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==Also see==
*[[Indian Air Force]]
*[[Medals]]
*[[Medal Rolls]]
==31 Squadron Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force==
31 Squadron was the first operational military unit in Indian skies
"Upon its foundation, 31 squadron was sent to Bombay for war service in India, flying its first operation in its BE 2C aircraft early in 1916. In 1917, based at [[Risalpur]], it was employed in operations against the Mahsud tribesmen of the north-west Frontier who, urged on by their Mullahs, had risen against the British Raj. The 31st helped put down the revolt by bombing and machine-gunning Mahsud villages and columns. In 1919, after quelling riots by Sikhs around Amritsar, the squadron was employed in Afghanistan where tribesmen had declared a new Jihad against the British. The squadron carried out almost daily bombing attacks, including one raid on the Afghani Amir's palace in his capital Kabul. The bombing helped to demoralise the Afghanis who sued for peace. ‘Peacekeeping' operations with new Bristol aircraft continued sporadically in the troubled north-west region where tribesmen continued their resistance to British rule. In the Second World War, equipped with Valencia and DC2 aircraft, the squadron countered the pro-Axis coup in Iraq in 1941, flying in material and evacuating casualties from Habbaniya airfield. In 1942, following the Japanese entry into the war, it performed the same funcrtion in Burma. Flying Dakota aircraft, 31 helped supply the first and second Chindit expeditions behind enemy lines launched from Imphal by General Orde Wingate. In 1943-44 the squadron maintained its vital supply role in turning back the Japanese offensives in the Arakan area. In the latter stages of the war, 31 was involved in the rescue and repatration of Allied Prisoners of War and Chinese ‘Comfort women' from Japanese captivity."<ref> Naval and Military Press publication [http://www.naval-military-press.com/history-of-no.31-squadron-royal-flying-corps-and-royal-air-force-in-the-east-from-its-formation-in-1915-to-1950..html ''History Of No.31 Squadron Royal Flying Corps And Royal Air Force in the East from its formation in 1915 to 1950'']</ref>
==External links==
*[http://www.raf.mod.uk/links/contacts.cfm Royal Air Force: Contacts]
*[http://www.flickr.com/photos/90553739@N06 reddin68's photostream on flickr.com] taken by a member of the 31 Squadron in the NWFP during and after WW1
*[http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/31squadron.cfm 31 Squadron RAF] raf.mod.uk. This first operational military unit in Indian skies was in action along the North West Frontier from 1916, assisting the army in dealing with tribal unrest. Its BE2c biplanes were employed on artillery observation, reconnaissance and ground attack.
*Naval and Military Press publication [http://www.naval-military-press.com/history-of-no.31-squadron-royal-flying-corps-and-royal-air-force-in-the-east-from-its-formation-in-1915-to-1950..html ''History Of No.31 Squadron Royal Flying Corps And Royal Air Force in the East from its formation in 1915 to 1950'']
*[http://www.britishbadgeforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=40189&postcount=10 RAF on the NW Frontier Circa 1920's] part of a [http://www.britishbadgeforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6355 thread] from britishbadgeforum.com
*[http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/The-Bombing-of-Waziristan.html The Bombing of Waziristan (c 1924-1939)] by Graham Chandler ''Air & Space magazine'', July 2011
*[http://www.colonialfilm.org.uk/node/4128 Film: India, North-West Frontier, 1937]. colonialfilm.org.uk. Film shows various military scenes, including numerous scenes of the RAF in action, bombing, shooting and dropping leaflets in Waziristan
*[http://www.socialisthistorysociety.co.uk/duncancontents.htm ''Mutiny In The RAF- the Air Force Strikes of 1946''] by David Duncan. Originally published 1998. socialisthistorysociety.co.uk. The first chapter is titled "Mutiny in Karachi"
*[http://www.152hyderabad.co.uk/index.htm 152(Hyderabad) F Squadron 1939-1967] Served in India from 19th December 1943 as part of Calcutta’s defence and later moved to the front. Disbanded at R.A.F. Risalpur in 1947
== References ==
<references />
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