He led the airbase during the Partition of India. Singh subsequently moved to Air Headquarters in 1948 and tenanted the appointment of Director of Training. In 1949, Singh attended the Joint Service Defence College at Latimer, Buckinghamshire in the United Kingdom. On his return to India, in December 1950, Singh was promoted to acting Air Commodore and assumed command of the No. 1 Operational Command (later rechristened Western Air Command). In late 1952, Singh moved to the Air Headquarters and was appointed Air Officer-in-Charge Personnel and Organisation. This appointment was later upgraded to Air Vice Marshal and then to Air Marshal, and is now termed Air Officer-in-charge Personnel (AOP). He simultaneously held the appointment of Air Officer Commanding Air Force Station New Delhi. Singh served in this appointment for three years, until December 1955. Promoted to substantive Air Commodore, Singh again served as the AOC Operational Command, for the second time. In 1956, Singh led a squadron of Toofani jet fighters to Burma on a goodwill mission. Singh also served as the Chef de Mission of the Indian Contingent for the 1956 Summer Olympics held at Melbourne, Australia. In May 1958, Singh was promoted to the rank of Air Vice Marshal and continued as the head of the Operational Command. The appointment was upgraded to Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) Operational Command. He led the Operational Command until November 1959, handing over command to Air Vice Marshal Erlic Pinto. Singh has the distinction of being the longest serving head of the Operational Command. He led the Command for a total of six years in two stints - December 1950 to December 1952 and December 1955 to November 1959. Singh was selected to attend the Imperial Defence College and proceeded to United Kingdom in early 1960. After completing the year-long course, he returned to India and assumed charge as the Air Officer in Charge Administration at Air Headquarters. He tenanted this appointment through the Sino-Indian War. By the end of the war, Singh took over as the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (DCAS), and in August 1963, he took over as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS). As the VCAS, Singh was the overall commander of the joint air exercises "Shiksha" with the United States Air Force (USAF), Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) which was held in India. Chief of the Air Staff