then was transferred to the newly-formed No. 2 Squadron for a brief period. He was transferred back to No. 1 Squadron in the rank of Flying Officer. By this time, the squadron had been re-equipped with Hawker Hurricane aircraft. In 1943, Singh was promoted to acting Squadron Leader and became the Commanding Officer of No. 1 Squadron. Frustrated with watch and ward duty, Singh wanted to be in the thick of action. He met the Commander-in-Chief, India, General (later Field Marshal) Claude Auchinleck during his visit to Kohat in the North-West Frontier Province and requested him to send the squadron to fight the Japanese. The squadron was then inducted into the war and moved to Imphal in early 1944. Singh led No. 1 Squadron into combat during the Arakan Campaign in 1944. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in June 1944. He was presented with the DFC by Lord Mountbatten, the Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia Command at Imphal. Singh later said about the award, “For a young man to get such a medal in front of his own squadron is a great satisfaction. I was a part of the squadron, and they were my part." The citation for the DFC reads as follows: Singh relinquished command of No. 1 Squadron in December 1944, handing over to Squadron Leader Ramaswamy Rajaram, who led the squadron for the rest of the Burma Campaign. Singh almost faced a court-martial in February 1945 when he tried to raise the morale of a trainee pilot (later rumoured to be the future Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh) by conducting a low level air pass over a house in Kerala. In his defence, he insisted that such tricks were needed for every cadet to be a fighter pilot. Later that year, he commanded the Indian Air Force Exhibition Flight. In February 1945, Singh was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander and in August, he was selected to attend the Staff course at the RAF Staff College, Bracknell in the United Kingdom. On his return, he commanded the Air Force Station Kohat and Air Force Station Risalpur. Post Independence As part of the celebrations for Independence Day on 15 August 1947, Singh, by then an acting Group Captain, led the first fly-past of RIAF aircraft over the Red Fort in Delhi. Singh then assumed command of the frontline Airbase Air Force Station, Ambala.