In 1919 immediately after the
First World War (1914-18), first airstrip was built in Haryana when RAF Ambala was created and a
Flying Instruction School (FIS) was formed here. On 1 April 1920,
No. 28 Squadron RAF which was earlier disbanded in Britain in January 1920, was reformed at
RAF Ambala by renumbering
114 Squadron, an army cooperation squadron equipped with the
Bristol F2b Fighter. It may have also retained some
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s, although if operated, they were soon phased out. The squadron operated over the
North-West Frontier, moving to
Kohat in December 1921. On 1st April 1938 just before the
Second World War (1939-45), Ambala was approved as the permanent Station Headquarters when some staff from the
Drigh Road Karachi Airfield was moved to Ambala, including the
Pilot Officers Goyal, Arjan Singh and Prithipal Singh, and in June 1938 two squadrons were moved here,
No. 1 Squadron IAF (The Tigers) - the oldest squadron of the Indian Air Force and
No. 28 Squadron RAF. Royal Air Force units based at Ambala during
British India era included: •
No. 3 Squadron RAF between 1 April and 30 September 1921 without any aircraft •
No. 5 Squadron RAF between 26 October 1922 and 10 March 1924 with the
Bristol F.2B Fighter •
No. 20 Squadron RAF between 17 October 1921 and 24 October 1922 with the Bristol F.2B •
No. 28 Squadron RAF between 1 April 1920 and 15 October 1921 with the Bristol F.2B •
No. 31 Squadron RAF between 13 March 1924 and 15 December 1926 with the Bristol F.2B •
No. 60 Squadron RAF between 3 March 1939 and 19 September 1940 with the
Bristol Blenheim I •
No. 99 Squadron RAF between 15 June and 26 September 1919 with the
Airco DH.9A •
No. 114 Squadron RAF between 2 October 1919 and 1 April 1920 with the Bristol F.2B •
No. 1 (Indian) Service Flying Training School RAF, disbanded 1 April 1946 here. •
No. 659 Squadron RAF between January 1946 and May 1947 with the
Taylorcraft Auster V. On 1 April 1946 1 SFTS, 151 OTU and 1 (Advanced) Flying Unit merged to become the Advanced Flying School (India) at Ambala. After
India's independence in August 1947, Ambala became independent India's first IAF station. Indian Air Force rejected the Pakistani claim and stated that no aircraft were lost in Ambala during the war. On February 26, 2019, for India's
2019 Balakot airstrike in Pakistan, Mirage fighters took off from the Ambala air base, and the whole operation took 30 minutes. During the
COVID-19 pandemic in India in 2020-21, the Russian
Ministry of Emergency Situations flew relief supplies from Russia to Ambala. ==Assets==