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Aspy Engineer
A M Engineer | |
|---|---|
 Air Marshal Aspy Merwan Engineer | |
| 6th Ambassador of India to Iran | |
| In office 6 December 1964 – 6 December 1966 | |
| Preceded by | M. R. A. Baig |
| Succeeded by | K. V. Padmanabhan |
| 9th Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee | |
| In office 4 June 1962 – 24 July 1964 | |
| President | Sir S. Radhakrishnan |
| Prime Minister | Jawaharlal Nehru Gulzarilal Nanda (acting) |
| Preceded by | Ram Dass Katari |
| Succeeded by | Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman |
| 5th Chief of Air Staff | |
| In office 1 December 1960 – 31 July 1964 | |
| President | Rajendra Prasad |
| Prime Minister | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Preceded by | Subroto Mukerjee |
| Succeeded by | Arjan Singh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 December 1912 Lahore, Punjab Province, British India |
| Died | 1 May 2002 (aged 89) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Relations | Minoo Merwan Engineer (brother) |
| Alma mater | RAF Cranwell |
| Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross |
| Later work(s) | Founder, California Zoroastrian Center |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  British India (1933–1947) India (1947–1964) |
| Branch/service |  Royal Indian Air Force  Indian Air Force |
| Years of service | 1933–1964 |
| Rank | Air Marshal |
| Unit | No. 1 Squadron IAF |
| Commands | No.1 Operational Group Air Force Station Kohat No.2 Squadron |
| Battles/wars | Waziristan Campaign Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 Annexation of Goa Sino-Indian War |
Air Marshal Aspy Merwan Engineer DFC (15 December 1912 – 1 May 2002) was an officer in the Indian Air Force who rose through the ranks to become independent India's second Chief of the Air Staff, succeeding Subroto Mukerjee in 1960 and preceding Arjan Singh.
His flying career began in 1930 at the age of 17, when as a co-pilot he accompanied his friend R. N. Chawla to Croydon Airport, London from Karachi in British India, by flight and were the first Indians to do so. Shortly afterwards, he won the Aga Khan contest for being the first Indian to fly the journey between England and India, solo and within a one-month time frame.
Engineer subsequently joined the Indian Air Force, trained at RAF Cranwell, saw action on the North Western Frontier Provinces (NWFP) and at Burma and as a result was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). By the end of the Second World War he became Wing Commander.
Following retirement, he served as India's ambassador to Iran and later spent time living in California, before his last days in Mumbai.
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