Ardeshir Tarapore

Lieutenant Colonel A. B. Tarapore PVC
Born	(1923-08-18)18 August 1923 Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India (Present-day Mumbai, Maharashtra, India)
Died	16 September 1965(1965-09-16) (aged 42) Chawinda, Pakistan
Allegiance	Hyderabad State  India
Service / branch	Hyderabad Army  Indian Army
Years of service	1940–1951 (Hyderabad Army) 1951–1965 (Indian Army)
Rank	Lieutenant colonel
Service number	IC-5565[1][2]
Unit	Hyderabad Lancers Poona Horse
Battles / wars	Second World War Middle Eastern theatre Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 Annexation of Hyderabad Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Battle of Philora Battle of Chawinda †
Awards	Param Vir Chakra

Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore, PVC (18 August 1923 – 16 September 1965), was an Indian military officer and posthumous recipient of India's highest military award, the Param Vir Chakra. After completing his schooling in Pune, Tarapore joined the Hyderabad Army, and was commissioned in January 1942. Initially he joined the infantry, but was later transferred to an armoured regiment, the 1st Hyderabad Imperial Service Lancers. During World War II, Tarapore saw action in the Middle Eastern theatre of the war.

After Hyderabad State was annexed by India in 1948, Tarapore was selected to join the Indian Army. He was commissioned again in April 1951, and was posted to the Poona Horse regiment, 17th Battalion. Later he attended a training course in the United Kingdom on the Centurion tank. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, 17 Horse saw action in the Sialkot sector. Tarapore led the regiment in several tank battles between 11 and 16 September, and was killed in one such battle at Butur-Dograndi on 16 September. Under his leadership the regiment destroyed sixty Pakistani tanks, while the Indians suffered the loss of nine.