Air Marshal Ranjit Singh Bedi passes away at 90
Chandigarh, July 2
Air Marshal Ranjit Singh Bedi, a city-based veteran of the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars and a former councillor of the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, passed away on July 1 in New Delhi at the age of 90.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla, he had been commissioned as a fighter pilot into the IAF in April 1956 and subsequently served with No. 1, 27, 7 and 45 Squadrons, flying the de Havilland Vampire, Hawker Hunter and MiG-21 aircraft.
He later commanded the 11 Forward Base Support Unit, 1 Tactical Air Centre and Air Force Station, Halwara, before retiring as the Director General, Perspective Planning in the Integrated Defence Staff, in November 1993.
In the 1965 and 1971 wars, Air Marshal Bedi flew combat air patrols and undertook escort missions. He was also among the founder members of the IAF’s first formation aerobatics display team that was formed in1962.
In 1970, he was decorated with the Vayu Sena Medal for managing to land his MiG-21 safely after it was damaged in a mid-air collision with another aircraft during rehearsals for the Republic Day flypast over New Delhi.
After retirement he had settled in Chandigarh, where he remained active on the social circuit as well as the local chapter of the Air Force Association, taking up issues of ex-servicemen or their dependents. He was also a regular writer and commentator on defence and strategic matters.
