Service No : IC-54314P
Date of Birth : 1975
Place of birth : Kodagu Dist(Kar)
Service : Army
Last Rank : Lieutenant Colonel
Unit : 3 Madras /204 Army Avn
Arm/Regt : Army Aviation Corps
Operation : CI & IS Ops
Martyrdom : April 21, 2011
Lt Col Chaureera Nanaiah Nanjappa hailed from Hoddoor near Moornadu village in Kodagu district of Karnataka and was born in the year 1975. Son of Shri Chaureera Nanaiah and Smt Kanthi, Lt Col CN Nanjappa was passionate about serving in the Armed Forces like many young men from the Kodagu district. Eventually, he joined the Indian Army and was commissioned as an officer on 08 June 1996 at the age of 21 years. He was commissioned into the 3 Madras Battalion of the Madras Regiment, an infantry Regiment well known for its fearless soldiers and numerous bold operations.
Later he opted for the Army Aviation Corps and got trained as a helicopter pilot. He earned his wings on 29 May 2002 and completed his basic Army Aviation Course from Jhansi and his Advance Army Aviation Course from Nahisk. After serving for a couple of years, he got married to Ms Nayana hailing from Halugunda village in Virajpet taluk of the Kodagu district in the year 2008. By the year 2011, he had been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and had developed into a professionally competent Helicopter pilot with expertise in various air operations.
Op Falcon : 21 April 2011
During 2011, Lt Col CN Nanjappa was serving with the 204 Army Aviation Squadron based at Siliguri in West Bengal. 204 Army Aviation Squadron was raised in the year 2009 with HAL-manufactured ALH (Advanced Light Helicopter), called 'Dhruv'. The 'Dhruv' helicopter was a versatile, multi-role, multi-purpose machine designed to undertake various operational tasks. The Squadron was undertaking various air support missions for the army units deployed at the forward locations along the Indo-China border. On 21 April 2011, Lt Col CN Nanjappa was tasked with one such operational mission, along with his co-pilot Lt Col Nitin Bhatia as part of "Operation Falcon". The other crew members tasked with the mission included Nb Sub Rajendra Singh Rana and Nk Pawan Kumar Pant. The crew took off in their Dhruv Helicopter to carry out the assigned task from the Sewak Road Base in Siliguri West Bengal to the Sikkim border as per the operational plan on the morning of 21 April 2011.
The flight was uneventful in the initial phase, however, after an hour around 11.30 am the Helicopter lost radio contact flying over north Sikkim near the China border. The helicopter apparently developed a technical snag and became uncontrollable. Lt Col CN Nanjappa, and co-pilot Lt Col Nitin Bhatia using their flying skills, tried to land the helicopter, but could not succeed. Consequently, the Helicopter crashed, prompting the Army to launch a rescue operation. However it took the rescue team many hours, and eventually, the wreckage of the advanced light helicopter was traced in the Shiv Mandir area on 22 April 2011. Lt Col CN Nanjappa and his comrades Lt Col Nitin Bhatia, Nb Sub Rajendra Singh Rana, and Nk Pawan Kumar Pant, could not survive and were martyred. Lt Col CN Nanjappa was a valiant soldier and professionally competent pilot, who laid down his life at the age of 36, in the line of his duty.
Lt Col CN Nanjappa Rana is survived by his father Shri Chaureera Nanaiah, mother Smt Kanthi, wife Smt C Nayana Nanjappa, and daughter Ms. Neha.
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