Military Digest: In memory of Wing Commander VK Neb, war hero of 1965 and 1971 air battles
One of the only five Indian Air Force (IAF) officers to be awarded a Vir Chakra twice, Wing Commander Vinod Kumar Neb passed away on January 30 in a hospital in Delhi-NCR.
Wing Commander Neb had been awarded the Vir Chakra in the 1965 war with Pakistan as a young pilot stationed in Halwara, near Ludhiana. He was awarded a ‘Bar’ to the medal (awarded a second time) in the 1971 India-Pakistan war while flying in the eastern theatre.
Air Vice Marshal B K Bishnoi, Air Commodore A I K Suares, Group Captain P L Dhawan and Air Marshal V K ‘Jimmy’ Bhatia are the only other four IAF pilots who have been awarded a Vir Chakra and bar. With the passing away of Wing Commander Neb, Air Marshal Bhatia is the sole surviving Vir Chakra and Bar awardee.
Neb was awarded the first Vir Chakra while serving with the 27 Squadron in Punjab’s Halwara. In a Facebook post some time ago, he said September 6, 1965, was a “very important and a memorable day in my life”.
As a 22-year-old freshly minted pilot flying Hunters, Neb responded to a Pakistan Air Force raid on Halwara airfield and shot down a Pakistani F-86 Sabre along with Flight Lieutenant (later Air Marshal) D N Rathore.
“Nearing the dusk time while carrying out Combat Air Petrol at Halwara airfield I spotted 3 Sabres positioning to attack the base. On my reporting to my leader Flt Lt Rathore, we did some combat manoeuvring and I got behind one Sabre. The rookie that I was got excited having got him in my gun sight and opened the volley of 4×30 mm Aden guns fire. But I found the bullets were missing the Sabre and ploughing the ground,” recalled Wing Commander Neb many years later.
However, he soon corrected himself and gave another burst. “This time I got his tail and noticed black puffs of smoke. Then I further corrected the aiming index, the piper on the cockpit, and this time gave a longer burst which was hitting the root of the port wing. At this point I was barely 100 yards behind, he threw in a hard left turn but I continued to fire as I wanted to see him explode. Finally, it did and found a big moon-shaped piece of aircraft gushing towards me, I broke right to save myself. Later his (Pakistani aircraft’s) wreckage was found near Sidhwan Khas village,” recalled Neb.
Neb was awarded the Vir Chakra the second time while he was flying with 17 Squadron based in West Bengal’s Hasimara.
On December 4, 1971, his squadron launched its very first attack on Kurmitola. “The formation of 4 Hunter aircraft was led by Sqn Ldr Lele with Bains as his wingman and self as deputy leader with Bajwa as my wingman. As we were near our IP to run in for the attack I spotted three Sabre aircraft about 2 km behind 2 Hunter aircraft heading north. I ordered a hard right turn, simultaneously they also turned into us. A full-fledged air combat developed,” wrote Neb in his account of the air battle.
During the manoeuvres, Bains was shot at but he skillfully flew back to the base with his damaged aircraft. The two remaining Hunters engaged with three Sabres.
“I achieved a fairly advantageous position behind the Sabre pilot with a white helmet. Unfortunately at this point, my engine fire warning light came on. As per emergency handling, I had to throttle back to idling for 10 secs and wait for the light to go off, but 10 seconds felt like 10 hours. I lost all the advantage on the Sabre ahead. I was left with two options: get shot by an idiot or get blown in the cockpit. I chose the latter and opened full throttle to get back in the act. Being 340 km from the base I had planned 3 minutes of combat fuel, but it had taken much longer. Since fuel was becoming a challenge I had to disengage which was not easy,” he said.
Neb’s Vir Chakra citation says he brought the aircraft safely to the base despite engine trouble. “Subsequently, he operated from the detachment of the Squadron away from the base and flew a number of ground strike missions in the Comilla Sector. Along with his leader, he was responsible for destroying the enemy bunkers and gun positions on the hillocks overlooking our troops in Barkar which enabled its capture by our troops,” says the citation.
After his retirement, Wing Commander Neb was a passionate advocate for the rights of ex-servicemen and particularly for the implementation of the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme. He took part in many demonstrations braving the strong arm of the law and also appeared in television debates arguing the point of view of veterans.
With Wing Commander Neb’s demise yet another war hero of the dwindling numbers of 1965 and 1971 war veterans has bid adieu. Here’s wishing the gallant air warrior happy landings in Valhalla.
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