Vishnu Madhav Ghatage

Vishnu Madav Ghatage (24 October 1908 – 6 December 1991) was an Indian aeronautical engineer, known for his pioneering conceptual and engineering contributions to Indian aeronautics. He led the team which designed and developed HAL HT-2, the first Indian designed and built aircraft. He was honoured by the Government of India in 1965, with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his services to the nation.

Biography

Vishnu Madav Ghatage was born on 24 October 1908 at Hasur, a small village in the princely state of Kolhapur, now in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. His early schooling was at Kolhapur after which he graduated (BSc) from Sir Parshurambhau College, Pune and joined Institute of Science, Mumbai (formerly known as Royal Institute of Science) for post graduate studies. His research was funded by the Gliding Society of Germany as his thesis was related to cumulus clouds, a subject of interest to the sport of gliding. to establish post graduate courses in aeronautical engineering and taught fluid dynamics, solid mechanics and aircraft design and organised wind tunnel experiments there till 1948. Ghatage died, aged 81, in Bengaluru on 6 December 1991 He was also behind the development of HAL Krishak, a small aircraft used for agricultural purposes.

Awards and honours Ghatage was an elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (1945), the Indian National Science Academy (1950), the Aeronautical Society of India, the Royal Aeronautical Society of London and the National Institute of Sciences, India. He was a member of the Institution of Engineers (India), the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, USA and the Maharashtra Academy of Sciences.

Ghatage was a recipient of the National Design Award from the Government of India. In 1965, the government followed it up with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri. Four years later, he received Sir Walter Pucky Prize. HAL, Indian Institute of Science and the Aeronautical Society of India jointly honoured him on his 75th birthday by holding a seminar on Design and Development in Aeronautics.