Flying Officer N. J. S. Sekhon took off in his Gnat during a Sabre raid on Srinagar airfield on 14 December 1971 and was killed in the combat that followed.
Take-off During the Raid on Srinagar
On 14 December 1971, six Pakistani Sabres bombed and strafed Srinagar airfield. Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, a Gnat pilot on readiness duty, took off during the attack.
He engaged a pair of the Sabres at once. The citation says he hit one and set another on fire; the National War Memorial's account says he hit one and damaged another.
The remaining Sabres came to their aid, leaving Sekhon outnumbered four to one. He fought on alone at tree top height, and his aircraft crashed. He was killed.
From Ludhiana District to 18 Squadron
Sekhon served with 18 Squadron, whose Gnat detachment at Srinagar was responsible for the air defence of the valley. New India Samachar, a Government of India publication, says he came from a village in Ludhiana district, Punjab, and that his father was an Air Force warrant officer who retired as an honorary flight lieutenant.
The same publication describes him as the Indian Air Force's only Param Vir Chakra recipient. An island in the Andaman and Nicobar group was named after him in January 2023.
The citation
Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon was a pilot of Gnat detachment based at Srinagar for the air defence of the valley against Pakistani air attacks. From the very outbreak of the hostilities he and his colleagues fought the successive waves of intruding Pakistani aircraft with valour and determination, maintaining the high reputation of the Gnat aircraft. On 14th December, 1971 Srinagar airfield was attacked by a wave of six enemy Sabre aircraft. Flying Officer Sekhon was on readiness duty at the time. Immediately, however, no fewer than six enemy aircraft were overhead, and they began bombing and strafing the airfield. Inspite of the mortal danger of attempting to take off during the attack. Flying Officer Sekhon took off and immediately engaged a pair of the attacking Sabres. In the fight that ensued, he secured hits on one aircraft and set another on fire. By this time the other Sabre aircraft came to the aid of their hard pressed companions and Flying Officer Sekhon's Gnat was again out-numbered, this time by four to one. Even though alone Flying Officer Sekhon engaged the enemy inanunequal combat. In the fight that followed, at tree top height, he almost held his own, but was eventually overcome by sheer weight of numbers. His aircraft crashed and he was killed.
The sublime heroism, supreme gallantry, flying skill and determination above and beyond the call of duty displayed by Flying Officer Sekhon in the face of certain death, have set new heights to Air Force tradition.
Source: Gazette of India. Reproduced as printed, including any errors in the original.
Cover image: Krishna Chaitanya Velaga, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized for this page. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:N_J_Sekhon_statue_at_Param_Yodha_Sthal_Delhi.jpg