No. 8 Squadron IAF

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No. 8 Squadron
Active1 December 1942 - Present
CountryIndia Republic of India
Branch Indian Air Force
RoleFighter
Garrison/HQBareilly AFS
Nickname(s)"Eight Pursoots"
Motto(s)Surakshya Va Akraman
Offense is Defence
Aircraft flown
FighterSukhoi Su-30MKI

No. 8 Squadron (Eight Pursoots) is a fighter squadron and is equipped with Su-30MKIs and based at Bareilly AFS.[1]

History[edit]

No. 8 Squadron were formed in 1943 at Tiruchirapalli and were trained at Peshawar and Bhopal. On 2 December 1943, they were moved to Doublemooring in Chittagong (now in Bangladesh) to work closely together with No. 82 Squadron RAF in the Burma Campaign. Equipped with Spitfires they had significant success against the Japanese Imperial Army.

Assignments[edit]

Aircraft[edit]

Aircraft From To Air Base
Pre-Independence (1942–47)
Vultee A-31 Vengeance 1A August 1943 November 1944 Tiruchirappalli[2]
Supermarine Spitfire V December 1944 January 1945
Harvard IIB July 1944 January 1951
Supermarine Spitfire XIV November 1944 June 1946
Post-Independence (1947–Present)
Hawker Tempest II April 1947 December 1951
Vampire FB52 December 1951 June 1953
Vampire T55 June 1953 February 1957
Dassault Ouragan November 1953 February 1957
Dassault Mystère IV February 1957 February 1969
MiG-21 FL February 1969 February 2010 Bagdogra, Tezpur
Sukhoi Su-30 MKI February 2010 Present AFS Bareilly

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Squadrons and Helicopter Units". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  2. ^ "No.8 Squadron Eight Pursoots". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 22 June 2021.