No. 44 Squadron IAF

No. 44 Squadron
Active	April 1961 - Present
Country	India
Role	Transport
Garrison/HQ	AFS Nagpur
Nickname(s)	"Mighty Jets"
Motto(s)	Ishtam Yatnen Sadhyetah Achieve Goals with Perseverance
Aircraft flown
Transport	IL-76MD

No. 44 Squadron is a unit of the Indian Air Force assigned to Maintenance Command. The Squadron participates in operations involving air, land and air-drop of troops, equipment, supplies, and support or augment special operations forces, when appropriate.

History

The Squadron undertook extensive air maintenance sorties in the Ladakh and J&K Sectors. This earned the squadron the emblem of "Himalayan Geese" which was formally approved by the then President, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan on 26 May 1966.

In 1971 Indo-Pak Conflict, the squadron proved its mettle by innovating and effectively employing AN-12s in the bombing role in the Western theatre. Notably, 44 Squadron is the only transport squadron of the Indian Air Force to be conferred the Battle Honours, a feat otherwise reserved for active operational combat units.^[1] No. 44 Squadron has flown relief missions to Sri Lanka and Indonesia during the Tsunami disaster, rescuing civilians, and to avalanche victims in Kashmir as well SOS missions to quake-affected Iran.^[2]

Lineage

• Constituted as No. 44 Squadron (Mighty Jets) on 6 April 1961^[3]
• Designated the emblem of "Himalayan geese" on 26 May 1966

Assignments

• Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
• 1988 Maldives coup d'état
• Hurricane Katrina disaster relief

Aircraft

• IL-76

References

1. http://meghalayatimes.info/index.php/archives-old/57-state/state/13732-presidents-standard-awarded-to-iafs-44-squadron-and-110-helicopter-unit
2. http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/oct/27quake1.htm
3. "Squadrons and Helicopter Units". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 23 November 2015.