It’s been nearly five decades since Wg Cdr N. Somasekhar Rao (retd) participated in the Indo-Pak war, but his unparalleled technical brilliance and bravery are still etched in the collective memory of his colleagues. This 78-year-old man was instrumental in modifying the Super Hunter aircraft for carrying larger weapon system during the Indo-Pak war of 1971.
“I joined the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 1965. Just a few months into service, I participated in the historic Indo-Pak war which started on September 3. It was a major war that lasted for around 20 days. I was just 23, and was all geared up because I always wanted to join the Defense,” says Somasekhar, who hails from Salur in Andhra Pradesh.
He was posted at the Delhi operational camp during the war. “Since the aircraft directly fly into the war zone from our operational base (near Delhi) where I was the technical officer of the squadron, my duty was to ensure that the aircraft was ready and loaded with all the ammunitions and refueled for the next outing of bombings. It was chaotic and we were working non-stop. It was a war that India neither won nor lost.”
Somasekhar wasn’t married when the war took place. “The only means of communication was letters. After the war, when I returned home, my mom became emotional. I was told that she panicked and became restless during the war thinking about me.”
In 1966, to further strengthen the air base, IAF purchased a super hunter aircraft that had a better fuel capacity of 230 gallons (as against the normal hunter aircraft with capacity of 100 gallons).
Until then, the normal hunter aircraft was able to drop only two bombs from the two internal boards. So the biggest challenge was to redesign and modify the super hunter aircraft to carry larger weapon systems. Somasekhar and his team withstood all the pressure and spent sleepless nights to achieve this target.
“We succeeded in increasing the aircraft’s capacity as a weapon platform multiple times. With greater fuel efficiency, we had larger range (40 per cent increase in terms of distance) and four bombs could be dropped from internal as well as external boards. We even launched four rocket pods from the internal and external boards, and also developed a new ‘gun sight’ for greater bombing accuracy,” reveals Somasekhar.
This redesigned Super Hunter aircraft made India’s victory over Pakistan very easy in 1971.
“Pakistan knew we purchased a Super Hunter aircraft, but they did not know that we had the technical expertise to modify it. As a result, we were able to hit Pakistan at crucial territories and win the war. It was a proud feeling,” recalls Somasekhar, who even authored a book, Mite to Might. “I believe even a small contribution can go a long way in building our nation, hence the title.”
