Crest: The Sqn crest is Warrior. The Warrior crest depicts the famous Warrior figure with a spear in hand delivering the final blow to a vanqueshed enemy. The Sqn motto is "Yudhyasva Vigatha Jwar" which translated reads " When all efforts to achieve peace have failed, wage War with all your might". An apt quotation from the Gita.

Brief History: N0. 26 Sqn, AF was formed under the command of Wg Cdr MM Singh, on 1st of Jan 1968 at Adampur. It was the first Sqn in the IAF to be equipped with the indomitable SU-7 aircraft. Four officers and 35 men caught the Magic Carpet flight out of India on 23 April 1967 & spent their time under training at Loogavaya, Frunze, Alma Ata & Krasnodar. The officer at the head of the batch was Sqn Ldr R Ramamurthy. Until mid 1971, the Sqn was the type training Sqn,which helped in to train, convert & equip other SU-7 Sqns of IAF.

The Warriors had a very active role to play in 1971 Indo-Pak War. Any description of the Sqn history would be incomplete without a vivid description of the gallant role played by the Warriors in the 14 day War. With the pre-emptive strikes against some of our airfields, Pakistan triggered off the War on the evening of 3rd Dec 1971. Sqn was located at Adampur its permanent location at the outbreak of hostilities. The primary task of the Squadron was close air support in conjuction with 8 TAC. Warriors also flew some sorties with 6 TAC. The area of operation was mainly in the bulge, Pak area bounded by Samba in the North, Pathankot in the east & Dera Baba Nanak in the South.

Diary of Events

04 Dec 71: Briefing for the Aircrew was at 0400 hrs. Each mission consisted of 2 ac & FAC controlled the tgt. Early in the morning the 4ac strikes went to Chander airfield. The ground crew were fully geared to the task of turning around the ac & no mission was refused for lack of ac. The last mission of the day was dusk strike by 4 ac on a suspected radar site at Walton airfield.

05 Dec 71: Briefing was at 0430 hrs. Most of the missions were for 6 TAC in the Lahore sector. In one of the missions, Sqn Ldr Sahin's ac was hit by ground fire & he had to land at Pathankot. In the last strike of the day, Sqn Ldr Jaffa's ac was hit by enemy attack guns. He managed to eject in an inverted aircraft & was captured by the Pakistanis.

06 Dec 71: All missions were into the bulge that day. The Pak Army in the bulge were well dug & difficult to spot. The ground crew were quite busy , men were all staying in the loop area itself.

07 Dec 71 : In the 1st mission of the day at about 1015 hrs, we lost Sqn Ldr Jiwa Singh in the Zafarwal area. He could not be contacted on R/T. Later in the day army reported that one SU-7 had crashed south west of Samba just inside Pak territory and the pilot had been killed. The SU-7 was engaged in air combat with F-104. Sqn Ldr Jiwa Singh was sqns' Senior Flt Cdr.

08 Dec 71 : Briefing time was at 0630 hrs. We were down to 13 Pilots & 11 ac from 15 & 16 respectively.

09 Dec 71 : Sqn was now Flying with Mig-21 escorts. As PAF activity in that area had stepped up. Army had lot of inroads into Pak territory. Flt Lt Kadam of the Sqn, attached for the Operations to TAC. DTS was reported to be missing after a daylight raid of Rissalwala A/F.

10 Dec 71 : We flew 10 sorties of close air support in the bulge. In the 1st strike over Zafarwal, Flt Lt Parulkar's ac was seen turning right during the dive. The ac looked undamaged but he was reported missing.

11 Dec 71 : In a 3 ac strike over Nunkot area, FAC reported 06 enemy ac were also in the same area & were reported as Sabres. Two SU's made it back. Flt Lt Mohan did not, he was probably hit by a missile.

12 Dec 71 : 12 Sorties of close air support were carried out. Our close support channel was occasionally being jammed by the Pakis.

13 Dec 71 : Only 8 sorties today. In the east, our army was closing in Dacca.

14 Dec 71 : The fight in the Sakargarh area was heating up. 14 sorties were flown. Flt Lt Pereira, our FAC in that area was seriously injured during starfing by Sabres. He later succumbed to his injuries.

15 Dec 71 : We have acquired a new rocket the S-24. One of our mission carried these missiles & attacked Sulaimanke Headworks.

16 Dec 71 : Dacca has fallen & the Pak army in Bangladesh - about 95,000 have surrendered.

In a 4 ac strike on Normal Rly yard, we flew into a very heavy ack barrage. Flt Lt Dandass ac was hit & was seen exploding on the ground. In the evening PM ordered an unilateral cease fire on the Western fornt.

17 Dec 71 : Only 12 sorties. In a rare ocurrence, Flt Lt Malhotra got behind a Mig-19 & fired all his ammo. The CAS has ordered a cessation of offensive strikes from 1600hrs tonight. Operatioin cactus Lily has ended.

The Sqn carried out its duty with determination & perservance. Besides valuable experience in the craft of war, the Sqn gained moments of pride with several gallantry awards.

All officer and men had worked round the clock with determination and will. The Warriors have been as part of the blitzkreig that inflicted a complete and humiliating defeat on the enemy. Our paths were sown with Cactii but we got to the Lili at the end.

The Warriors shifted its location to Pathankot in Jul 1977 & were re-equipped with the MiG-21 Bis ac. The Sqn continued to display & prove their competence in its true spirit. The Sqn took part in the famous '50' formations flypast in 1982 commemoratring, the IAF Golden Jubilee. Since its inception it has won trophies for being the best Sqn in WAC, IAF in various gunnery meet events as well as the Flt Safety & Maintenance Trophies.