Air Marshal PM Ramachandran no more

Chennai: Former Vice Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal PM Ramachandran, died here on Thursday following a brief illness.

He is survived by his son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons.

Ramachandran (86) will be cremated with full military honours on Friday, according to a release here.

He was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force in 1955 and participated in the Liberation of Goa six years later where he destroyed a Portugese patrol boat and was awarded the gallantry award Shaurya Chakra.

He held various command and staff appointments in his about four-decade old career and as Vice Chief, was ”responsible for the operational deployment of India’s short range ballistic missile, Prithvi,” the release said.