The induction of the Tejas is a good opportunity to remember HF-24 Marut, India’s first indigenous fighter. The first of the Maruts, which were developed as part of Jawaharlal Nehru’s dream of attaining self-reliance in the aerospace sector, was handed over to the Dagger squadron of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on April 1, 1967.
The story of the Marut started in the mid-1950s, when the government asked the IAF to spell out what they wanted from an indigenous fighter. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bangalore, was tasked with the project. The surprise lay in the choice of the designer: Kurt Tank, who had designed the Fockë-Wulf-190 for Hitler’s Germany in the Second World War, was invited to head the project.
In August 1956, Tank, accompanied by his deputy, Herr Mittelhuper, arrived in Bangalore to establish and head the design team of the Marut. There were only three senior Indian designers and the German duo had to build the entire infrastructure from scratch. By April 1959, they had produced the first prototype of the wooden glider, a style preferred by German fighter designers. The two-seater glider — fitted with a camera on the rear — had 78 successful flights till March 24, 1960, many of them with Tank in the rear seat. Former intelligence official Anand Arni, who grew up in Bangalore, has “vivid memories of witnessing drop tanks being ejected into a lake near the HAL airport, with Tank sitting on one side with a pair of binoculars”.
05/07/16 Sushant Singh/Indian Express
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The story of the Marut started in the mid-1950s, when the government asked the IAF to spell out what they wanted from an indigenous fighter. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bangalore, was tasked with the project. The surprise lay in the choice of the designer: Kurt Tank, who had designed the Fockë-Wulf-190 for Hitler’s Germany in the Second World War, was invited to head the project.
In August 1956, Tank, accompanied by his deputy, Herr Mittelhuper, arrived in Bangalore to establish and head the design team of the Marut. There were only three senior Indian designers and the German duo had to build the entire infrastructure from scratch. By April 1959, they had produced the first prototype of the wooden glider, a style preferred by German fighter designers. The two-seater glider — fitted with a camera on the rear — had 78 successful flights till March 24, 1960, many of them with Tank in the rear seat. Former intelligence official Anand Arni, who grew up in Bangalore, has “vivid memories of witnessing drop tanks being ejected into a lake near the HAL airport, with Tank sitting on one side with a pair of binoculars”.
05/07/16 Sushant Singh/Indian Express
