27 AD Missile Regiment (Amritsar Airfield) explained

Unit Name:	27 AD Missile Regiment (Amritsar Airfield)
Dates:	1942 – present
Country:	India
Allegiance:	India
Branch:	Indian Army
Type:	Corps of Army Air Defence
Size:	Regiment
Equipment:	Akash surface-to-air missiles^[1]
Notable Commanders:	Lieutenant General Nav Kumar Khanduri^[2]
Identification Symbol:	27 AD Regt
Identification Symbol Label:	Abbreviation
Motto:	“Sky high excellence”
Colors:	Sky Blue and Red
Decorations:	Vir Chakra 5 Sena Medal 4 Vishisht Seva Medal 2 Mention in Despatches 5
Battle Honours:	‘Amritsar Airfield’

27 Air Defence Missile Regiment (Amritsar Airfield) is an Air Defence regiment of the Indian Army.

Formation

27 Air Defence Missile Regiment was raised on 1 February 1942 by Major (later Lt Col^[3]) HT Hogan at Malir Cantonment (presently in Pakistan) as the 3 Indian Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment with the troop nucleus being of South Indian classes.^[4]

History

At the time of its formation, the Regiment was equipped with Bofors 40 mm L-60 and American made anti-aircraft guns.

World War II

Various sub-units of the Regiment were deployed at Chittagong, Ceylon, Bombay and Calcutta. In 1945, the Regiment was moved to Vishakapatnam for training in amphibious assaults and was issued with the new 40 mm self-propelled guns.

Post war: Following the war, the Regiment was moved to Coimbatore.^[5] After the partition, the Regiment was transferred to India. It was renamed the 27 Air Defence Regiment in February 1965.^[6]

Indo-Pak War (1965)

The Regiment was deployed for various air defence roles in the Western Sector.^[7] The gunners of the Regiment were decorated with 2 Vir Chakras,^[8] 2 Sena Medals and 5 Mention in Despatches.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

The Regiment saw action in the Western Sector with their L-70 guns and was awarded the battle honour title of ‘Amritsar Airfield’ ^{[9] [10]} along with 3 Vir Chakras,^{[11] [12]} 1 Sena Medal^[13] and 2 Vishisht Seva Medals.^[14]

Other Operations:

• The Regiment has also participated in Operation Trident, Operation Rakshak I, Operation Rakshak II and Operation Vijay. During its participation in counter-insurgency operations, it was awarded 1 Sena Medal, 1 COAS Commendation Card, 11 GOC-in-C (Northern Command) Commendation Cards and the unit appreciation ‘’Kupwara-Kargil” by the GOC-in-C (Northern Command).
• It took part in the relief and rescue operations in the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, for which the Regiment was awarded 1 COAS Commendation Card and 2 GOC-in-C (Southern Command) Commendation Cards. For its efforts in rescuing riot affected people during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the Regiments received 5 GOC-in-C (Southern Command) Commendation Cards.^[15]
• The Regiment was awarded the Director General Army Air Defence's (DGAAD) unit appreciation award in 2005 and 2015.
• The Regiment participated with its Akash surface-to-air missiles in the Republic Day parades of 2016,^[16] 2017^[17] 2018^{[18] [19]} and 2023.^[20]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 27 AD-Indian Army Republic Day on twitter.com/ndtv . 2018-01-26. 2020-10-17.
2. Web site: Lt Gen Nav Khanduri takes charge as GOC-in-C of Western Command. 2021-11-01. 2022-02-16.
3. Web site: Supplement to the London Gazette, page 2173. 1947-05-16. 2020-10-17.
4. Web site: 27 AD-Indian Army Postal Cover . 2020-10-17.
5. Web site: 27 Air Defence Regiment - Golden Jubilee 1992 APO Cover. 2020-10-17.
6. Web site: 'Corps of Army Air Defence raising day to change to 15 September to recognise WW-II origin' in The Print. 2020-08-31. 2020-10-17.
7. Book: Singh, Mandeep. Baptism Under Fire: Anti Aircraft Artillery in India Pakistan War 1965. 2017. VIJ Books (India) Pty Ltd. 978-9386457127.
8. Web site: C Perumal VrC and IT Pothuraja VrC citation in 'The Gazette of India' No 1 1966 with corrigenda in The Gazette of India No 32 on 06-08-2016. 1966-01-02. 2020-10-17.
9. Book: Singh, Jagjit . Indian Gunners at War: The Western Front 1971. 1994. Spantech & Lancer. 978-1897829554.
10. Web site: 'Odisha's 'Amritsar Airfield' combats threats from sky' in the Times of India. 2018-05-06. 2020-10-17.
11. Web site: TC Chettiar VrC at gallantryawards.gov.in. 2020-10-17.
12. Web site: GK Nair VrC at gallantryawards.gov.in. 2020-10-17.
13. Web site: HS Sandhu SM citation in the Gazette of India No 10. 1974-03-09. 2020-10-17.
14. Web site: Lt Col HW Saldanha and Maj Sri Ram Prothi VSM Citation in 'The Gazette of India No 36'. 1972-09-02. 2020-10-17.
15. Web site: 27 AD-Indian Army Postal Cover . 2020-10-17.
16. Web site: The Hindu Images : Republic Day 2016. 2020-10-27.
17. Web site: ' India shows off military might at 68th Republic Day parade' in the Economic Times. 2017-01-27. 2020-10-17.
18. Web site: '69th R-Day Marked With a Grand Parade and ASEAN Leaders as Guest' in The Quint. 2018-01-26. 2020-10-17.
19. Web site: 'Republic Day parade highlights: India showcases military might, cultural diversity' in The Mint. 2018-01-26. 2020-10-17.
20. Web site: Republic Day 2023: Kartavaya Path witnesses prowess of Indian weapon systems. 2023-01-26. 2023-01-26.

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