World War II Lal was commissioned in November 1939 as a
pilot officer and posted to
Karachi as an observer. He was later posted back to Risalpur as a navigation instructor. After a short stint at the Coastal Defence Flight in
Calcutta, Lal was posted as a navigation instructor at No. 1 Flying Training School at
Ambala. It was here that he was also trained as a pilot. He flew the Hawker Audax and the
Hawker Hart. In 1943,
Flight Lieutenant Lal joined, as a combat pilot,
No. 7 Squadron, commanded by
Squadron Leader Hem Chaudhuri. The squadron was equipped with
Vultee A-31 Vengeance dive bombers and supported the
Chindits. The squadron also helped in relieving the
Siege of Imphal. In June 1944, Lal was promoted to the acting rank of squadron leader and took command of No. 7 Squadron. Under him, the squadron converted to fighters. From early 1944 to March 1945, the squadron was very active in the
Burma Campaign. He led the squadron in a tactical reconnaissance role in support of the
XIV Army, from North Burma all the way till
Rangoon. He was
mentioned in dispatches in December 1944. In October 1945, Lal was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). The citation for his DFC reads as follows: After the war, Lal was absorbed into the permanent cadre of the IAF. He moved to the Manning department at Air Headquarters. In August 1946, he took over the inter-service recruiting centre at
Calcutta. He was sent for a senior commanders' course to the
United Kingdom in December 1946.
Post-Independence On 15 August 1947, with the
Partition of India, a new Air Headquarters of the
Dominion of India was formed. Lal was appointed the Director of Planning and Training at Air HQ. In November 1947, he was promoted to the acting rank of
group captain. Realising that the planning and training were vast responsibilities, it was divided into two departments. In late 1948, Group Captain Arjan Singh took over as Director of Training, while Lal continued as Director of Planning. Along with Group Captain
Minoo Merwan Engineer, Lal embarked for United Kingdom, having been selected to attend the
RAF Staff College, Andover in May 1949. serving in that capacity for three years. In November 1950, there were tensions in the
Kingdom of Nepal.
King Tribhuvan faced a
coup d'état from the
Rana dynasty. He took refuge in the Indian embassy. With two
Dakota aircraft, Lal led the Indian Air Force team that brought the king to safety in
New Delhi. He led a team of three in October 1954, consisting of Group Captain (later
Air Chief Marshal)
Hrushikesh Moolgavkar and
Flight Lieutenant (later air commodore) Roshan Lal Suri, to Europe to select new aircraft for the IAF. The team rejected the
Supermarine Swift and chose the
Folland Gnat, a decision which would serve India and the IAF well during the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. During this tour, he became the first Indian to break the sound barrier. After a three-year stint at the Cabinet Secretariat, he took over as the
air officer commanding Training Command in
Bangalore.
Indian Airlines Corporation In November 1957, Lal's services were loaned to the
Indian Airlines Corporation (IAC) for five years. He took over as the
general manager of IAC. He simultaneously served as a member of the
board of directors of IAC and
Air India. The IAC fleet was modernised and the company showed its first profits during his tenure. Lal was re-instated in service in December as Air Officer Maintenance at Air Headquarters. On 15 January 1966, in recognition of the contribution of the IAF, the post of the CAS was upgraded to the rank of Air Chief Marshal and that of the VCAS to the rank of Air Marshal. Lal was promoted to the acting rank of
air marshal, the first VCAS to hold the rank.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited In September 1966, Lal was deputed to the
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and took over as the
managing director. congratulating the chiefs of the three services,
General Sam Manekshaw,
Admiral SM Nanda and
Air Chief Marshal PC Lal.
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was sparked by the
Bangladesh Liberation War, a conflict between the traditionally dominant
West Pakistanis and the majority
East Pakistanis. In 1970, East Pakistanis demanded autonomy for the state, but the
Pakistani government failed to satisfy these demands and, in early 1971, a demand for secession took root in East Pakistan. In March, the
Pakistan Armed Forces launched a fierce campaign to curb the secessionists, the latter including soldiers and police from East Pakistan. Thousands of East Pakistanis died, and nearly ten million refugees fled to
West Bengal, a neighbouring Indian state. In April, India decided to assist in the formation of the new nation of
Bangladesh. The war started on 3 December 1971 with
Operation Chengiz Khan. Aircraft of the
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) mounted simultaneous attacks on seven IAF bases – Srinagar, Awantipur, Pathankot, Uttarlai, Jodhpur, Ambala and Agra. A radar station on the border was also hit. The IAF struck back. By 21:00hrs, the
Canberras of the
No. 35 Squadron and
No. 106 Squadron, as well as
No. 5 and
No. 16 Squadrons, were armed for a foray deep into Pakistan. These flew against eight Western Pakistani airbases:
Murid,
Mianwali,
Sargodha,
Chandhar, Risalewala,
Rafiqui, and
Masroor. In total, 23 combat
sorties were launched that night, inflicting heavy damage on Sargodha and Masroor airbases. The PAF units stationed on these airfields had to operate from taxiways for the following two days. Through the night the Indian Air Force also
struck the main East Pakistani airfields of
Tejgaon, and later
Kurmitola. At the same time, the Indian Air Force was deploying additional aircraft to its forward airfields for strikes that were to follow the next morning. Within days, India achieved
air superiority. Lal ensured that the
Indian Army and the IAF worked closely with each other. The advance HQs of
Western Air Command and
Eastern Air Command were alongside their respective army commands. The advance HQs, under an air commodore, were responsible for providing support to the Army as required. Each corps HQ under the commands had a tactical air centre, commanded by a group captain, who reported to the advance HQ. In the field,
forward air controllers were responsible for directing strikes called out in the support of the Army. The war lasted less than a fortnight and saw more than 90,000 Pakistani soldiers taken prisoner. It ended with the unconditional surrender of Pakistan's eastern half and resulted in the birth of Bangladesh as a new nation. The IAF flew over 7300 sorties in 14 days, an average of about 500 sorties per day. About 86 PAF aircraft were downed, at the cost of 42 IAF aircraft. For his services to the nation, Lal was awarded the
Padma Vibhushan in January 1972. Lal retired from service on 16 January 1973 after serving for over 33 years. He handed over charge to Air Chief Marshal
Om Prakash Mehra. ==Post-retirement==