Ajjamada Boppayya Devayya, MVC

Biography

Squadron Leader Ajjamada Boppayya Devayya was born on 24 December 1932 in the village of Manchalli in South Kodagu, Karnataka, the son of Dr. Ajjamada Bopayya and Smt. Neelamma. At the age of 21 he joined the Indian Air Force, receiving his commission on 6 November 1954 as part of the 64th Pilots' Course, and went on to excel in the flying stream as a fighter pilot. Promoted to Flight Lieutenant in 1959, he became an instructor at the Air Force Flying College at Dundigal within just five years of service, a distinction achieved by very few pilots of his generation. By 1965 he had completed a decade of service and risen to the rank of Squadron Leader. A few months before the outbreak of the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, Devayya was posted from his instructional role to 1 Squadron, "The Tigers", at Air Force Station Adampur, Punjab. When war broke out, the squadron was tasked with defending the Punjab sector and taking part in the daring air strike on the heavily defended Sargodha air base. Assigned as a standby pilot, Devayya nonetheless flew on the mission of 7 September 1965. Having completed a successful raid over Sargodha, his Mystère aircraft was intercepted by a supersonic F-104 Starfighter flown by Flt Lt Amjad Hussain of the Pakistan Air Force. Devayya evaded a Sidewinder missile, but his aircraft was damaged by cannon fire. Undaunted, and with utter disregard for his personal safety, he pursued the faster F-104 in his crippled Mystère and shot it down, forcing the enemy pilot to eject. His own aircraft then crashed deep inside enemy territory, and he was declared missing, later killed, in action. His valour, revealed years later through an account by British writer John Fricker, earned him a posthumous Maha Vir Chakra in 1988 — the first IAF officer to be so honoured.