Maharashtra Board Class 10 English Kumarbharti Unit One Chapter 1.3 On Wings of Courage PDF Download

On Wings of Courage

Warming Up!

1. The ranks of officers in Indian Army, Navy and Air Force are jumbled up. Discuss with your group and put them in the appropriate boxes.

Commander, Brigadier, Wing-Commander, Vice-Admiral, Squadron-Leader, Major, Colonel, Field Marshal, Air Marshal, Admiral of Fleet, Lieutenant-General, Flying Officer, Commodore, Rear Admiral, Air-Commodore

2. Homophones / Homographs

(A) Make sentences to bring out the difference between-

(1) (a) wear

(b) ware

(2) (a) here

(b) hear

(3) (a) there

(b) their

(4) (a) cell

(b) sell

(B) Write what the underlined Homographs in the following sentences mean.

(1) (a) A bear is an omnivorous animal.

(b) She could not bear the injustice.

(2) (a) A bat is the only bird which is a mammal.

(b) His bat broke as it struck the ball.

(3) (a) He had to pay a fine for breaking the traffic signal.

(b) Use a fine cloth for the baby's clothes.

(4) (a) We enjoyed a lot at the temple fair.

(b) She has a fair complexion.

Teacher's Note

Ranks in the military are very important. Just like how your school has a Principal and teachers in different levels, the army has officers in different ranks from lowest to highest.

Exam Trick

Remember: Homophones sound the same but have different meanings and spellings - like "wear" and "ware". Homographs look the same but have different meanings - like "bear" (animal) and "bear" (to carry).

Points to Remember

Homophones are words that sound the same but mean different things.
Homographs are words that look the same but have different meanings.
Always check the meaning by looking at the sentence around the word.
These word types help us understand English better.
Practice making sentences to learn these differences well.

On Wings of Courage

Air Force Marshal Arjan Singh, an icon of India's military history, will always be remembered as a war hero who had successfully led a young IAF during the 1965 Indo-Pak war.

The only officer to attain the highest post of Marshal, the Air Force equivalent to the Army's five star field marshal, Singh was a fearless and exceptional pilot who had flown more than 60 different types of aircraft.

He played a major role in transforming the IAF into one of the most potent air forces globally and the fourth biggest in the world. "His contribution to the Indian Air Force is monumental to the least. The IAF grew with him. He was the epitome of military leadership in classical sense and it is, therefore, not surprising that he was honoured with the rank of Air Force Marshal," former Vice Chief of IAF Kapil Kak said.

Singh was honoured with the rank of Marshal on the Republic Day in 2002. Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw and K M Cariappa were the only two army generals honoured with the rank of field marshal.

Known as a man of few words, Singh was not only a fearless pilot but also had profound knowledge about air power and applied it in a wide spectrum of areas. Singh had assiduously led the IAF during the 1965 war and denied success to Pakistani air force though it was better equipped with American support. "His most outstanding contribution was during that war," said Kak.

Commending his role in the war, Y B Chavan, the then Defence Minister had written: "Air Marshal Arjan Singh is a jewel of a person, quite efficient and firm; unexcitable but a very able leader."

In 1944, the Marshal had led a squadron against the Japanese during the Arakan Campaign, flying close air support missions during the crucial Imphal Campaign and later assisted the advance of the Allied Forces to Yangoon (formerly Rangoon).

Teacher's Note

Air Force Marshal Arjan Singh was a great Indian hero. He was like a captain of a team, but his team was the whole Indian Air Force. Just like Sachin Tendulkar leads the cricket team, Arjan Singh led the air force.

Exam Trick

Remember: Arjan Singh got the rank of Marshal in 2002. Marshall = highest rank in Air Force. The word "Marshal" tells you it is the topmost position - like being the Captain of India's pilots.

Points to Remember

Arjan Singh was born on April 15, 1919 in Lyalpur (now Faislabad, Pakistan).
He flew more than 60 different types of aircraft in his life.
He led the Indian Air Force during the 1965 Indo-Pak war.
He became Marshal of the Air Force in January 2002.
He had only two others like him in the entire Indian Army history.

In recognition of his feat, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on the spot by the Supreme Allied Commander of South East Asia, the first Indian pilot to have received it. Singh was selected for the Empire Pilot training course at Royal Air Force (RAF) Cranwell in 1938 when he was 19 years old. He retired from service in 1969.

Singh was born on April 15, 1919, in Lyalpur (now Faislabad, Pakistan), and completed his education at Montgomery (now Sahiwal, Pakistan). His first assignment on being commissioned was to fly Westland Wapiti biplanes in the North-Western Frontier Province as a member of the No.1 RIAF Squadron.

After a brief stint with the newly formed No. 2 RIAF Squadron where the Marshal flew against the tribal forces, he later moved back to No.1 Sqn as a Flying Officer to fly the Hawker Hurricane. He was promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader in 1944.

For his role in successfully leading the squadron in combat, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in 1944. On August 15, 1947, he achieved the unique honour of leading a fly-past of over a hundred IAF aircraft over the Red Fort in Delhi.

After his promotion to the rank of Wing Commander, he attended the Royal Staff College at the UK. Immediately after Indian independence, he commanded Ambala in the rank of Group Captain. In 1949, he was promoted to the rank of Air Commodore and took over as Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of an operational command, which later came to be known as Western Air Command.

Singh had the distinction of having the longest tenure as AOC of an operational base, initially from 1949-1952 and then again from 1957-1961. After his promotion to the rank of Air Vice Marshal, he was appointed as the AOC-in-C of an operational command.

Towards the end of the 1962 war, he was appointed as the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff and he became the Vice Chief of the Air Staff in 1963. He was the overall commander of the joint air training exercise "Shiksha" held between IAF, RAF (Royal Air Force) and RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force).

Teacher's Note

Arjan Singh worked very hard and got promotions many times in his job. This is like getting good grades in school and then getting better positions year by year. Hard work always gives good results.

Exam Trick

Remember: 1944 = Squadron Leader. 1949 = Air Commodore. 2002 = Marshal. Write down the year with each rank to remember the order of his promotions in exams.

Points to Remember

He became Squadron Leader in 1944 after fighting in World War II.
He got the award of Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his brave work.
He commanded Ambala air base and worked there for many years.
He led over 100 aircraft in a fly-past on Independence Day in 1947.
He was the longest-serving Air Officer Commanding in Indian Air Force history.

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