Anil Yashwant Tipnis

Air Chief Marshal
A Y Tipnis
PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC
18th Chief of Air Staff
In office
31 December 1998 - 31 December 2001
PresidentK. R. Narayanan
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded bySatish Sareen
Succeeded bySrinivasapuram Krishnaswamy
24th Vice Chief of the Air Staff
In office
1 April 1997 - 31 December 1998
PresidentShankar Dayal Sharma
K. R. Narayanan
Prime MinisterH. D. Deve Gowda
Inder Kumar Gujral
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded byTrevor Raymond Joseph Osman
Succeeded byPrithvi Singh Brar
Personal details
Born (1940-09-15) 15 September 1940 (age 84)
Alma materNational Defence Academy, Pune
Military service
Allegiance India
Branch/service Indian Air Force
Years of service20 May 1960 – 31 December 2001
Rank Air Chief Marshal
UnitNo. 7 Squadron IAF
CommandsWestern Air Command
AFS Gwalior
23 Squadron
Battles/warsKargil War
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Awards

Air Chief Marshal Anil Yashwant Tipnis, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 15 September 1940) served as Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force from 31 December 1998 to 31 December 2001. He commanded the Air Force to distinction during the Kargil War, when the force flew air superiority and close air support at heights of over 18,000 feet[1]

Early life and education

Anil Yashwant Tipnis was born on 15 September 1940. He did his education at Barnes School, Deolali. After his schooling, he joined the National Defence Academy, (NDA) Pune in January 1956.[2]

Career

Tipnis was commissioned as a fighter pilot on 28 May 1960. He spent his initial years as an operational pilot in several front line fighter squadrons.[2]

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Tipnis served with The First Supersonics, the 28 Squadron. After the war, Tipnis was deputed to Iraq as a Pilot Attack Instructor (PAI).[2]

Tipnis qualified as a Fighter Combat Leader at the Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE) in 1973.[2]

After attending the Staff College course at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Wing Commander Tipnis took command of 23 Squadron quipped with Mig 21 Bison. After this stint, Tipnis was also short-listed (one among four) for the Interkosmos space program.[2]

As an Air Commodore, Tipnis commanded Air Force Station Gwalior which was equipped with Mirage 2000.[2]

He attended the Defence Studies Course at National Defence College in 1989. On promotion to Two-star rank, AVM Tipnis was appointed Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Inspection) at Air HQ. He later took over as Air Officer Commanding (AOC) J & K Area.[2]

As an Air Marshal, Tipnis served as Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) of Eastern Air Command and of Western Air Command. He later served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Air Command from Aug 1995 to March 1997.[3]

Tipnis then moved to Air HQ and served as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff before taking over as the 18th Chief of the Air Staff.[2]

Awards and decorations

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vayu Sena Medal
Meritorious Service Medal Siachen Glacier Medal Raksha Medal Sangram Medal
Sainya Seva Medal High Altitude Service Medal Videsh Seva Medal 50th Anniversary Independence Medal
25th Anniversary Independence Medal 30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal

References

  1. ^ "Ex-Chiefs Gallery". Indian Air Force. Archived from the original on 30 April 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "A.Y. TIPNIS PVSM,AVSM, VM, ADC CAS". indianairforce.nic.in/.
  3. ^ "Air Chief Marshal Anil Yeshwant Tipnis". bharat-rakshak.com.
Military offices
Preceded by Chief of the Air Staff (India)
31 December 1998 – 31 December 2001 		Succeeded by