Marshal of IAF Arjan Singh (1919-2017). PTI

New Delhi, September 16

War hero Marshal Arjan Singh, who led the Indian Air Force during the 1965 India-Pakistan conflict, died tonight at the age of 98. Marshal Arjan Singh, the only officer of the IAF to be promoted to a five-star rank, equal to a Field Marshal in the Army, was admitted to Army’s Research and Referral Hospital this morning after he suffered a cardiac arrest. He is survived by a son and a daughter. His wife passed away in 2011.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The government announced his death at 9:03 pm through a press release, saying “a glorious era has come to an end”. Gen VK Singh (retd) tweeted about the demise at 8:28 pm. Before that at 5:26 pm, the former Army Chief condoled the death and then deleted the tweet. Sources close to the family began informing people about the demise at 3:30 pm.Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the three Service Chiefs — Gen Bipin Rawat, Admiral Sunil Lanba and Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa — visited Arjan Singh at the hospital. Punjab CM Captain Amarinder condoled the Marshal’s death and declared a three-day state mourning to pay tribute to him. Arjan Singh, who had flown more than 60 different types of aircraft, led a fledgling IAF in the 1965 war when he was just 46 years old. As Pakistan launched its Operation Grand Slam with an armoured thrust targeted at the vital town of Akhnoor in J&K, he was summoned into the Defence Minister’s office with a request for air support.Asked how quickly the IAF will be ready for operations, he replied with his characteristic nonchalance, “…in an hour”. And true to his word, the Air Force struck the Pakistani offensive in an hour. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his leadership during the 1965 war.Born on April 15, 1919, in Lyallpur, Punjab (undivided India), his father, grandfather and great grandfather had served in the cavalry. Educated at Montgomery, British India (now in Pakistan), he  joined the RAF College, Cranwell, in 1938 and was commissioned as Pilot Officer in December the following year. Arjan Singh led an IAF squadron into combat during the 1944 Arakan Campaign and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was the Air Force Chief from August 1, 1964, till July 15, 1969. After retirement, Arjan Singh was made Ambassador to Switzerland in 1971 and concurrently served as Ambassador to the Vatican. He was made Marshal of the IAF in January 2002. — TNS/PTI