Honorific Prefix: | Air Chief Marshal |
Dilbagh Singh | |
Honorific Suffix: | PVSM, AVSM, VM |
Birth Date: | 10 March 1926 |
Birth Place: | Rahon, Jalandhar district, Punjab |
Death Place: | Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India |
Office: | 12th Indian Ambassador to Brazil |
Term Start: | August 1985 |
Term End: | August 1987 |
Predecessor: | S.S. Nath |
Successor: | A.R. Kakodar |
Office1: | 25th Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee |
Term Start1: | 31 July 1983 |
Term End1: | 3 September 1984 |
President1: | Zail Singh |
Primeminister1: | Indira Gandhi |
Predecessor1: | K. V. Krishna Rao |
Successor1: | Oscar Stanley Dawson |
Office2: | 11th Chief of the Air Staff (India) |
Term Start2: | 1 September 1981 |
Term End2: | 3 September 1984 |
President2: | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Zail Singh |
Primeminister2: | Indira Gandhi |
Predecessor2: | Idris Hasan Latif |
Successor2: | Lakshman Madhav Katre |
Allegiance: | (1945–1947) India (from 1947) |
Branch: | (1945–1947) (1947–1984) |
Serviceyears: | 1945-1984 |
Rank: | Air Chief Marshal |
Unit: | No. 1 Squadron |
Commands: | Eastern Air Command Ambala Air Force Station 28 Squadron[1] |
Battles: | Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Operation Lal Dora |
Military Blank1: | Award(s) |
Military Data1: |
Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VM (10 March 1926 – 9 February 2001) was the head of the Indian Air Force from 1981 to 1984,[2] as Chief of the Air Staff. He was the second Sikh to hold that position.
Dilbagh Singh was commissioned as a pilot in 1944.[3] His operational flying career spanned the Spitfire to introducing the MiG-21 into service in India. He had earlier made the first official "supersonic bang" over India in New Delhi when the Mystere IV-A was showcased in a public demonstration.
He was India's ambassador to Brazil from 1985 to 1987. He was a student of pandit Buta Ram of Rahon. His visit to Rahon to visit his teacher when he was Air Marshal is still remembered. He inspired scores of youngsters from Rahon and Nawanshahar region to join defense forces