Indian Air Force Hands Over 1971 Dakota Aircraft

India formally handed over the Dakota (DC-3) aircraft to Bangladesh, which has been installed at the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) Museum, Tejgaon on Monday. 

Air Marshal S.B. Deo, AVSM, VM, VSM, AOC-in-C, Eastern Air Command, Indian Air Force (IAF) handed it over to the museum.

This Dakota aircraft took part in the para drop operations in Tangail on 11 December 1971 during the Liberation War.

Dakota aircraft has special significance for BAF as BAF started its journey from Nagaland, Dimapur on 28 September 1971 with the establishment of ‘K’ flight which possessed one Dakota DC-3, one Otter aircraft and one Alluette helicopter.

The aircraft was flown in from New Delhi in a dismantled state in the IAF’s C-17 Globemaster aircraft and then was re-assembled by IAF’s technical team led by Wing Commander R. Deshpande with assistance of BAF.