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| Warbirds of Bijapur : A WW2 era Harvard (left) and a 50s era HT-2 [IX500] can be seen in Bijapur at the Sainik School | |
Sainik School Bijapur is one of the 25 Sainik Schools of India. Established by the Government of India in 1963, the main aim of the school is to prepare boys to join the armed forces. Sainik School Bijapur is located in the district Bijapur, Karnataka, India. The campus spreads across 400+ acres of land, with all the facilities for the students.
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| Two views of the Sainik School main building in Bijapur, showing the Harvard parked in front of it. The Harvard was till recently the only warbird on display at the school. | |
For years, the sole warbird on display at SS Bijapur was a Yellow painted Harvard displayed in front of the main building. At the time of the installation, there wasnt much greenery on the ground and it was clearly visible from miles away.
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| Two more views of the yellow painted Harvard at SS Bijapur. | |
The Harvard unfortunately does not carry an identifying tail number - or atleast any number that is visible in the photographs we have seen.
In recent years, the Harvard had been joined by a HAL HT-2 that has been pole mounted. Thankfully it still carries the original serial number IX500 which should give us an idea of its history at some point of time.
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| IX500 seen pole mounted at the School. The good condition of the paint and the pole mounting job seems to indicate that this is a recent acquisition. | |
IX500 appears to be the 39th HT-2 in IAF service based on the sequence. The aircraft appears complete in its perch position.
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| IX500 from head on (Left) and Visiting Dignitaries near the HT-2. (Center and Right) | ||
All Photos Courtesy of Sainik School Bijapur
