‘I Thought I Would Fly a Plane’: How a Doctor Became the IAF's First Woman Air Marshal

Bandopadhyay became the first woman Air Marshal because she built an exceptional career in the IAF’s medical branch. She combined clinical work, aviation research, operational service and leadership. Her promotion on 1 October 2004 marked the highest rank then reached by a woman in the IAF. It also showed how specialist expertise could open senior military command roles.

Her work covered aviation medicine, hypoxia, flying clothing, high-altitude acclimatisation and High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema. She flew in Gnat, Hunter and MiG-21 aircraft as a researcher, volunteered during the 1971 war, and helped premature babies survive with an improvised incubator. She also completed the Defence Services Staff College course and joined Arctic research expeditions.

Before becoming Air Marshal, she became the first woman Air Commodore in 2000 and the first woman Air Vice Marshal in 2002. In 2004, she became Director General Medical Services (Air). Her path helped establish women’s capacity for senior IAF responsibilities, even before women entered fighter cockpits.

An Air Marshal is a senior commissioned rank in the Indian Air Force. In the IAF’s hierarchy, it sits above Air Vice Marshal and below Air Chief Marshal. It is commonly described as a three-star rank. Officers at this level hold major leadership appointments and help direct large parts of the service.

The article shows this structure through Bandopadhyay’s promotions. She became the first woman Air Commodore in 2000, the first woman Air Vice Marshal in 2002, and the first woman Air Marshal in 2004. At the same time, she took charge as Director General Medical Services (Air) at Air Headquarters. Her route demonstrates that senior rank was not limited to pilots.

Her achievement mattered because women were still new to the IAF’s flying branch. Women had flown transport aircraft and helicopters only since 1991, while the first three women fighter pilots arrived in 2016. Air Marshal therefore represented both personal advancement and a wider shift in military opportunity.

An aviation-medicine doctor examines how flying affects the body and mind. The work helps aircrew remain healthy, alert and physically capable in demanding environments. It matters because flight can expose people to low oxygen, rapid changes, cold, stress and other unusual conditions. Medical knowledge can prevent illness and guide safe operating limits.

Bandopadhyay studied hypoxia and helped design flying clothing. She researched High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema, in which fluid collects in the lungs, and contributed to acclimatisation schedules for personnel posted at high altitude. She also flew in the Gnat, Hunter and MiG-21 as a researcher. Flying with male officers helped them feel comfortable discussing medical problems.

This work supported both pilots and other aircrew, not just patients in hospitals. Bandopadhyay served during the 1971 war, joined Arctic research expeditions and later led the IAF’s medical services. Her career shows that keeping aircraft operational depends on keeping their crews medically ready.

Bandopadhyay served the IAF for 37 years, rising from flying officer to Air Marshal. The article does not give an official total of her firsts, so the safest count is at least seven major milestones explicitly described. They span education, command, scientific research and military rank. Together, they show a career that repeatedly expanded women’s roles.

The milestones include becoming the first woman to complete the Defence Services Staff College course, the first woman Air Commodore, the first woman to command the Air Force Central Medical Establishment, and the first woman Air Vice Marshal. She became the first Indian woman to conduct scientific research at the North Pole and the first woman Air Marshal. The article also calls her the first defence officer to receive a civilian honour.

Her achievements continued to matter after retirement. On 8 November 2021, President Ram Nath Kovind presented her the Padma Shri for medicine. Her career connected medical expertise with military leadership and opened a wider view of what women could accomplish in the IAF.

The expansion of flying opportunities changed women’s place in the IAF. Before 1991, women were largely entering through medical or other non-flying pathways. When women began piloting transport aircraft and helicopters, they could take on direct flying duties. That challenged the assumption that military aviation belonged only to men.

The article notes that women flew helicopter sorties through the Kargil war zone in 1999. On 18 June 2016, the first three women fighter pilots were commissioned. These developments created a visible operational role for women, while Bandopadhyay’s medical career showed that women could also rise to senior leadership outside the cockpit.

The change was gradual, not immediate. Fighter flying arrived nearly 12 years after Bandopadhyay became Air Marshal. The later milestones suggest a broader future in which women can serve as pilots, medical specialists and commanders across the IAF, rather than being confined to one branch.

Women like Bandopadhyay faced narrow military choices because very few women were considering the defence forces, and the flying branch was not yet open to them. The Military Nursing Service was described as her only option at first, but it required women to leave if they married. That rule made the route insecure for anyone who wanted both military service and family life.

Bandopadhyay chose the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune instead. It offered a stipend and allowed her to enter the IAF as a doctor. Her medical role became a platform for aviation research, operational service and command. She later flew aircraft as a researcher, but she did not receive the pilot cockpit she had imagined when joining.

These restrictions shaped careers by directing talented women into medicine and support work rather than flying. Yet her promotion to Air Marshal proved that those branches could lead to the highest senior ranks. Later access to transport, helicopter and fighter flying widened women’s choices beyond her original path.

Low oxygen reduces the oxygen available to the brain and muscles. This can cause hypoxia, with symptoms such as poor judgement, confusion and loss of consciousness. At high altitude, some people can develop High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema, when fluid collects in the lungs. Extreme cold increases heat loss and can impair movement, alertness and body function.

Flight also exposes the body to changes in pressure, acceleration, vibration and workload. The article connects these hazards to Bandopadhyay’s research. She studied hypoxia, designed flying clothing, helped create high-altitude acclimatisation schedules and researched High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema. Her Arctic work examined physical and psychological problems caused by extreme cold.

These effects matter because aircrew must make accurate decisions while operating aircraft. Medical research helps set training, clothing, acclimatisation and health procedures. Bandopadhyay’s career shows that aviation medicine protects pilots and other personnel in cockpits, high mountains, wartime zones and extreme environments.