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| Date: | Thursday 6 October 1938 |
| Time: | afternoon |
| Type: |  Westland Wapiti Mk IIA |
| Owner/operator: | 1 Sqn IAF |
| Registration: | K1279 ? |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | between Shuidar and Datta Khel, North West Frontier Province -
 India
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
On 6 October 1938, a Wapiti IIA of 1 Squadron, Indian Air Force had to make a forced landing. Mehar Singh and his air gunner Ghulam Ali had a nasty experience when, during a strafing attack on tribesmen in a particularly wild valley near Shaidar, not visited by the Army since 1890, his Wapiti was hit by bullets and fuel pipe damaged.
With great skill and verve, Mehar Singh force landed the biplane with bombs still attached, up-hill on a semi-flat spur on a mountain ledge. It was late in the afternoon, Mehar Singh and Ghulam Ali extricated the lewis gun, took refuge in a cave even as hostile tribesmen searched for them. At nightfall, the airmen walked back without maps, evading the hostiles and returned safely
%. Aircraft probably K1279 as all details appear to fit although operator given as 27 Sqn RAF.
Sources:
1. http://www.warbirds.in/Crashes/crdetails.php?crno=WW20004
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._1_Squadron_IAF
3. http://web.archive.org/web/20130728123414/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/Aircraft/Wapiti.html
4. http://web.archive.org/web/20131109220453/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1930s/Training-Days.html
5. Air Britain: "The K Kile - The Royal Air Force in the 1930's"
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 15-Jan-2015 13:04 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 15-Jan-2015 13:06 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, ] |
| 06-Jun-2015 09:20 | T.Taylor | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 04-Jan-2021 15:33 | Castleace | Updated [Registration, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 13-Feb-2024 19:01 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Operator, ] |
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