Military Digest: Remembering the exploits of legendary Wing Commander ‘Jaggi’ Nath

The 53rd Pilot’s Course took place in the months after the Partition. As per information available on the website Bharat-Rakshak.com, which maintains extensive data of pilot courses and participation, 89 cadets reported to the Initial Training Wing (ITW) in Coimbatore on July 19, 1948 and completed initial ground training in July 1949. Later, the pilots trained at No.2 Air Force Academy in Jodhpur on Tiger Moth aircraft from August 1949 to October 1950 and 40 of them were commissioned.

Wing Commander Nath was commissioned into the transport stream and went on to fly Dakotas. Later, when the IAF inducted the Canberra aircraft, he trained on them and in 1962 he was posted in the 106 Squadron which specialised in photo reconnaissance by Canberras. He went on to become the Flight Commander and the Commanding Officer of this squadron, participating in the 1962 and 1965 wars while serving in the squadron and earning two consecutive MVCs within a span of three years.

Jaggi Nath’s missions over Tibet and Ladakh gave vital inputs regarding Chinese troops’ movements and deployments in the northern and eastern sectors. He would undertake these sorties over Chinese airspace disregarding grave danger and managed to get some damning evidence of the Chinese build-up and deployment in many areas including Aksai Chin.

His citation for the MVC in 1962 reads, “As flight commander of an operational squadron, Squadron Leader Jag Mohan Nath carried out a number of hazardous operational tasks involving flying over difficult mountain terrain, both by day and by night, in adverse weather conditions and in complete disregard of his personal safety. He displayed conspicuous gallantry, a very high sense of duty and high degree of professional skill”.

In the 1965 war, Jaggi Nath was instrumental in mapping the Icchogil Canal in Pakistan Punjab and the Pakistan Army defences all along the canal. This was a major water obstacle which served as a deterrent all along the Indo-Pak border in Punjab and Nath’s aerial photographs, again at great peril to the aircraft’s crew, helped decode the Pakistani force levels and deployments.

His citation for the Bar to MVC (second award of the medal) reads, “During the operations against Pakistan, Squadron Leader Jag Mohan Nath, commanding officer of a Canberra unit, undertook several missions over enemy territory, entailing unescorted long-distance daylight flying over well-defended airfields and installations. Although, fully aware of the risks, he chose to undertake them himself instead of detailing his squadron pilots until he was ordered to let his colleagues do some of them. He brought information of vital importance which enabled the Air Force to deliver its attacks on targets, the destruction of which hindered the war effort of Pakistan”.

Wing Commander Nath took premature retirement from the IAF in 1970 and worked with Air India before settling down in Mumbai. He was the last of the six IAF pilots who have been awarded MVC twice and his death marks the end of an era.