead) - Apr 28, 2012
- India building credible minimal deterrence, says IAF - Jun 17, 2011
- HPT-32 trainer aircraft flies into the sunset - Oct 19, 2011
- Will ground MiG-29 if needed: Indian Navy chief - Jun 24, 2011
- India's own first supersonic fighter Tejas to join Air Force today - Jan 10, 2011
- India to form indigenous Tejas fighter squadron by 2013 (Lead, with Images) - Jan 10, 2011
- India's own fighter jet Tejas to join air force Monday - Jan 09, 2011
- New IAF vice chief, Eastern air commander take charge - Aug 01, 2011
- Yet another MiG-21 crashes, pilot bails out - Oct 07, 2011
- India's own first supersonic fighter Tejas handed to Air Force - Jan 10, 2011
- HAL's Baldev Singh was ace fighter pilot - Oct 12, 2011
- Varthaman IAF's Eastern Air Command chief - Aug 01, 2011
- India, Russia sign deal for another 42 Sukhoi combat planes (Lead) - Dec 16, 2011
- Su-30 fighter crashes in Russia, crew safe - Feb 28, 2012
Tags: aerial combat, air force pilots, air marshal, air vice marshal, bomber aircraft, fighter bomber, golden jubilee celebrations, group captain, india pakistan, indian air force, indo pak war, krishna menon, maiden flight, number br, pilot group, prime customer, spirit of the tempest, test pilot, trials and tribulations, wooden glider