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Nagpur is home to the Indian Air Force' Maintenance Command, which is based in Vayu sena nagar. Though Maintenance Command was originally formed in Kanpur, it moved to Nagpur in February 1964, when the then Defence Minister YB Chavan laid the foundation for the present HQ Building. The presence of Maintenance Command HQ in Nagpur ensures that there are several "Warbirds" in the city, not to mention within the Head Quarters itself. The city can ideally be called a heaven of warbirds, not only in terms of numbers but also in types. No one can expect to find a Mig-29 Fulcrum, mounted on a pole, anywhere in the india, but here. In December 2001, a Hawker Hunter T.66 [S-576] was unveiled at the Nagpur Municipal Corporation park by the then Air Chief, ACM Tipnis. The Hunter was presented to the Corporation more than an year back. It was one of the aircraft struck off charge at Kalaikunda. Prior to that, a Gnat had made its way to be displayed in the famous "Gandhi Bagh" park in Nagpur. Nagpur is also served by the Sonegaon airport which has an airforce enclosure in the form of 44 Wing. Sonegaon is the permanent airfield for No.44 "Mighty Jets" Squadron operating the Illyushin 76 heavy transport aircraft. The Illyushins moved here from their former base in Agra in 2003.  | Boeing 720 [VT-ERS] lies derelict at Sonegaon airport in Nagpur. Pic Courtesy: Rahul Devnath |
Sonegaon airport's history dates back to World War Two, when it was a major staging base. Over the years its major traffic was civilian aircraft till the recent formation of 44 Wing and the transfer of the Il-76s. The airport has its fair share of derelict aircraft in the form of a rusting hulk of a Boeing 707 airliner. The aircraft is originally a 720 version. Its registration is VT-ERS and is in the name of Continental Aviation since 1991. Though rumoured to have been scrapped over the years, Rahul Devnath's recent photo (Feb 2006) confirms that the airframe is still extant.
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An aerial view of the MiG-23 displayed just outside the Maintenance Command HQ Building. To the top left is a P-30 Radar (1965 Vintage) and to the right is an SA-2 Missile. Photo Courtesy: Rahul Devnath |
Long ago, A HAL Gnat was installed at a place of pride in front of the Maintenance Command HQ Building at Vayu Sena Nagar. This aircraft was replaced by a MiG-23BN and was first reported by Ashit Chakraborty.This was aparently inagurated by Air Marshal S S Gupta, AOC-in-C Maintanance Command just prior to its retirement. The Gnat was then shifted and pole mounted elsewhere.
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 |  | | This Ajeet IE-1205 is mounted in the middle of a Water fountain!. Unfortunately we dont have any idea if its the real id or not, as the same serial is shared by a Gnat at Air HQ in Delhi. Pic Courtesy : Rahul Devnath |
A few years ago, Kapil Chandni visited Nagpur, and as he was passing besides a Gandhi Baug in Nagpur in a truck, he chanced upon a Gnat on display in the park. The HAL Gnat [IE-1205] on display, was rather uniquely mounted on concrete pillars in the middle of a water fountain!.
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 |  | | Hawker Hunter [S-576] is by far one of the best Hunter displays in the country. When the aircraft was inagurated on 17 Dec 2001 by Air Chief Marshal Tipnis, it sported an 'all grey' color scheme. Today (2006) the aircraft can still be seen at the Ambazari Gardens in an all-silver paint scheme. Photos: Kapil Chandni (Left) and Rahul Devnath (Right) |
Sometime towards the end of 2001, Our Co-Webbie got some 'intelligence' that the Nagpur Municpal corporation was on the verge of erecting a Hunter aircraft in one of the public parks. Apparently they had received two aircraft quite some years back, and after much deliberation, one of the fighters was sent back and the Hunter was chosen to be installed. The inauguration of the aircraft was to be done by the then Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AY Tipnis on his farewell visit to the Nagpur Air Force establishments.
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The first warbird at the HQ building was a HAL Gnat. The aircraft was occupied a place of pride and it was displayed exactly in front of the HQ Building. However it was to be displaced by a MiG-23BN [SM262]. This was aparently inagurated by Air Marshal S S Gupta, AOC-in-C Maintanance Command just prior to its retirement. The Gnat was then shifted and pole mounted elsewhere.   | Maintenance Command Head Quarters in Nagpur. This photo was taken from the mid 90s, when the Gnat was still on the pedestal ahead of the building. To the right of the photo is an SA-2 Missile and launcher, while to the left is a rare P-36 Mobile Radar. |
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| MiG-29 [KB3298], seen here pole mounted at the Maintenance Command Head Quarters in Vayu sena Nagar in Nagpur. This is the first pubilc MiG-29 on display. There is another MiG-29 at Ozhar which is not visible for the common public. Photo: Rahul Devnath |
The first time we heard that MiG-29 KB3298 had been grounded forever was from Rishi, who had spent some time as an intern at HAL Ozhar. KB3298, apparently had an a drop tank accident at Adampur with either 223 Squadron or 47 Squadron and had been declared "Cat E" - beyond economical repair. The nature of the accident is not known, but the aircraft airframe had survived, enough to be rebuilt for display. That was exactly what was being done when Rishi first saw the aircraft. The aircraft had previously served with No.28 Squadron at Pune, a photograph of the aircraft can be seen on Bharat Rakshak at this link.
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