Bharat Rakshak:Indian Air Force

1941- April, Lahore, Cadet Officer

c April 1941. Flight Cadet at the Initial Training Wing, Lahore. Gohel was part of the No.8th Pilots Course. He spent two months at ITW learning

May 1941 - Elementary Flying at Jodhpur.

On 24th May 1941, the Course reported to No.2 Elementary Flying Training School at Jodhpur. Gohel is seen here in flight gear at Jodhpur. He would have flown Tigermoths as part of his Basic Flying Training at the School.

No.1 Service Flying Training School, Ambala (November 1941)

A historic photograph taken in November 1941, showing three training courses of cadets, Nos 6, 7 and 8, at the No.1 Service Flying Training School in Ambala. A total of 77 Pilot Officers can be seen, including two future Chiefs of the Pakistan Air Force

22 Dec 1941 - "Wings"

Wings at last! AR Pandit (Left) and Himmat Singh Gohel (Right) after the award of the pilot badge "wings" at the SFTS in Ambala. It should be noted that the Course still spent atleast another month after this doing Armament Training.

With the Westland Lysander (April 1942)

H S R Gohel with a Westland Lysander. Gohel was posted to No.4 Squadron flying the type in February 1942.

Lysander Crash at Hyderabad (Sind)

A crashed Lysander of No.4 Squadron in Sind. The undercarriage had collapsed and folded back. The identity of this aircraft is not known.

4 Squadron "Oorials" at Hyderabad - Sind.

A rare group photograph of No.4 Squadron "Oorials" When they were operating the Lysander. HSR Gohel is seated third from left. S A Hussain is seated 2nd from Right, and Kartar Singh Saund third from right. Seated right in the center (6th) is Flt

With M K Janjua - No.4 Squadron - 1942

H S Gohel (Left) with Mohammad Khan Janjua (Right). Janjua later commanded No.4 Squadron and after 1947, became the senior most Air Force Officer in the Pakistan Air Force.

Motorbike at Kohat - 1942/43

Photo taken during the winter of 1942/43 at Kohat, while serving with No.4 Squadron

1942 Portrait

Undated Photograph, but could be from 1942-43

Flying Instructor - 1943

In 1943, Gohel was posted out as a Flying Instructor. He spent time teaching flying to cadets at Ambala and Jodhpur, the same institutions that he learned flying at.

Over the Imphal Valley - Flying a Vengeance with No.7 Squadron

Captioned "My photo going to attack Imphal Valley" was posted in the Logbook. The Pilot in this Vultee Vengeance is Gohel himself, and his gunner was Sgt Baijnath.

Vengeances in Imphal Valley

7 Squadron Vengeances over the Imphal Valley. The aircraft were operating from Kumbhirgram

Six Ship Formation

A six ship formation of Vengeances, possibly photographed in same sortie right over Bishnupur in Imphal Valley

A cleaned up version of same photo

A six ship formation of Vengeances, possibly photographed in same sortie right over Bishnupur in Imphal Valley

Hurricane Operations Logbook

No.7 Squadron withdrew from Burma towards end of 1944 and re-equipped with Hurricane IIC fighter bombers. They went into action again in April 1945 under the command of Squadron Leader P C Lal. This page shows the first month of operations from the logboo

No.7 Squadron at Magwe, Burma

Rare photo of No.7 Squadron pilots from their tour of operations in Burma during 1945. Standing Row : U/I, U/I, U/I, S/L P C Lal OC, F/L H C Dewan, F/O K S Bhat, U/I Seating : U/I, U/I, H S R Gohel, U/I , U/I

1945-Portrait

Spitfire XIV at Advanced Flying School (India)

Spitfire XIV at Advanced Flying School (India). This aircraft was one of the few XIV versions at Ambala in 1946. Used frequently to provide advanced training to the Indian Air Force pilots.

1946-Ambala-Portrait-2

1946-Ambala-Portrait

1946-Ambala-Return

1946-HongKong

1946-RAFHQ-Miho

1946-Year-End

1949-Year-End

Dakota at PTS Agra?

An intriguing photo showing a Dakota with the short lived "Chakra Markings" about to embark Paratroopers - thus suggesting this was at the PTS in Agra. Gohel is standing eight from the right in sunglasses.

Karachi Aero Club

Gohel (Standing in center - Black Pullover) along with fellow flyers at the Karachi Aero Club. Photograph shows Gohel, Sanjana from Navasari, Latif from Rawalpindi, Irani from Bombay and Ali Khan from Aligarh.