No emotions or Romance in War
Danzil Keelor is a name etched in our memory. In the 1965 war against Pakistan, he and his brother Trevor, with their dexterous maneuvering of Gnats, spelt doom for Pakistan’s Sabre jets. At present, Air Commodore Denzil Deelor is Air Officer Commanding of the Mirage air base at Gwalior. He talks to Jitendra Muchhal about IAF yesterday, today, tomorrow, about Mirage-2000 H and about his life and times. Excerpts from the interview.
Jitendra Muchhal: Sir, it is said that your father was a teacher. Then what got you excited to the Air Force?
Danzil Keelor: I suppose it is a little more exciting and adventurous. But my heart is in teaching. I have done a lot of teaching in the Air Force itself.
JM: Do you feel, after looking back over the years that you could have been better off as a teacher than what you are?
DK: (After a long pause) Life is an attitude. I really don’t know how I would have performed, but I know I would have happy as a teacher. I may not have been as materially well off as I am now, but that was an altogether different line. In the Air Force-the excitement and adventure is beyond one’s expectations and you just can’t imagine in teaching having achieved what I have achieved in the Services.
JM: When did you join the Air Force?
DK: 1954 … November 6, 1954.
JM: Where was your first posting?
DK: I made my debut as a young flying officer at Pune. Since then, I have traveled the length and breadth of the country.
JM: Would you care to look back over the years and tell us about them?
DK: The No.4 squadron was my first squadron and I am very proud to say that today, I am the Commodore Commandant of No.4 . I stayed in the squadron for 10 years. I am very attached to No.4 squadron. I then went to Adipur, Jamnagar, Phagwara where wedding bells were waiting for me. Then I was posted at Ambala, Delhi and Kalaikunda. Then I was at Tejpur just before the Chinese trouble. Then I went to Jamnagar and took part in the Goa operations. Then it was back to Tejpur and from there I was sent to Russia for MiG-21 training. By the time I came back it was time for Gnats. Then it was 1965-I took part in the war.
JM: Which were the planes you flew till the ’65 war?
DK: I started wit Vampires then we switched to Oregon’s and then I left No.4 when they were on Oregon’s. Later, they changed over to MiGs. Then I commandeered the squadron also. I was the flight commander and after 10 years, became the squadron commander. So like the Army, I have a long attachment to the squadron which is a rare thing in the IAF.
JM: Men keep on changing squadrons?
DK: Yes, It is just a coincidence that I happened to stay on.
JM: You and your brother Trevor were the ‘monarch of the sky’ in your Gnats bringing down Sabre jets by the score. Will you describe your feelings at the time when you were all set to blast an enemy aircraft.
DK: To tell you the truth, you don’t have any feelings at all. You are scared and numb. What one experiences in war is shock. Because you are facing a reality, you get quite numb and unemotional. In fact there are no emotions or time for emotions. You are just trying to transform your skill in such a way so that you get him, because if you don’t, he will get you. And one enters in such a situation where emotions and romance of life cease to exist. It’s a plain and simple case-you kill me or I will kill you.