One of the first Sikh pilots,S.Manmohan Singh son of Dr. Makhan Singh was born in Rawalpindi, now in Pakistan, in September 1906. Dr Makhan Singh was a recipient of the Kaisar-i-Hind medal from the government for his distinguished public service as a medical practitioner.
Manmohan Singh was educated at Denny's High School and at Gordon College, both in Rawalpindi. In 1923, at the age of 17 he went to England to train as a civil engineer, receiving his B.Sc degree four years later at the University of Bristol. In England he also completed a two-year course in flying and aeronautical engineering for which he had been given a scholarship by the Government of British India. Manmohan Singh therefore became one of the very first Sikh aviators.
In world War ll At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Manmohan Singh joined the Indian Air Force Volunteer Reserve as a pilot officer. He was selected leader of an Indian Air Force batch of pilots sent to England for training and active duty. As the oldest of the group he was affectionately known as Chacha (Punjabi for Uncle). Manmohan Singh was a man of strong character and determination. While in England he was known to have a cold shower every morning and not to eat anything until he had recited the Sikh prayer of Japji Sahib (one of the Sikh morning prayers). Air Marshall Shivdev Singh, one of the group of Indian pilots that trained in England with Manmohan Singh once was quoted as attributing his fame, "to mistaken identity, that with Chacha Manmohan Singh".
In world War ll At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Manmohan Singh joined the Indian Air Force Volunteer Reserve as a pilot officer. He was selected leader of an Indian Air Force batch of pilots sent to England for training and active duty. As the oldest of the group he was affectionately known as Chacha (Punjabi for Uncle). Manmohan Singh was a man of strong character and determination. While in England he was known to have a cold shower every morning and not to eat anything until he had recited the Sikh prayer of Japji Sahib (one of the Sikh morning prayers). Air Marshall Shivdev Singh, one of the group of Indian pilots that trained in England with Manmohan Singh once was quoted as attributing his fame, "to mistaken identity, that with Chacha Manmohan Singh".
Given Manmohan Singh’s long and varied flying experience, he was given immediate command of a Sunderland flying boat with the RAF Coastal Command, hunting submarines during the battle for the Atlantic. Manmohan Singh was later promoted to flying officer in the British Indian Air Force and given the command of a Catalina aircraft in the No. 205 squadron for operations in the Philippines and Indonesia. Having suffered heavy losses during operations to locate the Japanese invasion fleets, No. 205 squadron withdrew from Singapore and relocated to Java. When the Japanese forces invaded Java the squadron retired to the south of the island and then to Australia.The flying boats arrived at Broome on the morning of 3 March 1942. At 9:50am, a Japanese air attack consisting of nine Mitsubishi Zeros destroyed all fifteen flying boats still on the water in Broome harbour. 88 people were killed. Manmohan Singh was in a Catalina at the time the attack occurred. He is thought to have survived the shelling and resulting explosion however as Manmohan Singh could not swim he drowned in the ocean.
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