local personnel were engaged. The original twice-weekly flights to Karachi had now increased to daily flights.

By the time Gen. Vassalo e Silva came to Goa as Governor-General, TAIP already had at its disposal seven aircraft: 2 Vikings, 2 DC-4 Skymasters and 3 DC6B, which had regular services to: Goa-Damão-Diu-Karachi; Goa-Karachi-Beirut-Damascus-Lisbon; and Goa-Beira-Lourenço Marques. The HERONS were no longer required, one being ceded to Guiné and the other to Timor.

Gen. Vassalo e Silva gave a big push to TAIP,planning upgrades to the airport at Dabolim, whichwas now named "Aeroporto General BénardGuedes".

It is now late 1961. India is pushing for a militarytake-over of Goa, and all plans for upgradingDabolim with the latest facilities like ILS are put onhold in early. Now we go over to what the IndianAir Force has to say about its operations.

According to the Bharat-Rakshak website, "ThePortuguese were suspected to have somesupersonic interceptors initially. Later it wasbelieved that though fighters were not based, theymaintained a regular supply chain by air. Facingthis modest and insignificant air threat wasamassed a huge Indian Air Force detachment.

India had, by that time, six Hunter squadrons and four Canberra squadrons, as its latest additions to the AirForce. "

"The build up to the operations started on 2 December 1961. Probing flights by some fighters and bombers were carried out on December 8th and 9th to lure and draw out any Portuguese air opposition that may have been there. A Vampire, from No.108 Squadron, flew a PR mission over some strategic targets without encountering opposition. These baiting missions were flown right up to D-Day, trying to draw out the Portuguese Air Force, but to no avail". Author's note: besides the flagrant violation of Goan airspace by the IAF, there were no military aircraft stationed at Dabolim, as it was purely a civilian airport.

"The first use of air power occurred on December 18th. No.35 Squadron sent in a massive wave of 12 Canberras led by the CO, Wg. Cdr. N.B. Menon to attack Dabolim. The Canberras dropped 63,000 lbs. of bombs within minutes, on the runway. The Canberra pilots took care not to bomb the terminals and the ATC. Menon noticed the presence of two large transport aircraft in the dispersal area: one Super Constellation and one DC-6 aircraft were parked on the apron. However the Canberras left the aircraft alone.".

"A second raid by eight Canberras of No.16 Squadron led by Wg. Cdr. Surinder Singh dropped more bombs on the runway area. The Portuguese aircraft were again left untouched. By this time, it was assumed that the airfield was rendered unserviceable and these aircraft could be captured intact as they had nowhere to go. However, the Portuguese pilots of these aircraft proved to be both foolhardy but brave. During nightfall, they managed to take off the aircraft from the still damaged airfield and made their getaway to Portugal."

The previous four paragraphs stated in the Bharat-Rakshak article says it all, and furthermore, the "IAF had an opportunity to employ jet air power for the first time on a massive scale. However, the Portuguese did not have any AA defences or aircraft to defend their positions. This robbed the IAF of a realistic battlefield scenario.". As it transpired soon after, the Indian Navy appropriated Dabolim airport for its own use, thus ending its civilian status.

Apart from a transporter still on the tarmac and a partly dismantled Viking, which was undergoing repairs in the hangars at the time of the Indian military action, the remaining TAIP aircraft were absorbed into the TAP after December 1961. Incidentally, Maj. Solano de Almeida, the first pilot to fly under TAIP also piloted the last flight of TAIP out of Goa to Karachi on December 18th, ferrying the last remaining wives and children of military personnel, flying at a very low altitude to avoid possible skirmishes with the belligerent IAF.

The Naval presence at Dabolim and the apathy of the successive Goa governments has stifled development of the Dabolim airport to be a truly international civilian airport. The Naval presence also limits the times when civilian aircraft can use the airport to narrow "windows" during the day. It is this situation that has prompted Matanhy Saldanha's question:

Why is the Congress not opposing the construction of another airport at Mopa when Dabolim airport is a civilian airport? Why can’t the Congress demand the shifting of the Naval enclave to the Sea Bird base, which is the biggest Naval base in Asia?