Air Force Technical College, Bangalore

HISTORY

Air Force Technical College is situated in Bangalore, India.

History
Air Force Technical College (AFTC) was established on 4 July 1949, in collaboration with Air Service Training Co. (Hamble), U.K. with Gp.Capt. J Beaumont CBE, DFC, as the first Commandant. The college was then named as Technical Training College (TTC). The entire staff of the College were officers and technicians from the Royal Air Force (RAF). Judged by their civil attire and gentle behaviour it was conjectured that some of the instructors were civilians. TTC was the first College in India and in the whole of Asia which trained aeronautical engineers for military aviation. The first principal of the college was Gp.Capt. Vaghuan Phillips to be succeeded by Gp.Capt.Thripps,who was also the co-designer of HT-2 with Mr.Ghatge, of the first HAL produced single engined trainer aircraft.The other notable technical staff included Sir.William Houghton - the co-inventor of Radar, Mr.B.H.Middleton of Smiths Aircraft Instruments U.K., Mr.Holbon of the Rolls Royce and Mr.Sturggeon of de Havilland. Mr.Porter headed the Department of Basic Engineering Technology.

The scheme for training world class technicians for the IAF on the lines of Air Force Technical College Cranwell in U.K. to replace the RAF Ground Engineers who left after independence,commenced in 1949, by selecting the cream of youth drawn from all over the country, after series of psycho-technical tests conducted at various centres in India. The youths were aged between 15 to 17.5 years of age, fresh after passing their matriculation examination. The streams were divided under seven important categories namely : Airframes, Aero Engines, Aircraft Instruments,Electricals,Wireless,Radar and Armaments, and allotted according to the individual's aptitude.The ab initio training was for a period of two years as aircraft apprentice followed by 1 year practical training at the various air force flying and maintenance establishments in the country after which they returned to the college for advanced training in their respective disciplines for another one year.How ever this was modified after the 6th entry of apprentices passed out and the later batches were trained for the entire 4 years at the A.F.T.C., after the completion of which they passed out as full fledged aircraft technicians in Group I trades with a liability to render 15 years regular and 9 years reserve service. Some of them later qualified and rose to the position of Air Marshal in their respective branches of specialization or branched off to other flying arms like, Pilots,Navigators, Flight Signalers, Flight Engineers, Flight Gunners while many left the IAF to become leading Engineers,Technocrats and Managers in civilian establishments.Some of them joined the Indian Army during the Indo-China war and rose to the rank of Colonels in technical branches. The first Apprentice who graduated from the college in 1951 carrying the service No. 400001 by name G.K.Pillay belonged to the Aero Engines group.Most of the graduates from AFTC during the course of employment in the IAF were trained in foreign countries like U.K., U.S.A.,Germany,France and Russia on specialised equipment and aircraft, which enabled them to play a leading role in the building of a modern Air Force. How ever this prestigious scheme which was originally intended to form the edifice on which modern Air Force for the independent nation was to be built, was botched by bureaucratic muddle when the highly trained aircraft engineers, frustrated with the lack of promotional avenues left the service after initial engagement. This was a gigantic loss that the nation could ill afford but the planners at the Air Head Quarters and the Ministry of Defence did not initiate any remedial action and exposed their lack of long term vision besides ruining the career of bright young men, who dreamt of a long term involvement in the service of national defence. In commemoration of completion of 60 years since the passing-out of the I batch of technicians, an alumini association called "AFTCIANS" was formed in 2011 under the   dynamic leadership of G.Sivasankara Pillai (14th Rad.). Reunion meetings have been regularly arranged in different regions across the Nation with appreciable attendance, where the former Apprentices along with their families savour their collective memories and indulge in nostalgia - during their sun-set years, with deserving pride !

After TTC was renamed as AFTC on 1 January 1957, Gp. Capt M.J. Kriplani MBE took over as the first Indian commandant of the college. It is the alma mater for all technical officers of the Indian Air Force. The instructional staff of highly trained Indians took over the baton from A.S.T.(Hamble) (UK) and the entire team of foreigners withdrew after handing over the responsibility.In Dec 1962, during the national emergency, the Apprentices’ Training Scheme was suspended with the 22nd Entry and the Direct enty officers’ training was accelerated. In Dec 1971, the four technical branches of Tech (Engines),Tech (Elect),Tech(Signals) & Tech (Armament)were integrated into two i.e., Aeronautical Engineering (Mechanical) and Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics) designated as AE(M) and AE(L). The first batch to graduate under this scheme commenced their training in Jan 1972.The college is equipped with many Engineering and Science laboratories,fighter, bomber,and transport aircraft besides an air field of its own !

Program
The aim of the college is to educate and train engineers from various disciplines on the current technologies of aircraft, weapon and support system held by Indian Air Force and also to instill qualities of military leadership, managerial skills, values and ethos of an Air Warrior, to enable them to function effectively as Aeronautical Engineers and contribute to growth of knowledge through research and development as members of officer cadre of the Indian Air Force. The college in Addition to training engineers of Indian Air Force and its sister services has also trained officers of DRDO, HAL, Air India and many foreign personnel from friendly countries in South East Asia and Middle East.

Crest
CREST

The crest of the college depicts a mechanical gear and emanating electrical waves superimposed by a torch bearing an eternal flame. The President of India approved the crest on 8 August 1962. The crest symbolises the flame of knowledge, which gives rise to the fraternity of mechanical and electronic engineering professionals engaged in pursuit of higher goals. The motto printed on the crest "Gyanen Shobhamahe" means ‘It is knowledge through which we find pride in ourselves’. With its multi-faceted growth the college has lived up to its motto and continues to impart a high standard of training to military Aeronautical Engineers. This has enabled the college to strongly support the Indian Air Force to "Touch the sky with Glory".