The history and growth of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is synonymous with the growth of Aeronautical industry in India for more than 79 years.
The Company which had its origin as Hindustan Aircraft Limited was incorporated on 23 Dec 1940 at Bangalore by Shri Walchand Hirachand, a farsighted visionary, in association with the then Government of Mysore, with the aim of manufacturing aircraft in India. In March 1941, the Government of India became one of the shareholders in the Company and subsequently took over its management in 1942. In collaboration with the Inter Continental Aircraft Company of USA, the Company commenced its business of manufacturing of Harlow Trainer, Curtiss Hawk Fighter and Vultee Bomber Aircraft.
In January 1951, Hindustan Aircraft Limited was placed under the administrative control of Ministry of Defence, Government of India.
The Company had built aircraft and engines of foreign design under licence, such as Prentice, Vampire & Gnat. It also undertook the design and development of aircraft indigenously. In August 1951, the HT-2 Trainer aircraft, designed and produced by the company under the able leadership of Dr. V.M.Ghatge flew for the first time. Over 150 Trainers were manufactured and supplied to the Indian Air Force and other customers. With the gradual building up of its design capability, the company successfully designed and developed four other aircraft i.e. two seater ‘Pushpak’ suitable for flying clubs, ‘Krishak’ for Air Observatory Post (AOP) role, HF-24 Jet Fighter ‘(Marut)’ and the HJT-16 Basic Jet Trainer ‘(Kiran)’.
Meanwhile, in August 1963, Aeronautics India Limited (AIL) was incorporated as a Company wholly owned by the Government of India, to undertake manufacture of MiG-21 aircraft under licence. Factories were setup at Nasik (Maharashtra) & Koraput (Odisha). In June 1964, the Aircraft Manufacturing Depot which was set up in 1960 at Kanpur as an Air Force unit to produce the Airframe for the HS-748 transport aircraft was transferred to AIL. Soon thereafter, the Government decided to amalgamate Hindustan Aircraft Limited with AIL so as to conserve resources in the field of aviation where the technical talent in the country was limited and to enable the activities of all the aircraft manufacturing units to be planned and co-ordinated in a most efficient and economical manner.
Amalgamation of the two companies i.e. Hindustan Aircraft Limited and Aeronautics India Limited was brought about on 1st Oct 1964 by an Amalgamation Order issued by the Government of India and the Company after the amalgamation was named as “Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)” with its principal business being design, development, manufacture, repair and overhaul of aircraft, helicopters, engines and related systems like avionics, instruments and accessories.
In 1970, a separate division was set up exclusively for manufacture of ‘Chetak’ and ‘Cheetah’ Helicopters in Bangalore under licence from M/s SNIAS, France. A new division was also established to manufacture aircraft instruments and accessories at Lucknow. Licence agreements were entered into with M/s Dunlop of U.K. for Wheels and Brakes, Dowty for under carriages and Hydraulic equipment and Normal Air Garret for cabin air pressurisation and air-conditioning equipment, Smiths of UK, SFENA and SFIM of France for panel instruments and Gyros, Martin Baker of UK for ejection seats and Lucas for engine fuel systems; for fitment on Marut, Kiran, Ajeet, Chetak, Cheetah and Jaguar. Similar type of arrangement was agreed with USSR authorities for manufacture of accessories for MiG-21 series of aircraft.
Design and Development of Basant agricultural aircraft was undertaken between 1970 and 1974 and design and development of Ajeet, an improved version of Gnat, was undertaken between 1972 and 1980. In 1976, projects were sanctioned for design & development of the HPT-32 elementary piston engine trainer, Kiran MK II (an improved version of Kiran MK I / IA) and Ajeet Trainer as well as for Advanced Light Helicopter.
In 1971, Avionics Design Bureau at Hyderabad was formed for the development and manufacture of IFF, UHF, HF, Radio components, Radio Altimeter, Ground Radars etc.
During 1973, a Design wing was set up at Lucknow for design and development of accessories such as under-carriage and hydraulic systems, air-conditioning and pressurization systems, fuel control/gauging systems, generator control and protection units, static inverters etc.
